Ayyappanum Koshiyum

A car is stopped at a checkpoint in Attappadi. The man inside has liquor without a licence. Koshy is from a wealthy family, a former soldier, and comes from a world where nobody interferes with him. He does not accept it. Ayyappan Nair runs the station; a policeman who follows the rules, stays calm and does not step back. He locks Koshy up. When Koshy gets out he counts it an insult and wants revenge. His father steps in, lawyers arrive, a transfer is arranged. Ayyappan holds out. The matter between the two men grows and both of them lose. Sachy writes and directs. Prithviraj Sukumaran plays Koshy and Biju Menon plays Ayyappan; Anil Nedumangad and Ranjith are in the cast. The language is Malayalam. The film did large business in Malayalam cinema and was remade in other languages. The director Sachy died a few months after it opened; it was his last work. The matter it treats is male pride; both characters think they are right and neither can let it go. The narrative makes a hero of neither side; there is violence in Ayyappan's past too. The film takes caste and class as direct subjects; Koshy's power comes from his money. The women stay at the edge of the narrative and that was criticised. The last section leaves the two men alone and the matter goes outside official channels. Its limit is length; the narrative runs close to three hours and the middle sags. Who it is for: viewers who like Malayalam cinema and drama built on a clash of characters. Who it is not for: it is long, hard, and the ending bitter.