David Hume in one of his works states that 'the corruption of the best things produces the worst, has grown into a maxim and is commonly proved among other instances, by the pernicious effects of superstition and corruptions of true religion. 'Prabhuvinte Makkal' is coming for the debutante director Sajeeevan Anthikkad. With a bunch of freshers in its cast, the movie is a daring attempt as far as its content is concerned. But an execution with a little more care and finesse could have made this progeny of a rare genre, a popular movie within the masses.
The opening frames of the movie are set in the 1980's, the days of campus activism, where our heroes Mani and Siddharthan are studying in a college. While Siddhu(Vinay Fort) is the only son of the affluent, rich man Deyanandha Prabhu(Madhu), Mani(Jijoy) is his adopted son who was beckoned to his caring soon after the later's father was killed in a police lockup. Siddhu, basically a bookworm comes out of the college with a first rank but runs away form his assured job as a lecturer to the holy land of Himalayas and Ganges, looking for a right guru to teach him the 'Ashtanga Sidhhy'- the extra sensory activities listed in the Vedas. Siddhu after much wandering comes back only after 11 years to find his brother Mani turning a full time atheist and his father, ending up as the follower of one Haripanchanana Babu(Prakash Bare), for whom he has even offered a sixty acres to set up a super speciality hospital.
Siddhu, with his experience with the holy men, now decides to wage a war against growing superstitions and increasing cult of holy men, superstitious nonsense and hocus pocus. The rest of the reels go on to tell how the son of Prabhu manages to accomplish success in their efforts to spread the spirit of science and to help people out of their illogical beliefs.
'Prabhuvinte Makkal' has a contemporary theme, that is dealt with all its intensity by its scriptwriter - director Sajeeevan Anthikkad. This first of its kind 'Mollywood atheist cinema' talks in tons about mounting superstitions and erroneous misguided rituals. The dialogues are loaded with sarcasm and mockery of towering popularity of human gods. Giving apt definitions to their theories and calling for social upheaval against these practises, the movie is a need of the hour. The 'period frames' are also taken well care of by the debutante director.
But apart from the theme, the movie lacks much as an entertainer. The making is crude at points with a lot of preachy sermons, littered all through. With its list of ordinary and some poorly made sequences the direction is inconsistent. The initial landing with the 'socialism ' song appear contrived and till the end of the first half an hour the proceedings appear bumpy. The script also leaves pretty much loopholes to attend to. The reason for a religious Siddhu to turn an atheist is seldom explained anywhere. And the relatively fresher heroes will also affect the reach and BO collections of the movie.
But the actors have given well knit performances. Vinay Fort and Jijoy has their best roles till date and they try to give the maximum. A bunch of fresh names, like Mani Iringalakkuda and Aniyappan are here to stay while seasoned actors like Kalabhavan Mani and Madhu lend him able support. Though the technical sides are average, the movie is sprinkled with some fine songs like 'Aa ravil' and 'Neeyo dhanya Gange' from debutante music directors Joy Cheruvathoor and Arackal Nandhakumar.
The border between the natural and the supernatural, religion and philosophy may not always be clear. And it is where this 'Prabhuvinte Makkal' are trying to make definitions. Well in a society where majority of the practitioners are happy by conforming to the prejudices and unquestioning beliefs of a tightly knit group which approves of this behaviour, this kind of movies will find it difficult to make an impact. And as if asked in the movie, it is easy to pose questions. And for some answers, this movie may also become a help.
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