Pattanapravesham

Sathyan Anthikad's 1988 film is the sequel to Nadodikkattu, made a year earlier. Mohanlal and Sreenivasan return as two unemployed men mistaken for intelligence officers. This time they are sent to the city to investigate a policeman's killing and end up facing an organisation trafficking drugs. The humour of the series comes from everyone assuming the two men are competent while they know nothing. Sreenivasan's script keeps unemployment and a class-based exhaustion underneath the comedy; the characters are there to find money, not to be heroes. The usual problem of sequels applies: the sense of discovery from the first film is gone and the formula has settled. Even so, the pair's rapport and their timing keep it among the classics of Malayalam comedy. The series continued with one more film. Who it's for: those who have seen Nadodikkattu and want more of the duo. Who it's not for: anyone starting the series here; how the characters ended up in this position is explained in the first film.