‘Pluto’ movie review: A sci-fi comedy that sticks to usual alien narratives

Just like Vicky (Neeraj Madhav), the protagonist of the sci-fi comedy movie Pluto who befriends an alien, the movie also does not know what exactly to do with the alien character. This has partly to do with the nature of the alien also. In an attempt to break alien stereotypes, Pluto does not have any superpowers, except for two skills which are only sparingly used. So, there are only so many exciting things left for the alien to do.

Probably due to the tight budgets, the alien also does not have elaborate design elements. Just a spandex suit with a human face (Althaf Salim) does the job. By extension, this would mean that the alien would do familiar Althaf Salim things. One interesting touch that screenwriter Niyas Muhammed and filmmaker Adithyan Chandrasekhar brings to the table is the similarity between Vicky and Pluto, the alien. Both are considered losers in life and hence Pluto cannot be of particular use to Vicky, who is down and out after failing with one ill-advised business idea after another.

Right there was so much potential to be tapped to create a not so common alien narrative, exploring how their unconventional ideas turn each other’s lives around. But other than the attempts at humour, the makers of Pluto stick to the usual alien storyline we have seen so many times across languages. Much of it has the mood of the old comic stories in children’s magazines. One of the ways in which the makers attempt to overcome the familiarity of the setting is through this light-hearted, comic book treatment. If one didn’t get the hint, there are characters in costumes reminiscent of Shikkari Shambhu and Kuttoosan making their appearance later. The alien’s life back home, where alcohol is the major source of energy for the residents, is also used for some situational humour.

The light humour, which works only occasionally, might have just carried the film all through if it had better writing to go with it. The friendship between Vicky and Pluto never really feels thick enough to evoke the expected emotional pull in the end, while the relationship between Vicky and his girlfriend Meera (Aarsha Chandini Baiju) suffers from lack of screen time. The gang of thugs led by Tiger Thambi (Aju Varghese), who are out to entrap the alien, just about serve their functional purposes. The lack of a stronger star cast also appears to have also worked against the film.

Sci-fi films are not something that happens often in the Malayalam film industry which has relatively smaller budgets, with the subgenre of sci-fi comedies appearing even less frequently. Even the rarity of the genre does not really work to the advantage of Pluto. 

 (Pluto is currently running in cinemas)