Member Rameshan 9am Ward Movie Review: Perhaps the most fascinating factor for me about Member Rameshan 9am Ward are the names of the producers. They reminded me of those naughty twin siblings comic characters created by the late Toms - Boban and Moly. The famous Malayalam comics - Bobanum Moliyum used satire to take potshots at politics while basing its characters in a simple panchayat. Member Rameshan 9am Ward's director duo - Aby Treesa Paul and Anto Jose Pereira - attempts something similar with their movie, except the impact and the stinging humour are sorely missing in their efforts. Jan.E.Man Movie Review: Basil Joseph and Arjun Ashokan's Malayalam Film on Sun NXT is A Joyful Concoction of Humour and Emotions.

Rameshan (Arjun Ashokan) is a carefree youngster in Manjapra panchayat, He does painting jobs for the amiable local contractor Thomas (Chemban Vinod), whiles away time with his friends and is in a committed relationship with his neighbour Annamma (Gayathri Ashokan). He and his friends are also on good terms with both the big political forces of the village, namely UKF and LKF, while one of his friends and his father (Johny Anthony) are also standing in elections as independent candidates.

The first act of Member Rameshan 9am Ward is basically a setup of the panchayat and its characters, and making us to get to know Rameshan and his acquaintances, and the panchayat better. Nothing much happens here plotwise, as scenes flit by and the humour isn't strong enough to keep us invested, despite the light-hearted narrative.

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It is around the 40-minute where the film finally decides that it has a story to tell, when the conniving UKF leader Ajithan Vettukuzhi (Sabumon Abdusamad) nominates Rameshan to stand for the panchayat elections, pitting him against Thomas who is the rep for LKF. As the title already spoils for you, Rameshan beats Thomas in the elections and becomes a ward member, but realises that he cannot do much better for his village when the panchayat is dominated by the opponent party and his own party members don't do anything without a bribe. Pada Movie Review: Kunchako Boban and Vinayakan’s Malayalam Film Is Bold, Arresting Callback to a Revolt Against Systemic Indifference.

Things get better post Rameshan becoming the ward member, yet the movie doesn't offer anything new about the predicament of its protagonist that we haven't seen before or cannot predict. In between, Ajithan is caught in a compromising position with the wife of an opponent, but instead of showing us how the opponent feels about it - he is a major character after all - this plotline is weakly used to further Rameshan's disgruntlement with his new job. There is also a plotline about Rameshan and Annamman trying to buy some land with some legal issues, but Meppadiyan this ain't.

All the actors perform adequately for their roles, yet none of the characters leave an indelible impression on you be it Indrans as Rameshan's worried father, Chemban's Thomas, or Shabareesh Varma as Rameshan's friend. This includes the protagonist himself. While Arjun Ashokan is earnest in the role, his Rameshan feels like a watered down version of many lead characters we have seen in the Sathyan Anthikkad-Sreenivasan movies of the yore. Post interval, there is a scene where he is seen making a mock speech from the Mammootty-starrer Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu, a reminder of how we once made better movies with similar protagonists. Or just revisit Biju Menon's Vellimoonga. Gayatri Ashok does an confident job as his lover, despite her character hardly get to do anything beyond flirting with him or scolding him.

PS: One thing I am grateful for the film is reminding me of the existence of the groovy song "Konchum Nin Imbam" from Thalavattam. Should insert that in my retro party playlist!

Yay!

- The Actors Are Decent

Nay!

- The Screenplay

Final Thoughts

Member Rameshan 9am Ward lacks neither the humour nor the sharpness that the satirical elements of this political comedy demand. The movie is streaming on Zee5.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2022 07:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).