Prathichaya:
So yeah, Prathichaya is now on JioHotstar and I went in expecting a solid Malayalam drama because B. Unnikrishnan + this cast usually means at least something engaging.
It’s… okay. Not bad, not great. Just okay.
Nivin Pauly is doing his usual thing. That calm, slightly sad, controlled acting style. He’s fine in it, nothing new but he carries his parts well. Around him there’s a big crowd—Balachandra Menon, Saikumar, Sharafudheen, Ann Augustine, Harisree Ashokan, Maniyanpilla Raju… honestly the cast list itself feels like half the movie.
And that’s kinda the thing. Everyone is acting fine, sometimes even really good… but the story doesn’t give enough fresh stuff to chew on.
It keeps going between emotional drama and some social-thriller type vibe, but it doesn’t fully settle anywhere. Like it wants to be many things at once and ends up being just… familiar.
There are moments though. Some scenes actually land nicely, especially the slower emotional bits. You can see the actors trying to pull more out of it, and sometimes they succeed even when the writing doesn’t fully support them.
Direction from B. Unnikrishnan is steady, like very “safe hands” feel. Nothing messy, nothing bold either. Just moves from scene to scene without taking big risks.
Ann Augustine gets a couple of emotional beats that actually feel real. Same with some supporting characters like Nishanth Sagar and Vishnu Agasthya—they do their job, nothing overdone.
But overall… it’s one of those films you watch, you nod a bit, and then you kind of move on quickly after.
So yeah, final feeling:
Not a waste of time, but not something that stays in your head either. Decent performances, familiar storytelling, and a “seen this before somewhere” kind of vibe.
