“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
– The Alchemist.
Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho is all about celebrating the aforementioned quote from renowned Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.
To weave in that quote into a reel life story, we need a child prodigy in Ayyappa Das and a small-town Good Samaritan in Kochavva.
Through the intertwined lives of many people in Ayyappa Das' native village – a sleepy hamlet somewhere in the hilly district of Idukki – the reel narrative of this Onam release treads through the familiar terrain of the much experimented 'feel good' genre of movies.
Nothing wrong in it, but it ain't an easy task to experiment with such a plot, especially when we have to unravel the destiny of a child protagonist and through the narrative of our hero's life trajectory.
Perhaps that is why we need a Good Samaritan like Kochavva. And aptly, that onerous task of donning the role has been taken up by the producer Kunchacko Bobban himself, under the banner of one of Malayalam's greatest production houses – Udaya Pictures.
Ayyappa Das' biggest childhood fixation is the 'aeroplane' and there are a host of reasons for it, we are told.
Though we may not dig deep into it, the most probable trigger for this fixation would be his dad, who has bought many toys for him when he comes home for vacation from his work place in the Gulf.
All of Ayappa Das' toys are aircraft models, but that may not necessarily satiate his overwhelming desire to travel in a plane. Fair enough.
That plan falls apart twice by quirk of fate – and in the second instance takes the life of his beloved dad too. This, as we can anticipate, plunges the innocent mind into the depths of despair, which he thought only he could understand.
That is not the case.
As Paulo Coelho would vouch for through the quote in 'The Alchemist', our Good Samaritan, who cannot stand tears, realizes the depth of the young boy's ambition and the nature of its seriousness.
Accompanied by a series of tiny twists and oft-predictable travails, our friendly neighborhood Paulo and Coehlo embarks on a trip to fulfill destiny's call.
The 75th movie of Kunchacko Bobban, conceptualized and captured on reel by Sidhartha Siva, lags a bit in the first half, but gathers momentum, albeit through a slight overdose of sentiments after the break.
But then, isn't it the ways of life that you are sometimes required to swim through the murky waters laced with tears, like our protagonist Ayyappa Das, to figure out some simple joys of life? There is a gracious charm in chasing some priceless feelings.
Actor Sudheesh's son Rudraksh, who plays the protagonist, not only has a lineage but also revels in his debut movie. And perhaps immensely talented actors like Suraj Venjaramoodu shouldn't be wasted to portray a pedestrian character.
A little more effort to sharpen or tighten the script would have infused much more vigor to Udaya's 67th venture, which is happening after a hiatus of almost three decades.
But no harm at all in relishing some feel-good reel fixations like KPAC during Onam.
Onmanorama Rating: 3/5
