Story:
An old story retold, the film begins with Gopalakrishna Pillai (Mohanlal) who is a curt businessman and specializes in money lending, he is not violent but very cut throat and cunning. History shows that he was the son of one of the richest families in Ilavattom village but then his father (Saikumar) who is a patron of arts goes about blowing the money and also gets duped in this process by one of his very good friends Parameshwara Kurup who makes a life of his own leaving Pillai's father on the roads. Left to take care of his younger brother (Ajmal) and his mother, Pillai promises to his father and from then on he works day in and day out and becomes a money lender only to restore his lost legacy. But then the rivalry remains between Kurup and Pillai and despite Kurup and his sons' evil attempts, Pillai is able to counter them. In between all this arrives Jayalakshmi (Kavya) who is the manager of a new generation bank who comes on a mission. Meanwhile, Pillai's younger brother Ramakrishnan (Ajmal) is a day dreamer and wants to become a film star, above all this he is madly in love with Kurup's daughter (Mallika Kapoor). Kurup takes chance of this and instigates anti feelings on Ramakrishnan against Pillai. He agrees for the marriage with the objective of bringing down Pillai. How the story goes on from there forms the rest of the story.

Presentation:
The director has come up with a straight line approach and though the subject has been beaten to death by many in the past, he chose to take the same path but with a different treatment. His presentation was neat, narration was smooth. He was supported well by some crisp editing and some worthy dialogues, even the screenplay cannot be ignored. The music was not upto the mark except for one or two numbers and camerawork was in sync with the moods and situation of the film. The script was simple with not much to talk about. Mohanlal has come out with an effortless performance as he has done this before several times but then his opening shot has drawn a lot of applause. Kavya was pretty but was underutilized as she did not have a speck to show her skills and assets. Ajmal did a good job by enacting a self centred person while the others like Mallika, Jagathy, Innocent and others did their roles with the required standards.

Conclusion:

Though the story has been several times on screen and the characters were so alike other hits, the maker was smart not to miss the line that was drawn and he mixed with some racy movements which kept the momentum on. while the first half is more on the lighter side with funny moments, tinges of romance and action as usual, it is the second half that scores the maximum with its twists and turns in the story and also the tussle caused by the younger brother which creates confusion. The film will definitely be a success and for those who have been missing family treats, this is a sure delight.

Bharatstudent verdict  : Neat, tried and tested family entertainer. It can be watched once.