‘Avaraachan and Sons’ movie review: Biju Menon makes this old-fashioned family entertainer watchable

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Aspirations to be a new-age family entertainer are evident in Avaraachan and Sons, especially in the soundtrack, which contains liberal doses of not-so-great rap lyrics. But at its heart and in its somewhat dated approach, the Thamby-directed film remains an old-fashioned feel-good film, which serves up exciting bits only once in a while.

Much of the film banks on Biju Menon’s lazy charm, which easily fits the protagonist Avaraachan, who doesn’t take life seriously, even as he expects a grandchild. A widower with two grown-up sons (Sreenath Bhasi and Ganapathy), he is unable to wean himself off the liquor bottle. Added to this is his propensity to get into trouble quite often. After one such episode, the family decides to pack him off from their coastal abode to the high ranges, where his sister resides.

Though what forces him away from home is a fight with the locality’s unruly elements, the film is more concerned with his evolving relationship with his sons. The portrayal of their relationship does not quite hit the potential that it had, yet it serves up a few worthy moments.

Despite the flat writing, which fails to lift the film, it still leaves you with a couple of memorable scenes where the performers elevate the thoughtfully written lines. In one of these scenes, Avaraachan and his sister’s (Pauly Valsan) discussion on his irresponsible behaviour takes an unexpected turn as she talks about how he was better off compared to their insufferable father. The writers top off that scene with the birth of a new baby in the family. Another scene involves a resident of a deaddiction centre and a cat.

Parts of his struggle with alcoholism are reminiscent of the film Paavada (2016). An age-gap romance is also hinted at, with a nod to Bethlehem Kudumba Unit early on in the film foreshadowing those turns of events. The film takes its own sweet time to get into the groove. While the arrival of Vinay Forrt’s character enlivens the narrative later on, it does not achieve any highs with its limited ambitions. Attempts at humour really don’t hit home always, with only the occasional one-liner eliciting laughter.

For Biju Menon, the role of the irresponsible father who has to be disciplined by his children rather than the other way around is a walk in the park. His mere presence and antics elevate some sequences that sorely lacked solid writing. If Avaraachan and Sons manages to not be a letdown, credit for that goes to Biju Menon.

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