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Lal Jose is one of the most promising directors among the young crop of filmmakers in Malayalam tinseldom. He has proved his mettle with the spectacular success of a string of films like Oru Maravathur Kanavu, Chadranudikkunna Dikkil and Randam Bhavam. Innovative and spirited, Lal Jose is struggling to break free from the feel good family formula and create a new mainstream vocabulary. He suffered a severe setback in the battle for box office when the action flick Randam Bhavam failed to click. It was doomed to oblivion because of the fresh treatment given to the cliché-ridden situations. After this box office disaster, which seemed to have spelt an end to Lal Jose's career, he is back with a bang.

The latest offering Meesamadhavan is a domestic drama tinged with a profuse dose of humour. It seems that he has become far more cautious and the fear of failure weighs more heavily than the prospect of a grand success. In a flop ridden industry, playing it safe is the name of the game. Lal Jose is working on some sure fire success formula for making his presence felt by churning out usual run off the mill movies.

Meesamadhavan falls in the category of Sathyan Anthikkad-Srinivasan duo's films, which attempts to mirror the life and culture of remote villages with a rustic touch. It appears to be a combination of several plots rehashed from Ponmuttayidunna Thatan, Kalikkalam and Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka. However, Lal Jose searches for something innovative- you can see his distinctive presence in some of its frames- and comes up with tame compromise.

Shot extensively on the breath taking panoramic sweeps of a rural hinterland, the film, as the title amply reveals tells the tale of Meesamadhavan (Dileep) a well-mannered thief who is struggling to clear the debts of his family. Police constable (Oduvil Unnikrishnan) who knows him well turns a blind eye to his stealing activities. Lineman Lonappan (Machan Varghese) helps him to carry out the attempts by switching off the power supply. Bhageeradhan Pillai (Jagathi Sreekumar) and Thrivikraman Pillai (Cochin Haneef) draw up game plan to oust him from the village. Madhavan falls in love with Rugmini (Kavya Madhavan) Bhageeradhan Pillai's daughter. In the meantime, S I Eappen Pappachi (Indrajith) join hands with the crooked team and hereafter all the hell break loose. As usual, the film ends when all the villains are bashed up.

S Kumar's camera plays endless visual games. The song Ente Ellamellamalle by Gireesh Puthencherry is hummable. Vidyasagar's music tends to be routine. Dileep comes out with a commendable performance.