Actor Joju George, director and lead actor of the movie Pani, allegedly called and threatened a student who criticized the film. The reviewer, Adarsh H.S., shared an audio recording on social media, in which Joju reportedly told him to meet face-to-face if he had the courage, in response to his criticism of the film.
Adarsh’s note
“Rape is a topic that must be handled with great sensitivity. When portraying it in a film, it should be depicted with even greater care. However, in Pani, directed by Joju George, the rape scene is dealt with in an immature way that objectifies the female character.
How should rape be depicted? It should be presented in a way that conveys the severity of the crime to the viewer. The viewer’s empathy should be directed towards the victim. In *Pani*, however, it’s done in a way that reminds one of old B-grade films. Movies like *The Rapist* provide a better reference for how to depict such scenes responsibly.
As for the film itself, there is a clear lack of direction between adopting a traditional mass-movie approach, similar to Shaji Kailas’ style, or a more raw, realistic approach like Lijo Jose Pellissery’s in *Angamaly Diaries*. In the end, the movie lands somewhere between the two, lacking coherence. Another issue is the artificial storytelling style that persists from beginning to end, as well as issues with the film’s overall quality.
The film is set in Thrissur, with exaggerated efforts to make this clear from the outset. In some scenes, there’s even an attempt to mimic the style of Mammootty’s film *Black*. The only truly engaging characters are the villains played by Sagar and Junaiz. However, halfway through the film, these characters’ attitude is ruined by the over-the-top actions of Seema and others.
Throughout the film, Joju is constantly driving a car back and forth, and while it sometimes seems like he’s on the verge of a breakdown, his role as an ambulance driver just involves transporting injured people to the hospital. His acting style is reminiscent of older films. The only relief comes from the villains periodically killing those around Joju’s character, relieving the tension.
This movie should be shown to the All-Kerala Pensioners’ Goonda Association with free tickets so they can reflect on how tedious their jobs once were and live out the rest of their days in regret.”
