Does Molly Aunty rock or not? That might depend on the person watching. If you ask me, as a total cinematic experience, she rocked only slightly. Ranjith Sankar's latest offering is quite different from Passenger and Arjunan Sakshi in that it is not a thriller.
Molly aunty (Revathy) has left her job in the US of A to rejoin a bank in Cherppulasseri from where she had taken long leave to go abroad. Two years later, she takes a VRS and is covered with accolades for her personal and professional aplomb. She is all set to rejoin her husband when lightning strikes her in the form of the Income Tax Deputy Commissioner Pranav Roy (Prithviraj).
In the resulting tussle between them, we see the not-so-pretty and the sublime parts of Molly Aunty come out.
Molly aunty really rocks in terms of characterization and not-so-dark humor. It also has several happy-tear-jerking moments. KPAC Lalitha as Molly Aunty's mother-in-law is simply superb. Prithviraj for once has a role that he has really given his heart to. Just a little flexing of those God-gifted eyebrows and he is the embodiment of professional arrogance and superciliousness. He really deserves a pat on the back for taking up this role and executing it perfectly. Revathy is a little shortchanged in terms of having nothing more strenuous to do than climb over a gate. Lalu Alex both entertains and endears himself to us as the understanding husband of the firebrand Molly. The star of the movie is surprisingly Salim Mecheril, our own irrepressible Mamu Koya! He's got the role of a lifetime (even though it's a bit short) as the brilliant but unconventional lawyer who tries to extricate Molly Aunty from the corner into which she has painted herself.
Now for why Molly Aunty doesn't rock as much as it should - the plot fails where it tries to bring in the conflict that is required to bring out Molly's secret life. For one, why does Pranav Roy blindly try to frame Molly in revenge? There is nothing in the plot to show that Roy is corrupt. Next, it is odd that Molly says that she didn't know that incomes from fixed deposits are taxable when she has been working in a bank and it is inconsistent with the character not to have paid the same. Also, the greedy and corrupt official never gets his comeuppance, so that leaves something to be desired by way of the plot.
Summing up, Molly Aunty is a lighthearted satire which has a lot of heart. In my DH's opinion, it felt more like a Sathyan Anthikad movie than a Ranjith Sankar product. It's a movie I would watch again on DVD or one I would not skip when it appears on TV. After all, when the heart's in the right place, a few plot points do not matter.
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