Ponman: All about Basil's new Malayalam movie

Dubai: South Indian actor and director Basil Joseph is on a proverbial roll. After impressing us with thriller 'Sookshmadarshini', the versatile actor is back with another compelling film.

Entitled Ponman, Basil plays the lead role in this new Malayalam-language movie directed by Jotish Shankar.

The film, out in the UAE cinemas now, is based on GR Indugopan’s novel Nalanchu Cheruppakarar, and chronicles the travails of PP Ajesh, a jewellery specialist.

Set in Kollam, the story revolves around Bruno, a Leftist party member, his widowed mother, and his sister Steffi. When Steffi’s groom, Mariyano, demands 25 sovereigns of gold as dowry, the family turns to Ajesh, who provides the gold with the condition that it is repaid with wedding gift money. When the family falls short, Ajesh attempts to recover the missing gold from Mariyano.

Sajin Gopu plays Mariyano, while Lijomol Jose, Anand Manmadhan, and Deepak Parambol are also part of the cast.

The movie, which looks into dowry and its implications, opened to good reviews.

In an earlier interview with Gulf News, Basil spoke about how Malayalam cinema was going through a golden phase.

"If a film is good, people will take it as it is, irrespective of its scale or size. That’s the magic of good storytelling," he said.