Joining this list is director Sreeraj Sreenivasan’s film, Pravinkoodu Shappu (Pravinkoodu toddy shop), starring Basil Joseph, Soubin Shahir and Chandini Sreedharan. Set in Thrissur, the movie revolves around a small toddy shop and a murder that occurs there.

What’s it about?

One night, as rain beats down relentlessly, a group of men, including the wealthy and goonish toddy shop owner ‘Komban’ Babu and the toddy shop worker Kannan (Soubin Shahir), sit inside the toddy shop busy playing cards once the regular customers go home. Suddenly, one of the men finds Babu hanging from the ceiling and mayhem ensues. Former military man Sunil takes charge of the situation in the shop. As they wait for the police to arrive, the group of men start discussing what could have happened to Babu.

They ascertain that it’s murder. Sunil announces that one of them could be the culprit and prevents anyone from leaving the shop. Police inspector Santhosh (Basil Jodeph) lands up at the toddy shop with his team and it’s now up to him to investigate and find the murderer in 10 days. What happens next and who is responsible for the murder of Sunil forms the rest of the story.

The director uses the first half of the film to narrate the backstories of some of the main characters like Babu, real estate agent Sunil and worker Kannan using Santhosh and his investigative technique as the catalyst. As Santhosh questions each of the men present on that night, the audience discovers that Babu was a thug and his unpopularity in the village was based on numerous incidents. Sreeraj Sreenivasan gives us insight into not only each of the men in the toddy shop, but also into Kannan’s wife, Merinda (Chandini Sreedharan) and eccentric Santhosh as well, who seems to have a troubled past.

Should you watch it?

The first half of the movie proceeds really slowly and does test your patience, but the scenes are made more engaging by the antics of the characters and their witty remarks and dark humour. If you think it’s going to be a straightforward murder mystery, the director, using a non-linear approach, suddenly throws a curveball as the second half proceeds. As Basil Joseph digs deeper into this murder, there are more red herrings and the climax ends up being convoluted, thanks to the loose threads and many subplots (for instance, the stories of some characters were unnecessary and didn’t add too much value; and the suspicious behaviour of some of them to throw us off track). Thus, the climax felt a little underwhelming.

Director Sreeraj Sreenivasan, who has also written the story, has tried to give us a dark comic murder mystery in which every character infuses humour into the story through dialogues and/or their behaviour. However, the story itself and how it is narrated is a tad flawed, which at times is quite frustrating. The whodunnit is held together and engages you, thanks largely to the talented Basil Joseph who, with his sharp dialogue delivery and innocent yet comical expressions, elicits laughs as well as appreciation. He effortlessly carries the film on his shoulders. Soubin Shahir and Chandini Sreedharan are great value additions with their performances.

On the whole, Pravinkoodu Shappu has good performances and is a decent watch, but for a whodunit, just lacks the big punch one expects.

AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is an adventure movie for families. While growing up in the Amazon Rainforest, Autumn befriends an orphaned black jaguar. After her mother dies tragically, she and her bereaved dad move to New York City. Eight years later, Autumn discovers her jaguar and the entire Amazon Rainforest are in danger due to deforestation and animal trafficking. Autumn runs away to the Amazon to help. However, her quirky, anxiety-ridden science teacher insists on tagging along.

AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is a cute movie about a girl and a lovable jaguar. The movie is full of stunning scenery. However, it pushes a chronic fear of environmental doom. The story would be stronger without all the preachy dialogue. Also, the title character is sorry at the end for her behavior, but she’s rebellious, rude, disrespectful, and disobedient. That said, the negative content in AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is mitigated by an appreciation for God’s Creation. The movie also extols kindness, friendship, love, family, and bravery. The movie has plenty of peril, though, plus four light obscenities and one light profanity.

(Pa, RoRo, PCPC, EE, BB, C, L, V, A, DD, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Mixed pagan worldview with strong Romantic, politically correct elements that highlight impending climate doom, but mitigated by appreciation for God’s Creation where movie also promotes kindness, compassion, friendship, love, family, and bravery, plus a wooden Cross has been placed at a mother’s grave;

Foul Language:

Four light “h” obscenities and one OMG profanity;

Violence:

Continuous peril throughout, main characters are chased and shot at by poachers in a few scenes, and girls and a jaguar are kidnapped under the threat of death;

Sex:

No sex;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

A character chugs a few glasses of champagne on a plane;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No tobacco use or illicit drugs, but an adult teacher habitually pops “herbal” supplements in pill form whenever she’s anxious, so it’s weird drug use; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Greed and poaching, but rebuked, plus villains kidnap people and an animal and the young title character, though sorry at the end, is rebellious, rude, disrespectful, and disobedient.

AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is an action adventure movie for families about a girl named Autumn who befriends an adorable black jaguar while growing up in the Amazon Rainforest. After her mother dies tragically, she and her bereaved dad go to live in New York City. Eight years later, however, she discovers her jaguar and the entire Amazon Rainforest are in danger due to deforestation and animal trafficking. Autumn runs away to the Amazon to help, but her quirky, anxiety-ridden science teacher insists on tagging along.

AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is emotional and sweet, but it is a bit heavy on politically correct climate crisis ideology. There is plenty of peril and some violence, along with a few light profanities. Caution is recommended for children.

