Category: malayalam cinema

Wouldn’t blame V.A Shrikumar if he is tempted to think that his personal D-Day at the Box Office was as bad as the one the Allied had on the beaches of Normandy. On the eve of the release a hartal was declared and fans unleashed their wrath on the social media pages of the political party in question. The makers went on to announce that the shows wouldn’t be cancelled and social media was rife with jokes in no time. Today as i write this, the jury has been out since the wee hours and I woke up to a spate of distasteful comments on the social media pages of the movie and the director though even the most vile of detractors would think twice before doing that on the lead actor’s page considering the kind of clout and sway he holds over the Malayalam film industry and the viewers at large. But the fact remains that the box office is a different beast entirely, impervious to any kind of influence. Most of the comments blamed the director of sky rocketing expectations with the pre release hype. By the time I was in for the film, people were talking about how the movie should be  inducted as a case study in business schools. Well, did you expect an ad-man -turned – director to not market his debut film with the biggest star in Malayalam using all the tricks in his bag?  Dude’s got brains and you have to hand it to him and I for one do not feel that he has taken me on a ride, having watched the 10 am show in the UAE today.

The movie starts off in Varanasi and wastes no time in presenting an aged but heroic Odiyan Manikyan before the audience. Mammooty then takes over during the titles narrating a brief history of the Odiyan clan which ends with the return of the dreaded Odiyan to his home, the rustic Palakkadan village Thenkurissi. Most of the story is told in flashbacks which takes us to a time when electricity had still not reached the lands. The odiyan relies on darkness and the psychology of fear to practice his “art” as he prefers to call it. To put things in perspective for the uninitiated, the odiyan is not too different from the Batman Nolan presented before us  in Batman Begins but unlike Batman, odiyan’s services are on sale for those in need and that’s how he makes his living when he is not helping in the household of Prabha, played by  Manju Warrier. Batman again was trained by Ras Al Ghul in Ninjutsu while Manikyan is trained by his grandfater, an odiyan himself. The much hyped younger avatar of Mohanlal dominates most of the screentime in comparision to the aged odiyan. The makers have tried to portray the craft of the odiyan realistically here. Though V.A Shrikumar claimed early on that the CGI would be world class, you can’t but help notice that not much of it has gone into the depiction of the actual odi act, which is not a bad thing if you ask me and more importantly the director and the writer have taken care not to insult the intelligence of the viewer. You would find yourself thinking that maybe this is indeed how the legendary odiyans went about their profession, in the dark. You see a deliberate choice on the part of the makers to stick to reality and to not cross over into the realm of fantasy for most parts, though there are indeed some conflicting sequences. In addition to electric bulbs, playing the antagonist to Manikyan is Prakash Raj as  Karuman Nair who is obsessed with Prabha. The references to the color of the skin are borderline racist and I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t go down well in this age of political correctness. Shammi Thilakan interestingly dubs again for a Tamil actor playing villain to Mohanlal and is obviously a deliberate tribute of sorts by Shrikumar to the iconic Devasuram. There is some unforced humor in the film mostly delivered by a restrained Siddique.Sana Altaf and Kailash have done justice to their roles too.There are more than a couple of songs and the one that stands out most is Kondoram. Though a bit untimely, its the most beautiful in terms of music and visuals too,  thanks to a stunning Manju Warrier. It is indeed refreshing to see a leading lady on the other side of forty giving the younger crop a run for their money, and how.

