Pathemari is as realistic as it can get.

Cast : Mammooty , Sreenivasan ,Joy Mathew , Siddique ,Jewel Mary.

Direction : Abdul Salim.

Plot : Pathemari tells the story of the gulf Malayalee whom many of us look at with awe and envy . Narayanan (Mamooty) moves to Dubai to save his family from poverty , to bring fortune to his siblings . Pathemari is the story of Narayanan that keeps shuffling between the gulf and his hometown.

My take : Pathemari stands for the dhow that used to transport people to the gulf in the 60’s .Many would make it to the shore and many would not , similarly , many make it big in the gulf and many struggle to make ends meet . Pathemari is realistic . Many of us know only about Yusuf Ali or Gulfar Mohd who made it big in the gulf , but the majority are still living on the edge . The average gulf mallu toils day in and out under the harsh desert sun so that his family in Kerala can live happily and luxuriously .Most of them spend years toiling there with the hope that they can settle down in life one day . But the reality is that , the one day, never comes . Pathemari is the story of Narayanan for whom that one day never comes . The movie keeps shuffling between Kerala and Dubai . The highlight of Pathemari is the story and screen play. Mammooty as Narayanan has done justice to the role ,I can’t think of anybody other than the megastar who could play Narayanan. I liked the change in his character as he played various age roles .The scene where his mouth waters when his wife elaborates the lavish dinner spread is one with a lot of irony .Sreenivasan is Moideen who also takes the dhow along with Narayanan and also is his friend who has been with him since childhood. He aptly puts it in words by saying , they have spent more time with each other , than with their respective wives .One scene I particularly liked is the one where young Moideen gets food from a Muslim family to feed Narayanan’s starving family .Sadly such harmony is not a common sight in our country nowadays . I liked Siddique as Launch Velayudhan ,who states that ,more than the gulf mallu , his family cares more for the Gulf money .Narayanan hardly lives life for himself, he is living and working hard to support his family. He works to get his sisters married , to get his brother settled , to build a house for himself in his homeland. His children hardly share a bond with him. All these harsh realities are indeed very sad .The scene in the end where a channel airs an interview with Narayanan is very touching . Pathemari focuses on the brutalities faced by those who do physical jobs in the Gulf , hence it is brutal lot many times . The movie is not a feel good movie,I came out of the theatre with a heavy heart , hence it may not appeal to many . I definitely recommend watching Pathemari .

My father himself is a gulf returnee whom I took for granted , as Mamooty puts it, he was a guest who used to visit us once in a while with handful of gifts . I am glad he settled down with us 15 years back, though I was not very happy about it . Love you Papa. 

  

Quotes that caught me :

Eppala vara

Ningade perentha , padachonde perinde koode cherkaana .

Goof up :

Younger Narayanan played by Rohith Menon has his mole on the left side , while Mammooty actually has it on the right .

Trivia :

Pathemari marks the debut of Jewel Mary.

Pathemari has been accused of plagiarism.

Remometer : 4/5