BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY
Just when you’d think another fresh take on William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” couldn’t possibly be done, comes “Joji”. Fahadh Faasil’s new collaboration with director Dileesh Pothan retains the basic outline of human avarice and slant at violence, but sheds Shakespearean grandeur of the story in favour of restraint as it builds up the crime drama.
“Macbeth” and its innumerable retellings (including Vishal Bhardwaj’s magnificent “Maqbool”) have traditionally banked on a singular tragic flaw while spelling doom for the towering Shakespearean antihero his ambition. Pothan’s film underplays that bit, and gives the titular protagonist (played by Faasil) the persona of a weakling, ridden by inferiority complex.
Joji review: Slow-burn family drama
Dileesh Pothanâs
Joji opens with the vast green expanse of Kottayam and narrow, sinewy roads leading to the grand Panachel family residence. While the film is set in the pandemic era, itâs clear very early on that the real malaise lies within the walls of the dark, brooding house.
Joji is loosely inspired from Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth and has an operatic mood to it.
PK Kuttapan Panachel is the patriarch of the family. He exudes brute strength, literally and metaphorically. He has an ironclad grip over his vast property and his three sons â the brawny Jomon (Babu Raj), the dutiful Jaison (Joji Mundakayam) and the waiflike Joji (Fahadh Faasil). Jomon, who s divorced, has a son Popy who lives with him.
Joji: Thriller set in a Kottayam household - The Hindu BusinessLine thehindubusinessline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehindubusinessline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It is remake of Shakespeare s Macbeth
Joji (film on Amazon Prime); Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Baburaj, Unnimaya Prasad, Joji Mundakayam, Sunny PN, Alister Alex; Direction: Dileesh Pothan; Rating: and 1/2 (three and a half stars)
Just when you d think another fresh take on William Shakespeare s Macbeth couldn t possibly be done, comes Joji . Fahadh Faasil s new collaboration with director Dileesh Pothan retains the basic outline of human avarice and slant at violence, but sheds Shakespearean grandeur of the story in favour of restraint as it builds up the crime drama. Macbeth and its innumerable retellings (including Vishal Bhardwaj s magnificent Maqbool ) have traditionally banked on a singular tragic flaw while spelling doom for the towering Shakespearean antihero his ambition. Pothan s film underplays that bit, and gives the titular protagonist (played by Faasil) the persona of a weakling, ridden by inferiority complex.