After moving to New York, Autumn has dreams of her childhood in the Amazon Rainforest, where she befriended a black jaguar whom she named Hope. Hope’s mother was killed by a poacher. Autumn took the adorable cub into her care.

However, when Autumn’s mother is killed by poachers, Autumn’s father, Saul, decided the rainforest has become too dangerous and moves the two to New York City. Autumn is a rebellious 14-year-old climate activist who hates science class. She’s once again expelled from school, this time because she called the ASPCA when the science class requires the dissection of frogs.

Her father, at his wits end, plans to send Autumn to stay with her grandmother. Meanwhile, Autumn finds letters addressed to her father from an old native friend in the Amazon named Ore. In the letters, Ore pleads for help because of the increasing dangers of deforestation and animal trafficking. He informs Saul there’s only one remaining black jaguar in the region.

Instead of going to her grandmother’s house, Autumn sets out for the Amazon to save the last jaguar, who she believes is her long-lost cuddly friend Hope. Autumn convinces her grandma to help deceive her dad on her whereabouts. Things seem to go as planned until Autumn realizes her dreaded science teacher, Anja, has followed her onto the airplane in order to bring her back home. Anja is an anxiety-riddled agoraphobic whose only friend is a handicapped hedgehog. When Autumn refuses to return home, a comedic adventure ensues as Anja follows her unruly student into the rainforest.

Autumn is reunited with her childhood community of native tribal friends. Ore insists that Autumn return home immediately. However, when Autumn finds the last jaguar, her beloved Hope, she fights to stay and save her no matter what it costs.

AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR is a tender story about a girl’s love for a jaguar, with plenty of jeopardy and peril. The jaguar is absolutely lovable. The movie is also full of stunning, picturesque scenery that’s home to many wondrous landscapes and creatures. It would be impossible for any well-intentioned person to not want to protect all of it from greedy corporations and poachers. There are some wonderful messages about protecting beautiful creatures and environments, along with the importance of caring, cooperation and good communication to fight destructive greed. Another powerful message given is the importance of possessing the courage to do the right thing and fighting for our ideals. The movie also extols kindness, compassion and friendship.

Still, the movie has some issues. The main character, though sorry at the end, is rebellious, rude, disrespectful, and disobedient. There are little to no consequences for her actions. AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR also has four light obscenities and one light profanity. What’s more, the movie pedals environmentalist fearmongering among children. The narrative is a bit heavy on pushing a chronic, politically correct fear of environmental doom. The main character tells her teacher, “People need to know what’s going on here, and they will know because you are teaching their children.”

Perhaps it’s better to leave adult problems to the adults. A high percentage of young children, teenagers and young adults are experiencing eco-anxiety these days. This can cause depression, guilt, anger, grief, trouble concentrating, and panic attacks. Teaching children how to safely care for the environment, as well educating them about the many improvements the modern world, including capitalism, has made to protect the environment, seems like a better way to encourage positivity, growth and good mental health. A great website for helping families become proper stewards of God’s Creation is Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation at https://cornwallalliance.org/.

Basil Joseph in a still from ‘Pravinkoodu Shappu’

One well-crafted sequence can sometimes make a film worthwhile, even when the film in its totality hits a notch below where it could have. These sequences tell us of the possibilities that a filmmaker holds, and serve as a showreel of someone whose work is worth looking forward to. Such sequences are galore in debutant Sreeraj Sreenivasan’s Pravinkoodu Shappu, partly thanks to cinematographer Shyju Khalid, who has shot some of the major Malayalam films of the past decade.

To list out a few, there is a school bus chase sequence that sends chills down your spine due to its clever staging; there are thoughtfully lit night scenes inside a toddy shop, and one by a pond where a murder is taking place under the dim, reddish tail lamps of a vehicle; or like that of a masked man attacking a house at night, seen from the point of view of the woman facing it; or even the opening sequence which juxtaposes a classic nostalgic song with a shocking visual.

However, the deftness in the handling of these scenes is not visible uniformly in the film, which brings together the potent mix of an investigative thriller and a black comedy. At the core of it is a typical Agatha Christie-esque situation, with a death at a particular location and a handful of suspects. But instead of elite mansions or luxury trains, here the location happens to be a toddy shop, frequented by the regulars from the village, with quite a few among them having a shady record in the past. When the toddy shop owner is found dead, fingers point to all of them.

Police officer Santosh (Basil Joseph) derives much pride from solving crimes using intelligence than violence. It is Santosh who brings the humour in this film, and with his easy shifts from goofiness to sharpness, Basil’s performance is one of the elements that hold the film together. The past lives of the dead man and the suspects unravel as the investigation progresses. But, some of the characterisation and situations are intentionally sketchy, probably to retain the mystery till the end.

A certain ingenuity marks the way the murder is executed, you do feel mildly satisfied with the roundabout manner of arriving at that point. It just does its job, without knocking you off your seats, which the truly exceptional ones achieve. With a lot of back and forth shifts in the non-linear narrative, the editing is on point for most parts, but some scenes feel too long-winded and even superfluous, considering the information we already know. At the same time, there are instances of insufficient or unconvincing information too, as regards the motive.

Despite its intriguing setting and liberal doses of black humour, Pravinkoodu Shappu ends up underutilising its potential.

Pravinkoodu Shappu is currently running in theatres