Prakambanam

The second half is noticeably more focused and crisper than the first. Once a paranormal investigator, exorcism and escalating chaos enter the picture, the film fully embraces its identity as a simple horror comedy. Director Vijesh Panathur, in his debut, and writer Sreehari Vadakkan appear self-aware about the film’s ambitions. Prakambanam never pretends to be smarter or darker than it is. It is predictable, straightforward and largely uninterested in taking itself too seriously. The emotional moments arrive occasionally but exit quickly enough not to derail the tone. Technically, the film holds together well. The editing by Sooraj ES keeps things moving at a decent pace, Alby Antony’s visuals are vibrant, and Bibin Ashok’s music, along with Sankar Sharma’s background score, support both the humour and the horror. Prakambanam is not as consistently funny as Romancham or Adi Kapyare Koottamani. But once it settles into its possessed madness, it becomes an engaging watch.

Prakambanam, from director Vijesh Panathur, is an extremely simplistic horror comedy that manages to convert even the most generic scene into something that will make you laugh out loud. By creating multiple tracks and juggling them in the final act, Vijesh and writer Sreehari manage to create the much-needed chaos and fun resolution towards the end of the movie. If you have enjoyed Romancham, I would say this one won’t really disappoint you in giving that popcorn fun. With the performances of Ganapathy and Ameen helping the movie enormously in the final bits, Prakambanam is a harmless horror comedy that succeeds in keeping you entertained.

Bibin Ashok’s songs suit the youthful hostel setting, while Shankar Sharma’s background score wisely avoids excess, heightening tension only when necessary. Ajith Achuthan’s art direction adds texture to the campus spaces. Predictable turns aside, ‘Prakambanam’ remains an easy watch. It is a film that understands its audience and plays to its strengths, even if it stops short of fully reinventing the genre.

In fact, there are several scenes and situations in Prakambanam where it comes across as yet another savarna project that slyly trashes progressive ideologies, particularly Leftism, while presenting Brahmanism, and by extension Hindutva, as the ultimate, all-encompassing truth. For instance, there’s a scene in the movie where Siddharth is gearing up to deliver an election speech. Since he and members of his party are widely regarded as loafers and troublemakers, there’s already significant animosity towards them. As he gets on stage with his prepared speech that contains too many complex terms — a running joke against Leftists since the Sandesham (1991) era — others start booing him. Meanwhile, the “grandma mode” is activated in Punyalan, and s/he delivers a speech instead, invoking verses from the Bhagavad Gita, which entice everyone. In fact, the movie portrays Siddharth winning the elections solely because of this speech, without doing anything else.