Review of Pramani

While making Pramani, writer-director B Unnikrishnan has applied the same recipe which he had used for his earlier hit, Madambi. The only difference is that in Madambi we had Pillay played by Mohanlal while this time, Unni has Mammootty playing Panicker!
True, there are some genuine aspects that have been highlighted in the story, like for instance, the Panchayathi Raj Act and so on. But the problem is that Unnikrishnan has only managed to come up with a half-baked script this time and as a result, Pramani turns out to be a meek affair which looks evidently outdated.
Just like most of the stories in Malayalam these days, Pramani also begins as the tale about a hero-with a grey shade, who turns over a new leaf after a while and end up as the most virtuous man in the whole universe!
Here, Viswanatha Panicker (Mammootty) is the president of Thazhe Keezhppadam grama panchayath in Kuttanad. He is corrupt, ruthless and is called Pramani because he is in possession of a number of land documents (or pramanam) that belongs to the poor and the hapless in his area. He has also been nicknamed 'America' for his tricky ways to play the big brother and thereby getting control over the issues where he gets involved.
Panicker's dealings are done through his cousin brother and confidant, Somasekharan (Siddique). Now, anyone who has watched at least a couple of movies in Malayalam can guess the storyline from now on. Sadly, there are no surprises left to excite you and Pramani moves along painfully predictable lines.
There are a few sub-plots involved, like the one involving panchayath secretary Janaki (Sneha), who is opposed to Panicker's corrupt ways and also the issue of a nearby panchayath, ruled by Castro Vareeth (Janardhanan). There is yet another sub-plot with Rosy teacher (Lakshmi), whom Panicker respects a lot, and her family.
With too many relatively small issues narrated simultaneously, the focus tends to drift away all too often. Well, it could also have been done intentionally, as there is no real story worth mentioning in the whole film. There seems to be a real confusion on whether to show Viswanatha Panicker as a villain or not, right from the beginning. Later on, the reasons for the transformation from his corrupt ways have also not been convincingly shown.
Mammootty has made his character look convincing with his style and genius, but this one is not a distinctly challenging role for an actor of his calibre. Siddique repeats his usual style and there are only limited roles to play for the rest of the cast which includes Prabhu, Lakshmi, Sneha and Suresh Krishna among others. Suraj Venjarammoodu's efforts to make the viewers laugh with his usual gimmickry fails to impress and falls flat. Among the technical aspects, Sham Dutt's camera is just fine and M Jayachandran's tunes are okay.
In all fairness, Pramani is watchable as a passé entertainer, if you are not looking forward to some nice experiments. It's an old-fashioned tale, being told in the formulaic or the clichéd style. Go for it, if such films suit your tastes!
Verdict: Average