Movie: Passenger

Satyanathan(Srinivasan) works in a firm in Kochi. Everyday he commutes by train. He has the same routine for the past twenty years and he has a set of friends who commute with him. They talk and play cards to avoid the drudgery of everyday commute.

Adv. Nandan Menon(Dileep) and Anuradha(Mamta Mohandas) are a newly married couple. Anuradha is a TV journalist with Right TV. Together, they take up various social causes and fight for them. They have been fighting a long drawn issue against Minister Thomas Chacko(Jagathy Sreekumar).

When Thomas Chacko is pushed to a corner with the ongoing agitation against him, he plans for a major tragedy. Anuradha records this using a webcam installed in the hotel room with the help of Sudheedhran(Manikuttan). Thomas figures this out and murders Sudheedhran. He implicates Nandan and Anuradha. Just before Thomas’s henchmen gets hold of her, Anuradha escapes.

Meanwhile, Satyanathan spends overtime at his office and misses his regular train. He catches the next train. But he oversleeps and misses his stop. When he wakes up, he bumps into Nandan. Nandan and Satyanathan begins a war of words and ends up as friends. After reaching Guruvayoor, the next stop, both of them disembarks and go their separate ways. But Nandan gets abducted by Thomas’s henchmen before he gets too far and Satyanathan witnesses it.

Now, Satyanathan begins a frantic search for him. In the next few hours, he undergoes extraordinary circumstances in order to find and save Nandan.

Passenger is directed by debuntante, Ranjith Shankar. In his debut, Ranjith is armed with a taut screenplay which works in his favor. Being a software professional, Ranjith uses a good doze of gadgets to move the story forward. The budget is limited as evident from ambience of several scenes. The pace dips in between. But still, Ranjith succeeds in giving a watchable thriller for the audience.

Srinivasan plays the quintessential Malayali common man in this movie. His character, Satyanathan, can neither beat up a bunch of thugs nor can fight vehemently against injustice. But, he can plead well and argue logically. Srinivasan is perfect in this role. When he embarks on the search for Nandan, we are skeptical. Before long, we end up wishing for his success because of his earnestness and truthfulness. Towards, the end of the movie, he does become a superman by saving the lives of others.

Dileep’s character is departure from his usual comedy roles. Still, there is humor when he meets up with Satyanathan for the first time. They are not the over the top jokes. But it still makes you smile. Although a small role, Dileep is good. Both the lead pairs are adequately supported by Nedumudi Venu and Jagathy Sreekumar. Mamta Mohandas is adequate.

Ranjit has a strong message for the audience. You can influence the lives of others if you try honestly. Get on the train and enjoy the ride with this passenger.

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Thriller

Rating: ***

Picture Courtesy: www.nowrunning.com

Tags: Movies,Passenger,Srinivasan,Dileep,Mamta Mohandas,Jagathy Sreekumar,Nedumudi Venu,Manikuttan,Ranjith Shankar,thriller,Malayalam