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Ittymaani

Story: Ittichan (Mohanlal) is known for this thriftiness and gets in trouble everytime he tries to do some good. Even his magnanimity ends up earning him more bad name.

Review: Ittymani was born in China, yet brought up in Kunnankulam, Thrissur. And, 'Ittymani : Made in China' is his story. Debutante director duo Jibi and Joju have more than two decades of experience in Malayalam cinema to boost of associates and assistant directors. So the expectations from their debut would be high given that they've roped in an impressive star cast, including Mohanlal, KPAC Lalitha, Siddique, Raadhika, Aju Varghese, etc.

Ittychan, aka Ittymani, quite like the eponymous Pranchiyettan, is a wealthy, yet thrifty businessman who wants to create a good name and image for himself among his peers. But everything Ittychan puts himself upto ends up creating more trouble for him. And his Chinese roots (he was born and raised till age 10 in China) earn him the title of 'made in China' which is also used to taunt his credentials as a "duplicate". How he gets in and out of each crisis makes the crux of the film.

Ittychan's love-hate relationship with his mother (KPAC Lalitha) makes for much entertainment, even as they share their love for China and the time they spent there and even converse in Chinese. Ittichan's bachelor status also leads to some humour. But largely the humour that depends on wit-wordplay and sexual innuendos falls flat or, at times,evokes a laugh as a knee-jerk reaction. Aju Varghese and Hareesh Kanaran, the quintessential comedy factories are mere ornaments. 

But speaking of ornamental casting, Honey Rose's character is the true decoration on the script. Her character Jessy has the least consequence in the story that even if her portions are dissected, it wouldn't really affect the movie. The distasteful puns mostly irk than amuse. Even the references from iconic Mohanlal movies like 'Thoovanathumbikal' et al are a disservice to the man and his fans from they way they have been conceived. The story is forceful in trying to be feel-good. It plays out like a stretched out comedy sketch done in poor taste. When you try to aim at highlighting the abandonment of an elderly woman by her children, having her refereed to as a "second-hand ambassador" with "good mileage and pick-up" is absolutely repugnant. And in true "masterpiece-style" trying to polish over it by making the protagonist make a sweeping speech about "respecting elders" in the climax doesn't help. By just preaching to respect elders while not walking the talk isn't helping anyone. The forced goodness in the story sticks out like a sore thumb making the lengthy run time of the movie hard to keep up with.

The songs in 'Ittymani: Made in China' are a respite to the otherwise stretched out crass-fest. And Mohanlal, inspite of looking plastic, is the star he is for a reason. Mohanlal is Mohanlal, and nothing and nobody can take that away from him. His combinations with KPAC Lalitha and Siddique are the only things that make the 2 hour 30 plus hour movie worth anything.

'Ittymani :Made in China' is a weak story and a weaker script that even the Mohanlal cannot save. It's a poorly made amalgamation of every stereotype in the book, that neither Mohanlal, nor his fans deserved. So catch it at your own risk.