The story proceeds at an even pace and there are quite a few number of scenes where Mohanlal and Manju Warrier get to flex their acting muscles. The younger odiyan is all smiles mostly but the aged odiyan is someone who regrets his actions and is weighed down by guilt. He believes that he bears the curse for the actions of his ancestors. Mohanlal has translated this shift in odiyan’s perspective in his inimitable style, in the most subtle of ways, so much so that you wouldn’t realise this until long after you have left the theatres. The action sequences might not blow you away but are decently executed. Mohanlal briefly engages in a stick fight reminiscent of the Kilukkam dhobi ghat fight. While most of the movie worked for me, the climax came of as a bit disappointing and gave the impression that the director lost his vision and rushed through the proceedings towards the end. Despite Peter Hein the final showdown doesn’t quite work. The movie deserved a better ending and this could be attributed to Shrikumar’s lack of experience in feature cinema but then again it’s uneducated speculation on my part. The movie is indeed a tad too long, at three hours but hey, I’m not complaining. Having said that, V.A Shrikumar has made more than a decent debut if you ask me. Yes, the movie is not Narasimham but that was almost two decades back and even I have moved on , as a fan. Believe me when I tell you that the film certainly did not deserve the kind of onslaught that was meted out early on, literally. By the time the first half of the film was over, I was angry and relieved, for the right reasons. But given the events in the recent past that rocked the Malayalam film industry which involved the major names associated with the film, there’s always room for malice. The movie gets cocky too when it takes a dig at Communists. That might not go down well especially when the leading man’s political ambitions are a topic of hot speculation  in the state. But none of these factors should stop you from finding out for yourself, after all I am a self confessed fan. Not a fan boy though.There’s a difference but I’ll save that for another day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gold standard for crime thrillers in Malayalam Cinema is undoubtedly Oru CBI Diarykurippu which spawned an entire series that refuses to go away even today, though purists might argue the case of Yavanika which is absolutely justified too. That both featured Mammooty in unconventional cop avatars is more than a mere coincidence I’d say given the actors penchant for expirementation. Apart from rather lacklustre sequels which rode merely on the legacy of the first film,  CBI Diarykurippu also set a rather pedestrian pattern for investigative thrillers in Malayalam to follow. As we have witnessed in Malayalam movies in the genre, the climax is almost always a witness parade where every plot twist until then is discussed in what’s nothing less than a lecture by the lead actor, be it any of the  CBI sequels to Jeethu Joseph’s debut thriller to the many insignificant  Sureshgopi crime thrillers.This was even seen in Ranjith Sankar’s Pretham. For an audience conditioned  to such banality in the past couple of decades Joseph is novel in more ways than one.

The teaser of the film had set keen movie afficionados talking for a couple of reasons, Joju George’s look and the air he had about his self. Joesph scripted by a police officer is as much an emotional drama as the procedural it is at the core.  Personally I felt that Joseph owed its pacing and narrative style to the Scandinavian and Spanish thrillers that we have come to love. In fact I almost had a sense of deja vu towards the end and I still havent shaken that feeling off, to be honest but  I have gone ahead and written what I am writing becasue Joseph is exactly the kind of movie that deserves to be talked and written about. M. Padmakumar who dished out various versions of Devasuram at the start of his career has ventured into more or less unknown territory in terms of genre and has found sweet success. And the fact that the gamble with the lead actor also paid off must add to the high the Director deserves to be on. Joju George is the single most focal point of the film and there is hardly a frame without the man in it. M. Padmakumar deserves an award for just visualising Joju as Joseph. In the scene where he rides a Bajaj Chetak to a crime scene early on with one hand on the handlebar, smoking a beedi stub with the other sans a helmet on his head had the screen cluttered with all kinds of statuatory warnings and you still can’t miss the lazy elegance and the ease at which he stays in character in that simple sequence. Few minutes later there was random applause  in the theatre when he delivered a salute to his former superior. He is an actor for the longer race and the USP of the film. That is not taking anything away from the brilliant screenplay and masterful direction.Giving Joju company are a bunch of actors from Dileesh Pothan to Irshad to Sudhi Koppa. Athmiya is the only actor who gets to make an impression amongst the female cast.

In an otherwise taut and watertight script the only time I winced was when, as is the custom in Malayalam, rather Indian Cinema the makers chose to carelessly throw in the term hacking. No, they dont resort to vappachi’s legacy here but they could have been a bit more careful given the detaling to most technical aspects of a modern day investigation the film depicts. All they need is a season of Mr.Robot, for perspectives’ sake when it comes to hacking. The film also tries to address a social menace that we are indeed aware of but has little exposure as general public to, in the mainstream newsmedia.The film has also explored the dynamics of  relationships and the concept of a family in ways that are far removed from the conventional ones that we often come across in Malayalm Cinema. The greatest success of the film is that despite the disturbing central theme and the slow burn narration it’s the character rather the actor who remains in our psyche. You will cease to wonder why the film is named Joseph and start wondering why it isn’t called Joju.

 

 

 

It took his debut film as a director, Thalappavu for the general Malayali audience to finally accept Madhupal as a serious film personality. Then he further cemented his position with his second film, Ozhimuri. He had finally shaken off his percieved image in the collective psyche of the Malayali film going crowd, that of a man with sinister intentions thanks to his acting debut decades back  in the Suresh Gopi vehicle Kashmeeram. After a string of insignificant roles on the same lines as his debut, Madhupal finally found his silver lining and broke through with Thalappavu as a director. Both Thalappavu and Ozhimuri drew inspiration from historical and social events which had left scars in Kerala’s past and questioned our claims of progress and enlightenment. So it was only natural that Madhupal was as much the reason as the leading man Tovino why Oru Kuprasidha Payyan was one movie to look forward to.

