Kuttiyappanum Daivadhootharum Movie Review: A feel-good family fare

Story: In the span of an autorickshaw journey, driver Giri and his passenger Kuttiyappan share their respective stories to find how they are serendipitously joined to one another. Review: At a college function, director Lal Jose has been invited to release a novel written by Ammu. And since the chief guest, a minister, is yet to arrive, Lal Jose decides to read the novel titled Kuttiyappanum Daivadootharum. With him, we are taken right into the story. Written by Venkitesh Venki and Santhosh Raj, Kuttiyappanum Daivadootharum is Gokul Hariharan's directorial debut. The film graces the screens without any big names or stars so to speak. Nevertheless, the fare does not disappoint. Giri (Dhanil Kumar), a middle-class autorickshaw driver, and his passenger Kuttiyappan (Dr Rajkumar) share life experiences. Soon they find that, in their trials and tribulations, their lives are woven together serendipitously. Kuttiyappanum Daivadootharum is a feel-good movie that aggressively advocates for goodness of the heart and kindness in deed. The story tightly packs too much goodness into the script that one may feel heckled with the kindness and asphyxiated with niceties. However, although it may not be said about all the artistes, some of the performances by a few do manage to normalise the overall effect. Dr. Rajkumar and Dhanil Kumar, the main protagonists are natural performers who balance out the cloyingly sweet and nauseatingly kind narrative. The children, especially Anandrita Manu who plays Giri's daughter Thumbi, are straight out natural and adorable. The sequences between Giri and his daughter, played to perfection by Dhanil and Anandrita, are playful and adorable to say the very least. They have great chemistry and are also clearly natural performers. The movie packs in some good songs. Right from the teaser song by Aristo Suresh to the two in the movies, the songs are melodious in a 90s style of film music, yet appreciable. Ratheesh Thulaseedharan's lyrics also sit well with Adarsh P V's music. Vipin Raj gives us some well crafted and assimilated visuals. They are textbook aesthetic. Gokul Hariharan brings out the best in the film in spite of the obvious deficits in the story. His vision is what keeps the audience engaged in the story in spite of the lack of dimension from the goodness overdose and a lag in the middle. In this new year, if a shot of kindness and niceties is what you crave, give Kuttiyappanum Daivadootharum a chance. With family values, love and compassion at its heart it makes for an overdose in the value of kindness, goodness and everything nice.