Sakhavu is Nivin Pauly's first release in 2017 directed by Sidhartha Siva and produced by B Rakesh under the banner Universal Cinema. The term 'Sakhavu' means Comrade and in this film, Nivin Pauly is seen playing the roles of a yesteryear revolutionary leader named Krishnan and a leftist student leader Krishna Kumar. While Krishna Kumar is a vivacious young man who tries to convert every situation to fuel his political career, Krishnan is a true communist who helps the poor and the needy.

The plot of the movie revolves around Sakhavu Krishnan whose influence transforms Krishna Kumar from a young leader who always looked for shortcuts to become a successful politician, into a focused and warm-hearted comrade. A large number of movies based on leftist ideology in the Malayalam film industry compared to other languages show the strong foothold communism has in Kerala.

At an edited length of almost 2 hours and 45 minutes, Sakhavu keeps the viewers glued to their seats in the first half with the well-handled comic numbers by Nivin Pauly and Althaf. Even though the theme has nothing new to offer, the movie like its predecessors, uphold the merits of Communism. The screenplay succeeds in inducing the comic effect involving the main characters to create ludicrous circumstances but falls short when it comes to instilling the fire of revolution and revolutionary ideas. If the screenplay had taken a road less traveled and had more remarkable circumstances and dialogues soaked in the fire of communism, it would've have had an enhanced impact on the viewer. But still, it provides a good experience and sheds light on the changing attitude in politics of the new era.

Nivin Pauly scores with his performance as Sakhavu Krishnan and Krishna Kumar. The actor plays the dubious student leader Krishna Kumar to perfection and pulls off the old Sakhavu Krishnan with grandeur. But he lacks a profound and intrinsic fire or the x-factor while playing the young Sakhavu Krishnan. The film has a number of talented names in supporting roles and each one of them remain etched in audience's memory, especially Sreenivasan, Aishwarya Rajesh, Althaf, Binu Pappu and Aparna Gopinath.

George C Williams's cinematography is decent and Prasanth Pillai's music help create the punch at the right places.

Things to look out for, if you want to love the film
The super cool chemistry between Nivin Pauly and Althaf
Comedy in the first half
The cogent ideologies of Communism

Things to turn a blind eye to, if you want to love the film
Lag in the script
Engagement issues