2025, Malayalam, Jio Hotstar, 7.5/10 IMDB, Directed by Jotish Shankar
Pulished in Mr. Baradwaj Rangan’s movie blog- https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/readers-write-in-785-ponmaan-the-golden-deer/
A character driven movie ‘casually’ instilling an urge to find the purpose of life among the idling population and giving a grand hope for the slogging lot. On the go, young girls are sent on soul searches to decode what true beauty is, aimed to knock down the ‘dream killing’ dowry fanaticism, in the land of God’s own country.
The premise is novel, like majority of Malayalam industry’s. The 2023, Biju Menon and Vineeth Sreenivasan starer ‘Thankam’, gave a Thirssur perspective of the city’s gold brokers trying to find market in Mumbai. In ‘Ponman’, it is Kollam perspective of a gold agent, an unheard kind. An extension of the traditional goldsmith practices of those days, who made jewellery and delivered it to households, this is one such story of a middle man, an agent in present day scenario.
The gold smiths were apparently referred as or mobile jewellery or ‘Madiyil Jewellery’ (madiyil translates ‘in the lap’ meant to refer ‘in the embrace’) and hence the fancy blend word title – Ponman. On the face of it, ‘Pon’ means gold and hence man who delivers it becomes ponman, more like, attaching their job to their names with a tag, something like a ‘postman’ or a ‘milkman’. The metaphorical second layer behind this merger word, transpires beautifully towards the end of the movie. ‘Ponman’ in south languages, in spite of being a letter short in the English version of the title, sounds more like ‘ponmaan’ translating ‘golden deer’ indicating the key element in the Indian epic, Ramayana. And Golden deer, is a metaphorical reference to temptation and illusory desires called ‘Maya’. This is exactly the intention of the makers; to equate the yellow metal to maya and they subtly begin the process, starting from the title naming.
The movie is at its best with abundant non preachy eye openers and seamless screenplay. The makers strike the right chords as the movie conveys their true intentions in right proportions at the right time. It easily is the best socially responsible movie in recent times, but for the excessive alcohol dependent characters especially the lead character P.P. Ajeesh, played by Basil Joseph. But, again, the more we delve into the psyche of the character and start reading in between his unpretentious dialogues, it adds multiple layers to the character.
Character development both external and internal is an art and without question, is the key to any screenplay which is intended to captivate the audience. Ponman scores big in detailing the traits of its prime characters and eventually swapping the traits among them as the film progresses. Viewers are introduced to the lead character Ajeesh through, the brother of the bride, Bruno’s eyes. Bruno himself is a hit man associated with a party and is introduced as a muscling rogue. Ajeesh comes out to be this no-nonsense casual broker, who may seem petite but is a heavy yet steady drinker, passionate about his job and is well connected.
Ajeesh seems a compassion less mechanical person with a monotonous routine, and Bruno with no brain and no job. Similarly, Bruno’s brother-in-law Mariyano, the groom, played by Saijin Gopu is another classic character. He is the third kind, a bulk looking man with no principles but is very passionate about his work. What the director makes out these three characters within the boundary of the story is what makes Ponman stand tall.
Dig at dowry mongering is the crux of the story but the director never touches upon the subject, other than a couple of personal conflict remarks between characters. Ajeesh is even seen warning the mother of the bride on a casual note – ‘Gold is a curse and trouble follows it wherever it goes’. A subtle remark, but it is the very statement, the crew is trying to establish.
Lijomol Jose as Steffie, the bride, shines in her character that transforms from being helpless to becoming selfish, and then to search within to bring to surface her individuality. She represents millions of women across the country who are catteled into the institution called marriage. Girls who stumble upon when life throws rationale questions on beliefs, like those from the movie ‘Laapataa Ladies’ depicted from the villages of Uttarakhand.
Bruno’s transformation is a beautiful one too, as he gets a lease of new hope in life, an inspiration from Ajeesh, to helps him streamline and turn responsible. Ajeesh’s constant booing on Mariyano to belittle him for vying on the bride family’s sweat money, is a pricking gesture pointing to all dowry solicitors in the audience.
When the movie ends, all that drinking and merry making by Ajeesh comes as he was masking his fear and mustering his courage to dive each time into the risky venture, which he had made his livelihood. His ‘underwear morning merry’ at the beach is yet another indication of his emotional disturbance that he tries to mask it off in the name of fantasy, merely to be woken up early and to get over his hangover. Yet another beautiful layer and it made more sense as the end credits rolled.
Ajeesh’s simple hardworking family is an insight into his poor background as the character hints the lack of any ancestry wealth for a ‘head start’ in life. It is another facet that the makers establish to confront the men in the audience, who make grand plans for their lives, hoping dowry would be their stepping stone. A man who is determined to succeed in life fighting all odds, A man who would go to extremes to safeguard other’s trust in him, A man who is untouched by emotional dilemmas, A man who is sincere to his job, A man who is focused and unintentionally sets the path right in many people’s lives around him, A man who appetites the goodness in a bride who chucks her newly-wed groom, in realization to prioritize herself and to leave the ‘pon’ gold behind – Basil Joseph playing Ajeesh, just nails them all, capturing more hearts this time too.
The pride of the ‘all praise’ Kollam title song, slowly wanes away to expose the engagement people get themselves into, in the name of dowry gold. They are merely caught in ‘maya’, as the dowry gold is mimicking the ancient mythological ‘PonmaAn’. When Ajeesh and Steffie row away to the city banks, Steffie is seen removing her jewellery, slowly shifting consciousness to a state of awareness. She overcomes the illusion, prompting girls in the audience to follow suit. And Ajeesh comments true beauty doesn’t lie in the ‘jewellery of gold’, implying, true beauty is in the ‘flawless heart of gold’.
Philosophically, the veil called ‘Maya’, a mere manifestation of Brahman’s power, which was obscuring the true nature of reality is lifted and both the characters shine nothing less that ‘Pon’.