It is indeed a commendable effort on the part of renowned malayalam scriptwriter Ranjith's 'Capitol Cinemas' to come up with such a nice movie to salvage the falling reputation of malayalam cinema in the recent times. An intresting trivia about Kayyoppu (signature) is that many of those who are the part of this movie like Khushboo, Vidyasagar and others had worked without remuneration but just a token of their respect towards the malayalam cinema which once was so high in quality and literature content. In a way the circumstances 'Kayyoppu' was made surprisingly resembles the plot of the movie. 'Kayyoppu' is about an immensely talented upcoming writer Balachandran (Mamooty), who suffers from creative block so having his best work unfinished. To motivate him, his publisher friend Sivadasan (Mukesh) gets him in touch with his old flame Padma (Khushboo) and with Fathima (Nilamboor Ayisha), a fan who hadn't met him still again is suffering from ailment.
The beauty of 'Kayyoppu' is its script by Ambikasudhan Mangad / Ranjith which is quite crisp and consice (90 minutes running time) that manages to take a peek into the world of Balachandran. Mamooty deftly brings out the introvert nature of Balachandran, who lives in his own world without taking the aura around him seriously and his treasure is the rare collection of books. The movie has beautifully established characters representing all the strata - lodge caretaker Babu (Jaffer) representing the mundane world for whom literature is a boring stuff, waste of time, publisher Sivadasan (Mukesh) who bears the brunt for supporting modern literature, a lonely Padma (Khushboo) who wants to see Balachandran reaching the heights. Nilambur Ayisha walks with your sympathy as the kid who has a tremendous respect for Balachandran. All these characters give impetus to Balachandran in finishing his work and proceed to Kozhikode for an informal press conference.
When you start believing that things are going to have a fine ending, there comes a jolting climax that leaves the audience speechless and even a sleepless night. The scenes Balachandran talk for Babu on the Polic Station and the simultaneous happenings in the hospital makes a deep impact among the viewers. Infact those scenes leave the indelible signature of the Balachandran. Only negative point in the movie I can say is that it turns bit melodramatic towards the end but keeps you glued to seat looking forward of what happens the next.
The script & dialogues by Ranjith / Ambikasudhan Mangad are quite natural & poetic especially the scenes involving Balachandran and Padma with the novelty factor is that there is no physical interaction with them but only though mobile phone. The last interrogation scene is a slap in the face of the society. The cinematography by Manoj Pillai and editing by Bina Paul are fine. Vidyasagar contributes to this movie through an effective background score and uses the immortal Ghazal 'Jalte Hain Jiske Liye.." through the voice of Manjari.
If in one word - 'Kayyoppu' is simply moving, anybody with a taste for life / arts can understand it.
