Over a month after its theatrical release, Basil Joseph-starrer Ponman will hit the OTT platforms for those who missed the big screen experience. Earlier this week, JioHotstar announced that the black comedy film would be streaming on their platform, urging fans to gear up for its release on Friday, March 14.
Adapted from GR Indugopan’s novel Nalanchu Cheruppakar, Ponman follows Ajesh, a jewellery agent in Kollam who lends gold to brides’ families in exchange for cash received as wedding gifts. When Steffi’s family can only repay part of the debt and keep the rest of the gold for themselves, Ajesh pursues the remaining ornaments.
Ponman marks the directorial debut of Jothish Shankar, who previous worked as a production designer on films like Kumbalangi Nights and Android Kunjappa. Aside from leading man Joseph, the film also stars Sajin Gopu, Lijomol Jose, Anand Manmadhan, Deepak Parambol, Sandhya Rajendran and Rajesh Sharma.
Shankar’s directorial earned rave reviews from critics, Sajin Shrijith from THE WEEK noting, "Ponman is one of those rare films where not even one second is dull or boredom-inducing. Every character has a purpose; every character has a clear reason for doing what they do; every character has their share of vulnerabilities; and every character is answerable to somebody."
The music for Ponman was composed by Justin Joseph, who has an impressive resume of working in Girish A.D.’s Thanneer Mathan Dinangal and Dileesh Pothan’s Joji. Bankrolled by Ajith Vinayaka Films, the film emerged as a commercial success, minting over Rs 10 crore against a reported budget of Rs 3 crore.
