Even before Prathichaya reached theatres, comparisons with former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had begun to circulate. But veteran actor-director Balachandra Menon, who plays the controversial politician Varghese in the film, insists that any resemblance is purely coincidental.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe director told me there was talk about the character being associated with Oommen Chandy, but he made it clear that I shouldn\u2019t let that influence my performance,\u201d Menon said. \u201cThere was no effort to make me resemble him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Directed by B Unnikrishnan, Prathichaya centres on Chief Minister Varghese, whose political career comes to an abrupt end after a sexual harassment allegation forces him to resign. The narrative then shifts focus to his younger son, John Varghese, played by Nivin Pauly, who sets out to rebuild his father\u2019s damaged reputation and restore the family\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
Menon said he was given ample creative freedom to shape the character, though always in consultation with the director. Rather than portraying a squeaky-clean political leader, the film presents Varghese as a layered and morally complex figure. He is shown as a man with his share of grey areas and questionable decisions, yet someone who still retains a sense of righteousness and emotional vulnerability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t keep any real-life reference point while performing,\u201d Menon said. \u201cI approached the role simply as a father in the story and gave it my all.\u201d He also pointed out that the character\u2019s appearance itself sets him apart from Chandy. \u201cMy makeup shows that this isn\u2019t a copy. Mr Chandy had unkempt hair, while my character is neatly groomed. Even after the film\u2019s release, no one has told me I resemble him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran actor, whose career spans decades, joked that the response to his performance made it seem as though he was delivering his first major role. Many viewers have praised his portrayal as one of the film\u2019s most grounded and elegant performances.<\/p>\n
Prathichaya also marks Menon\u2019s first time sharing screen space with actors like Nivin Pauly and Sharafudheen. Having begun his career alongside Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, he sees working with younger generations as a natural progression. \u201cFor me, it has never mattered whether I am acting with someone from my generation or a younger one. The aim is always to get the best output, and I\u2019ve never had ego clashes with anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Menon said he was drawn to the film primarily because of its emotional core. Known for exploring family dynamics in his own films, he found the father-son relationship in Prathichaya particularly compelling. \u201cWhen Unnikrishnan narrated the story, the family angle immediately attracted me,\u201d he said, adding that audience feedback has echoed the same sentiment. \u201cPeople have told me they appreciated the father-son bond. This is a film families should watch together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even before Prathichaya reached theatres, comparisons with former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had begun to circulate. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[187818,187812,187806,187817,156,187810,187814,187811,187816,187819,409,111,139,187809,69,187808,187805,187815,187813,187807],"class_list":{"0":"post-355132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-actors-creative-process","9":"tag-ai-powered-movie-review","10":"tag-balachandra-menon-prathichaya","11":"tag-character-portrayal-in-cinema","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-father-son-relationship-movie","14":"tag-how-ai-analyzes-movie-plots","15":"tag-llm-generated-film-analysis","16":"tag-malayalam-film-industry-insights","17":"tag-movie-father-son-dynamics","18":"tag-movies","19":"tag-new-zealand","20":"tag-newzealand","21":"tag-nivin-pauly-film","22":"tag-nz","23":"tag-political-drama-film","24":"tag-prathichaya-actor","25":"tag-prathichaya-controversy","26":"tag-understanding-complex-characters-in-film","27":"tag-varghese-character"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}