Kuttanad is a region in Alappuzha, below sea-level, known for the scenic beauty of its backwaters and rice fields. The movie Kuttanadan Marpappa is an outright comedy having Kunchacko Boban, Dharmajan, Shanthi Krishna and Aditi Ravi in the lead roles.
Written and directed by Sreejith Vijayan, the cinematographer of Salim Kumar directorial 'Karutha Joothan: Black Jew', the movie tells the story of John Paul (Kunchacko), a young wedding photographer. His friend Motta (Dharmajan) is a die-hard Dhanush fan and is dressed like the actor's character from 'Maari'. John Paul's adventures while trying to impress his love interest Jessy (Aditi Ravi) constitute the plot of the movie.
Kuttanadan Marpappa’s screenplay has been treated as an end-to-end comedy with Dharmajan in command of most of the comic sequences. Hareesh Kanaran, Tini Tom, Innocent and Salim Kumar appear from time to time, but the depreciation in the richness in the humour they handle has affected the effectiveness of the film. However, Soubin Shahir's cameo has enough mettle to fill theaters with laughter.
Kunchacko Boban is one of the finest actors in Malayalam, who has the calibre to play strong and intense characters, and also simple and light characters. Kuttanadan Marpappa showcases him in his light avatar. Playing the female lead, Aditi Ravi does a neat role while Shanthi Krishna pulls off the role of the hero's mother with ease. Appearing in a pivotal role, Ramesh Pisharody dons his to perfection.
Even if short of brilliance, cinematography by Arvind Krishna passes muster while tunes by Rahul Raj are sans any of his signature excellence.