There is a kind of typicality and repetition in Dileep movies and ‘Welcome to Central Jail’ is no different. There are the usual Dileep mannerisms which appeals to fans and children along with humour. The problem with ‘Welcome to Central Jail’ is the humour part. There are too many crass jokes and below the belt humour which makes you squirm. Wonder how these adult humours would go down with the kids in the audience who loves watching Dileep making funny faces.
However the movie does boast of a decent story line which kinds of hold things together. The movie is all about Unnikuttan (Dileep) who is born in a prison to a revolutionary couple sentenced to life imprisonment. But the child is later transferred to a rescue home as the law doesn’t allow children to be in the jail. In the course of years his parents die serving their term. But Unnikuttan considers the jail to be his ‘tharavadu’ seeking to be there inside with the inmates taking on the blame for crimes committed by others. Rape and murder are his exceptions.
When Unnikuttan is around, the jail springs to life. He is affable with all and sundry. The inmates and the law keepers love him and he is happy to entertain them all. Things take a turn when he meets Radhika (Vedhika) with whom he falls in love while on parole. He now desires to lead a normal life, but finds Radhika behind bars for a drug case. Big names are involved and the movie has now a story to lead the plot forward.
The banter in the jail, the tit-bits of life behind bars, the feelings of inmates and officers guarding them are all interesting. Also, director Sunderdas has packed in some aspects like the kind of injustice in the law, the politics in the governance of jail et al . Not that these are novel elements, but ‘Welcome to Central Jail’ at some points tries not be a fluff stuff. One cannot expect classy dialogues and wit in this flick.
The making is peppy and tries to keep a fast pace with the camera busy zooming in and out of faces and situations and the editing making quick jumps and turns. The BGM and music too increases the tempo. Benny P Nayarambalam has scripted the movie keeping Dileep audiences in mind. There is nothing much to write about the performances as everyone is typical. The banter between Ranji Panikar who plays a prison official and Dileep are hilarious. For an average viewer, the movie could be a crass outing, but ‘Welcome to Central Jail’ will surely appeal to fans.
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