പടര്ന്നു  പന്തലിച്ച് 'ഇട്ടിമാണി' രസങ്ങള്‍

ഇറങ്ങും മുമ്പും ശേഷവും കോടികിലുക്കം കൊണ്ട് ശ്രദ്ധ നേടിയ 'ലൂസിഫർ' എന്ന മെഗാഹിറ്റിന്റെം റിലീസിന് ശേഷം ആറുമാസം കഴിഞ്ഞ് വീണ്ടും മോഹൻലാല്‍. പക്ഷേ മറ്റ് മോഹൻലാൽ ചിത്രങ്ങള്ക്ക്ഷ ഉള്ളത്ര പ്രൊമോഷനോ തള്ളുകളോ അധികം കേള്ക്കാഹതിരുന്നതിനാൽ തന്നെ അമിതപ്രതീക്ഷയില്ലാതെയാണ് ചിത്രം കാണാൻ കയറിയത്. സിദ്ധിഖ്-ലാല്‍, റാഫി-മെക്കാര്ട്ടി ന്‍, അനില്‍-ബാബു തുടങ്ങിയ പ്രഗത്ഭരായ ഇരട്ടസംവിധായകര്ക്ക്ഖ ശേഷം നവാഗതരായ ജിബി-ജോജു എന്ന സംവിധായകരുടെ അരങ്ങേറ്റ ചിത്രം. 'മാസ്സാണ്...മനസ്സുമാണ്' എന്നുള്ള ടാഗ് ലൈനുമായിട്ടെത്തിയ പോസ്റ്ററുകള്‍. അത്ര മികച്ചൊരു ട്രെയിലറുമായിരുന്നില്ല ചിത്രത്തിന്റേ്തായി ഇറങ്ങിയിരുന്നതും. പക്ഷേ തിയറ്ററുകളിൽ പടര്ന്നു പന്തലിച്ചിരിക്കുകയാണ് മാണിക്കുന്നേൽ ഇട്ടിമാണി. ചൈനയില്‍ ജനിച്ച് കുന്നംകുളത്ത് ജീവിക്കുന്ന ഇട്ടിമാണിയുടെ കഥ പറയുന്ന 'ഇട്ടിമാണി മെയ്ഡ് ഇന്‍ ചൈന' എന്ന ചിത്രം ഈ ഓണക്കാലത്തെ ഇട്ടിമാണിയോണമാക്കുമെന്നുറപ്പ്.

ഫ്രഷ് ആൻഡ് ചില്‍‍ഡ് ലാല്‍ ഷോ

'തൂവാനത്തുമ്പികൾ' സ്റ്റൈലിൽ "നമുക്കൊരു ബിയറങ്ങട് കാച്ചിയാലോ? ചില്ഡ്ന...' എന്നതിന് സാമ്യമായൊരു ഡയലോഗ് സിനിമയിലൊരു ഘട്ടത്തിൽ ഇട്ടിമാണി എന്ന പ്രധാനകഥാപാത്രത്തെ അവതരിപ്പിച്ച മോഹൻലാൽ പറയുന്നുണ്ട്. തിയറ്ററുകളിൽ രസിച്ചിരുന്ന് ഫ്രഷ് ആൻഡ് ചിൽഡ് ആയി കണ്ടിരിക്കാനുള്ള വകയെല്ലാമുള്ളൊരു ടോട്ടൽ കോമഡി എന്റഷര്ടെ്യ്നറാണ് ചിത്രം.

Also Read: ഇതാ ഇട്ടിച്ചനും ഇട്ടിച്ചന്റെ  ചൈനീസ് അപ്പനും


കുറെ കുട്ടിക്കളികളും കുസൃതിതരങ്ങളുമൊക്കെയുള്ള 'പഴയ മോഹൻലാൽ' തിരിച്ചുവന്നിരിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രമെന്ന് പറയാം. സ്വന്തം അമ്മയുടെ ഓപ്പറേഷന് പോലും കമ്മീഷൻ വാങ്ങുന്ന, വേണ്ടി വന്നാൽ അമ്മയുടെ കിഡ്നി വരെ വിറ്റ് കാശാക്കാൻ പോന്ന തൃശൂർക്കാരൻ ഇട്ടിമാണിയായാണ് ചിത്രത്തിൽ. ഇട്ടിമാണിയുടെ അപ്പൂപ്പൻ പണ്ട് ചൈനക്കാരുടെ കൂടെ പോയതാണ്. ഇട്ടിമാണിയുടെ അപ്പൻ ഇട്ടിമാത്തന്റെൻ ജീവിതം അതിനാൽ അവിടെയായിരുന്നു ഇട്ടിമാണി ജനിച്ചതും അതിനാൽ ചൈനയിലാണ്. പിന്നീട് ഇവർ കുടുബത്തോടെ കുന്നംകുളത്തേക്കെത്തിയവരാണ്. മോഹൻലാൽ തന്നെയാണ് അപ്പനും മകനുമായി അഭിനയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്.

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