Samasthakeralam P.O., it’s said in the beginning, is a story that connects with the whole of Kerala. The small village of Thonnoorkara is depicted as representing the whole of Kerala. And of course the film does speak of many issues that hold relevance in today’s context. The story takes off on an interesting note.

Prabhakaran (Jayaram), an idealist politician, follows Gandhian ideals and is always ready to react to issues that affect the society. And hence he makes enemies, in the ruling party as well as in the opposition in the village panchayath. And prominent among his enemies is Avarachan (Jagathy Sreekumar), the panchayath president. The whole film, in fact, revolves around Prabhakaran, Avarachan and people around them and their lives. It’s into this that the heroine of the story, Renjini (Sera), who’s Prabhakaran’s cousin, walks in. Things go on to a rather predictable kind of climax.

Technical Expertise
Samasthakeralam P.O. has all those ingredients that you expect to see in a typical Jayaram kind of film. Humour, songs and sentiments-everything is there. Jayaram is good as Prabhakaran but the debutant actress Sera is rather unimpressive. Jagathy Sreekumar is effective. The others in the cast fit into their respective roles. Of course, director Bipin has succeeded in creating the atmosphere of a village and has given life to many interesting characters too. But in the post-interval section, the story runs out of steam at some point. We are also confused as to what the film wants to convey ultimately. The songs have been filmed well. But there are flaws that come in, especially towards the last one hour, in the development of the plot and the treatment. The technical aspects are all okay. It’s just a so-so kind of Jayaram film, which you may see or if you are not that keen, even avoid.
Verdict
One star for Jayaram and for the usual Jayaram brand of ingredients.