Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, Vinesh Viswanath’s directorial debut, is for children and the child in you. The story unfolds in a government school. Instead of ending up on an expected terrain, what we get is a coming-of-age story that touches upon a range of topics, from caste discrimination and democracy to equality and humanity without sounding didactic at any point. It eventually becomes a heart-warming tale that will leave a smile on your face.

The action unfolds in Class VII C of KR Narayanan Memorial Upper Primary School, Karettu, Thiruvananthapuram. The protagonist is Sreekuttan, the backbencher, latecomer, and underdog, who invariably gets into trouble, along with his gang of friends, Sharat, Anoop and Anas. He detests Ambady, who represents the quintessential studious kid of every class, and has a crush on his classmate, Meenakshy, of which she is unaware. In between, the foursome locks horns with the infamous ‘Bhasmam’ gang, a group of boys from another division who believe they are macho enough to scare everyone. 

Aju Varghese in a scene from Sthanarthi Sreekuttan | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Sreekuttan’s nemesis is his teacher Chakrapani a.k.a. CP, who hates everyone and is hated by everyone in the school, including the teachers. Their conflict reaches a point when he challenges Chakrapani’s decision to retain Ambady as the class monitor. Sreekuttan decides to contest election to prove a point and tries every trick with the support of his group of friends to win votes and hearts.

Vinesh, who wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Anand Manmadhan, Murali Krishnan and Kailash S Bhavan, uses the school and the election to discuss several contentious issues in a light-hearted way, that too without going overboard. The film earnestly captures the simple joys of school life, the camaraderie among students, and lives of people around them. The characters and situations come across as genuine and relatable on many accounts. Attention to detail and keen observation of situations need to be appreciated.

Child artistes run riot with their swag, charm and screen presence. Sreerang Shine breezes through his role as Sreekuttan with a convincing portrayal of the character’s insecurities and naivety, as do his friends played by Darshan M, Bodig Jordan Asher, Harikrishnan B, Karthik B, Abel Twinkle and the like. Abhinav S is brilliant as Ambady, who is not haughty or overbearing despite being the perfect student that he is.

Sreerang Shine in Sthanarthi Sreekuttan | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Aju Varghese has nailed it as the detestable Chakrapani with his measured performance. The ensemble cast of Kannan Nayar, Anand Manmadhan, Johny Antony, Ganga Meera, Ajisha Prabhakaran, and Sruthy Suresh among others have done their part with ease. Saiju Kurup’s extended cameo works well to some extent, especially his illuminati jokes.

Music by PS Jayhari is almost a character in the movie and the tracks blend well with the situations, especially in the heart-touching and sweet climax. The camera work by Anoop V Shylaja too is commendable.

As for the flaws, some subplots meant to provide comic relief could have been avoided. But they can be forgiven when you look at the bigger picture. The film leaves you with a lot to ponder upon.

Sthanarthi Sreekuttan is running in theatres