There is hardly any conflict and the chaos, the drama and the thrills that one expects in an end-of-a-community scenario are largely absent. What we get instead are predictable resolutions to familiar conflicts — the rivals realize peace between them can help the village, the lovers find the courage to break free of social constraints and get together, the miser learns that there is more to life than money, and so on.

All said, ‘Appuchi Gramam’ looks like the first ep towards opening our eyes to scientific fiction. With a mind open to more masala than sidelined science and keen eyes to keep track of an example section of the entire village, you can encourage and laude Anand for his attempt.

At a time when we are bombarded with the same old, done to death stories, Appuchi Graamam comes as a breather and works for its simple, unpretentious narration.