Suddenly out of the blue, Ranjit has taken all of us by surprise, by making Kaiyoppu (Signature). He has taken a U-turn and comes out with a realistic story of a failed writer brilliantly portrayed by Mammootty. It is indeed a gutsy film with a moral frame work and a strong underlying political statement.

Kaiyoppu is about the life and times of an intellectual man Balachandran (Mammootty) an avid reader and a creative writer on the fringe of greatness. The 40 plus writer like the so called buddhi jeevikal (intellectual giants) who roamed the Kerala campuses in late 70’s and early 80’s is not practical in real life. You can’t call him a spent force as he is now writing his masterpiece but is suffering from writers block.

Right away you are drawn into the life of Balachandran. He believes in universal love cutting across religion, caste and social status. The man believes in goodness of a person and tries to make the world a better place for others. To a certain extent it is a voyage of discovery for him as he sees a poor Muslim girl suffering from a rare brain disease, police brutality and all around people not caring for others feeling!

Greatness is thrust upon him when a noted literary figure (Nedumudi Venu) raves about his unfinished novel and says that he will be a path breaker in Malayalam literature. This attracts Sivadasan (Mukesh) a Kozhikode based small time publisher who feels that if he gets the publishing rights to the book, his financial worries will be over. Sivadasan motivates Balachandran and from out of the blue his campus love Padma (Kushboo) surfaces.

Padma coming out of a broken marriage, through her mobile call rejuvenates her first love more through intellectual ego massage than romance. Balachandran finds he has a lot in common with her including her love for abstract international writers. In a way Sivadasan fuels the romance and finally Balachandran is able to complete his masterpiece.

Balachandran resigns his job at a fertilizers factory and decides to attend the press meet to be held in Kozhikode by Sivadasan announcing his new book, he has sold a part of his property to meet the expense of the Muslim girl who is waiting to be operated at the hospital. And there is Padma waiting for him in her Kozhikode house to start a new journey together.

But fate and God like Balachandran always says is cruel! His life and the film take a new turn. Mamootty inhabits Balachandran with ease. No other actor could have done the role without hamming it up. Here is an actor who keeps growing with each film. Mukesh is apt foil for Mammoottty and pitches in a perfect performance. Kushboo is superb as Padma and is able to bring out their camaraderie and soft matured romance alive just by her talk over the mobile phone. Among others Jaffer who comes as the room boy cum manager of the lodge where Balachandran lives is very good and provides some funny moments.

There are no songs in the film except for the classic Talat Mehmood Number Jalte Hain Jiske Liye… (Sujatha) rendered by Gayathri and that too without any instrumentation, as Padma sings it over her mobile to evoke nostalgia about the campus life.

Though the film is only 100 minutes, it drags a bit. Maybe Ranjit’s story telling required a leisurely pace and the sudden twist in the climax is all excusable flaws. In sum Kaiyoppu makes recommended viewing.

Verdict: Very Good