Maranamass Movie Review: Wildly Funny, But a Bit All Over the Place.Moviesgod

A Weirdly Wonderful Ride into Chaos

Maranamass, directed by debutant Sivaprasad, is a film that doesn’t shy away from being weird. In fact, it proudly wears its absurdity like a badge of honour. Right from the opening sequence, where a deadpan news anchor explains the myth of the “banana killer,” the film sets the tone—it’s not here to play it safe. It’s bizarre, bold, and doesn’t want you to take anything too seriously.

This quirky dark comedy takes place in a sleepy Kerala village where the people are more interested in gossip and mayhem than peace and quiet. Into this chaos walks Luke PP (Basil Joseph), a man who behaves like he was born to irritate everyone around him—but never with real malice. His pranks are outrageous, from listing the local police station on OLX to smuggling halal meat into a temple pond. He’s a one-man circus in a village that has long run out of patience. Yet, somehow, Maranamass never turns him into a villain. He’s more of an oddball who doesn’t quite fit in, and the film finds clever ways to humanise him, especially through his broken relationship with his ex, Jessie (Anishma Anilkumar).

A Bus Ride into Madness

The film’s plot really kicks off during a night bus ride—a turning point where comedy and suspense collide. What starts off as a regular trip with Luke, Jessie, the driver Jikku, and a few others quickly spirals into a thrilling, chaotic mess. A twisty, suspense-filled second half replaces the slow-burning village antics of the first act, and suddenly the film shifts gears in both tone and style.

This transition from light-hearted humour to dark suspense isn’t entirely smooth, though. While it’s admirable that Sivaprasad and co-writer Siju Sunny wanted to mix genres, the result feels uneven at times. The film tries to be a satire, a slapstick comedy, and a thriller—all at once. There are moments when the suspense kills the comedy, or vice versa. Still, the ambition is there, and in today’s formula-driven cinema, that’s something worth appreciating.

Characters That Shine Brighter Than the Story

The cast is what really makes Maranamass tick. Basil Joseph is in top form as Luke. His energy is infectious, and he nails the balance between mischief and emotion. Luke isn’t just a loud clown—he’s confused, occasionally vulnerable, and most of all, real. Anishma Anilkumar’s Jessie adds emotional depth to the madness. Her character has walked away from Luke not out of anger but from sheer exhaustion, and that quiet heartbreak comes through beautifully in her performance.

Other standout characters include Jikku the bus driver, played hilariously by Suresh Krishna. His phone conversations with his fiancée are some of the funniest scenes in the film. Rajesh Madhavan’s eccentric SK is a burst of wild energy, and Babu Antony as the dog-chasing, serial-killer-hunting cop is a whole mood by himself. These characters feel alive and unpredictable, which is more than we can say about many recent films where side roles exist just to fill space.

Siju Sunny, playing a more serious character than usual, surprises in a restrained role. And let’s not forget the memorable cameos—especially Joemon Jyothir and Pooja Mohanraj spoofing wedding shoots with just the right amount of silliness.

A Mixed Bag of Execution

On the technical front, the film is solid but not spectacular. Neeraj Ravi’s cinematography captures the moody night scenes well, creating a sense of claustrophobia inside the bus. The editing by Chaman Chakko keeps the pacing lively, especially in scenes where tension builds. However, one noticeable weak link is the background score. JK’s music does the job but never enhances the emotion or tension. It’s serviceable, but a sharper soundtrack could’ve elevated the viewing experience.

Where Maranamass struggles the most is in its script. The second half tries to explain too much with flashbacks and backstories that feel half-baked. Some subplots are introduced and then quietly dropped. You can tell that the writers were more interested in keeping the laughs and shocks coming than in tying everything together in a neat package. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave you feeling like something’s missing by the time the credits roll.

A Bold Attempt That Mostly Works

At its core, Maranamass is a film with guts. It dares to be absurd. It doesn’t care about logic or structure as long as it keeps surprising you. While the chaotic storytelling doesn’t always land, the film more than makes up for it with originality, strong performances, and moments of laugh-out-loud comedy.

It’s rare to see Malayalam cinema embrace such zany, unapologetic humour. The fact that this is a debut effort makes it even more impressive. Sivaprasad clearly has a unique voice and isn’t afraid to experiment. Not every joke lands, not every twist makes sense, but Maranamass is the kind of film that reminds us how fun and freeing cinema can be when it isn’t trying too hard to play by the rules.