The creativity and effort put into naming a film, at times, reflects the effort put into its actual making. It seems Johny Johny Yes Appa was named so for the opening scene of the film, in which Johny’s father calls out ‘Johny Johny...’ and the son answers ‘Yes Appa...’ while the titles flash on the screen.
That happens to be one of the peak creative moments of the film, which is not one, but two films rolled into one. Johny (Kunchakko Boban), right from his younger days, is adept at stealing money, and passing on the blame to others. He grows up to be a thief, who maintains the image of a pious, well-mannered man.
At home too, he is the beloved son, while his brothers find themselves out of favour with the parents, owing to Johny’s doings.
In the first half, the script treats Johny as a remorseless thief, whose source of happiness is not just the money he steals, but also the misery that he piles on others, including his brothers, through his actions.
The scriptwriter seemed to want to push the boundaries of what was just another family drama, by painting the lead character in sharp negative shades. But, soon we see the writer developing cold feet, as the second half of the film is all about redeeming this negative character and portraying him as good at heart.
A one-sided attempt
This second half looks like quite another film, with new characters and an entirely different story arc.
Adam (Sanoop), an orphan boy, pops up in Johny’s life so that he could carry out some good deeds and wash away the sins of the first half. The character’s transformation is also shoddily handled and remains unconvincing.
The perils of writing a story with just the lead character in mind, and without considering the fate or emotions of the others is quite evident here.
For instance, Jaisa (Anu Sithara), the female lead character, has almost nothing to do and repeats the same set of actions throughout.
Joji Thomas, who penned the script for the laugh riot Vellimoonga , fails here with a non-engaging storyline and scarce laughs.
S.R. Praveen
