‘Pookkaalam’ Hotstar Movie Review - A Season of New Beginnings

Pookkaalam is about a couple that is headed for divorce after a five-decade-old love letter comes to the notice of the husband. Ittoop and Kochuthresia have been married for eighty years but when Ittoop saw the love letter, he couldn’t contain his disappointment and was ready to fight for divorce. This stubbornness was never heard of because who asks for divorce in their nineties? If that divorce happens then, Ittoop and Kochuthresia’s name would have been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the oldest couple who got divorced. It’s not revealed initially if Kochuthresia was also interested in that man or not. This leads to audience questioning the fact whether the children were legitimate or not. I don’t know about others, but this was the first thing to come to my mind as the issue of property was also being discussed.

I applaud the filmmakers for making a movie with such an old cast playing the main roles. It is not often that you see such films. Director Ganesh Raj brought a coming-of-age story to the screen with his film Pookkaalam. The plot of the film is unique as no one has ever heard of such a thing happening in real life. In their nineties, people usually lose their partner but, this happily married couple wanted a divorce when they have just maybe four or five years more left to live. So, this was a bold move by Ittoop as he felt betrayed.

The scene in which Ittoop asks all the family members to gather in the morning and shows them his wife's (and their mother’s) love letter was the most important scene as it depicted the pain he was going through. Ittoop must have thought about it the whole night. They were searching for their granddaughter's engagement affidavit the previous evening when the love letter resurfaced. He found the letter in the night itself but waited till morning to reveal everything.

The film is a good watch and I liked how they showed a couple in their nineties rediscovering what love is all over again against the backdrop of a couple who is going to be married soon. Though it seemed initially that their eighty years of married life were a lie, this old couple still knows how to overcome such obstacles. Watching their love bloom was heartwarming. I don’t know if today’s generation will see such love in their old age or not due to the increased divorce rates, but the love we see in elder generations will always remain mesmerizing. They can forget things and define what love is.

The cast who has played the role of this old couple in Pookkaalam has done a great job. My favorite scene in this 136-minute-long film will be the last scene in which Ittoop proposes his wide Kochuthresia again. He says that at the time they got married, her father wouldn’t have taken her consent and even when he was fighting for divorce, he didn’t ask her so, he wanted to ask if she’ll spent the rest of their years with her. The old man got down on one knee with a ring in his hand to start their happy married life again. His words pierce your soul and you realize that this is what love must look like.

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times