Chemban Vinod Jose could not have written Angamaly Diaries, perhaps his ode to his native. Angamaly, known in Malayalam cinema till now for its “Prime Minister,” comes alive vividly on screen, as the milieu in which plays out the tales of survival of a bunch of people. It is essentially the diary of Vincent Pepe (Antony Varghese), who grows up idolizing the local goons and football players. He wants to build a gang of his own and have the town under his control. And, he and his friends slowly build one.
Lijo Jose Pellissery puts aside his famed fantasy glasses to give us a realistic tale here. Though the story and the narration through the different phases of the protagonist’s life can draw comparisons to last year’s Kammatipadam, but the similarities stop there. Here, there is an element of light heartedness amid all the bloody fights, unlike the sense of gloom in the latter.
As key to the narrative as food is Prashant Pillai’s music,
another Lijo staple. The background music, replete with bugles, horns and snare
drums gels with the ‘katta (hardcore) local’ flavor. Cinematographer Girish
Gangadharan lets himself go with the madness all around, culminating in a
glorious uncut manoeuvre set during a church festival.
Meanwhile Lijo’s biggest experimentation here is with the actors, with all 86 of them being newcomers and not one of them missing a beat, putting up natural performances. If not for anything else, the film will be remembered for contributing 86 new actors.
