Painkili

If you like watching comedy movies this is one of the best for a long while in Malayalam movies. Lucky that we gave it a go. Don't trust the negative reviews here.

The story line was good. BGM was good too. It's a great entertainer .

Story is by the same guy who wrote Romanian and Avesham.

The acting of all of them are good, especially the girl who likes the hero from the start. And the one supportive friend of hero.

The usual Villan who acted as hero's dad was funny.

Heros acting towards the end was too good. Pretty sure he ll be a major stay in malayalam movies. He is soo versatile can handle comedy and serious roles.

I haven't laughed soo much for any movie in recent times. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone for a light hearted comedy watch. The acting, cast, comedy was spot on and absolutely brilliant. I have never gone to the theatre twice for any movie, I'm soo tempted to go again. Loved the movie from start to finish. The only sad bit was that I kept missing out on some dialogues because I was laughing. What an entertaining movie!!! It just exceeded my expectations. This movie is still simply witty with a story line that is far different from the main stream movies that come out today. Must Watch!!!

An over the top comedy that tries to be a little bit like the successful Malayalam comedies from the 90s but also doesn't really want it to be called like that. There were a lot of moments that really made me laugh out loud. Any time movies make a lot of movie references it makes me giddy and even though this only uses it in like some specific scenes, those were all great. There was quite a lot of stuff that felt really forced and thus lost the humor in it. But just in the comedy aspect, it had so much in it that, even though the stuff that didn't work was a lot, there was more stuff that worked for me.

However, the issue with this film is the story itself. There are so many plot points in this movie that are too stupid, and the characters are given a pass after questionable actions. This kind of stuff was very common among the unsuccessful Malayalam comedies of the 90s too. This plot could have worked more if they hadn't wanted to add some thematic elements and thus a heart to it, it should have been ridiculous throughout, just the way it started. Jithu Madhavan's writing intentions feel like he wanted to make it a bit emotional at the end which is still hilarious like he did in Aavesham. In Aavesham, it was all focused on one character but here, there are two main characters involved and the writing fails to make it sensible. The second act which was supposed to build a base for the climax didn't really work much and the ending was really a confused mess. Performances from Sajin Gopu, Anaswara, and Jisma really carried a lot of scenes that would have totally failed if the acting wasn't as solid.

But even with all those issues, it was still hilarious for the most part. Overall, an above-average experience for me.

Painkili: directed by Sreejith Babu and released in 2025, other than the acting by Sajin Gopu there is nothing to watch in this movie. Weakest plot ever, comedy that hardly makes one laugh. Almost like utter nonsense. The name is apt for the movie. A girl with desires to do higher studies keeps jumping away from her house when they decide on her marriage. Turns out the parents are not her real parents, so she feels orphaned as well. In the process gets into the life of Sajin Gopu who initially wants to get rid of her, then falls for her. But she's focused on studies and was buying time till she's 18 to get out of the house and do it.

Just not worth watching.

Painkili attempts to be a thoroughbred rom-com, and while the comedy here is quirky, at times situational, and mostly over-the-top, the romance aspect is not established well in any sense. That is primarily due to Anaswara's character not having any semblance of an arc to speak of, which is justified by her age (where mistakes seem apparent). Yes, there are some Jithu Madhavan-certified laughs, and Justin Varghese scores the film superbly; however, the film lacks a decent flow from event to event, overall.

Sajin Gopu gets to showcase more of his acting palette compared to his previous films, but since I watched Ponman way before this, I think his performance in that film (even with limited dialogues) was a lot more impactful. Here, he's asked to go all out-crying, laughing, being unhinged-and of course, bring some adorable romantic shades. He isn't successful at all of it, but if anyone (especially, the old-school directors) hasn't taken sufficient note of the guy yet, this will wholly ensure it. Anaswara is undoubtedly a wonderful actor, but this role will likely go down as one of her least memorable ones. The scenes with Riyaz Khan and LJP, intended to be comedic, didn't work for me.

P. S. Jayaram's hysterical scene from Kaavadiyaattam was poorly re-created.