Unlike his earlier films Oru Kuprasidha Payyan is almost entirely commercialised to cater  to the needs of the box office and the persona of the rising star it’s leading man is. Author   Jeevan Job Thomas turns screenwriter with this film and is again based on a real life incident. If a genre has to be named the film would definitely fit the description of a legal thriller though it unintentionally reminds the viewers of many recent movies namely Visaranai and Saira Banu. The writer and director have tried to explore how the enforcers of the law treat the individuals on the lowest rungs of our society. Tovino  who is on a roll with consecutive hits has plenty of scenes to test his emoting skills. Madhupal has tried to infuse comedy though it’s short lived in the shape of Balu, who on the otherhand gets a chance to explore his serious side as an actor. The actor who takes the cake here is Nimisha Sajayan in a role that’s performed and has been written with equal brilliance. It’s not exactly the kind of character that we come across in Malayalm Cinema everyday and Nimisha has proven again that she is a talent to look out for. Her choice of films too speak of her approach to the art, I feel. Every story that’s told in a movie with commercial intentions needs an antagonist  whose purpose is to act as the pole against which the viewer’s moral compass aligns and here that mantle has fallen on veteran actor Nedumudi Venu. Anu Sithara plays a character that’s a bit more than the regular romantic interest. Saranya is at home in the pivotal role she plays.

Oru Kuprasidha Payyan is not the most cinematically perfect movie by Madhupal and doesn’t compare artistically to his earlier works but it has succeeded in delivering some of the most realistic court scenes we have ever come across as viewers in Malayalam Cinema. The sequences would have made John Grisham proud. Jeevan Job Thomas’s scripting of the court proceedings and the detailing which reflects his scientific temperament is complemented by Madhupal’s visualisation. Veteran producer Sureshkumar turns actor here and maybe it’s a deliberate choice given the impact in terms of novelty the depiction of the judge character he plays has on the court scenes which almost entirely make up the second half of the movie.  Oru Kuprasidha Payyan is ultimately the tale of an underdog who is betrayed intentionally by some and out of helplessness by others. Ironically it’s the judiciary who comes to his aid here when he almost loses himself in the penal system. In the movie hall when the lights go off almost all of us root for the underdog though it’s another question if we would do that out in the real world in the harsh light of the day.

 

 

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പണ്ട് ഹിന്ദി പടങ്ങളിൽ ധർമേന്ദ്രയും ജിതേന്ദ്രയും ചെറുപ്പത്തിൽ കുംഭമേളക്ക് പോയി വേർപെട്ടു പോകുന്ന പോലെയാണ് ബിഗ് ബിക്ക് ഞാനും കണ്ണനും വീരയ്യയിൽ കേറി ഇരുന്നത്. ഫസ്റ് ക്ലാസും ഹൌസ് ഫുൾ ആയ കൊണ്ട് ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് അടുത്തടുത്ത സീറ്റ് കിട്ടിയില്ല.ഒരുമിച്ചു പടത്തിനു കേറീട്ട് കൂടെ വന്നവനോട് ഇടക്ക് ഇടക്ക് കമന്റ് പറയാതെ പടം കാണുന്നെന്റെ വിഷമം കല്യാണം കഴിഞ്ഞവർക്ക് ഒരു വല്യ സംഭവം അല്ലായിരിക്കാം എന്നാലും ഏതാണ്ട് പകുതി കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോ ആണ് ഇതൊക്കെ എവിടെയോ കണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ടല്ലോ എന്ന് തോന്നിയത്. സണ്ണിയെ കണ്ട തിരുമേനിയെ പോലെ. ചോദിയ്ക്കാൻ ആണേൽ ലവൻ അടുത്തും ഇല്ല. കുറച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞാണ് എനിക്ക് ഫോർ ബ്രദേഴ്‌സ് ആണ് ബിഗ് ബി എന്ന് കത്തിയത്. ഒരു ഡിസപ്പോയിന്റ്മെന്റ് തോന്നിയെങ്കിലും ലോകത്തിന്റെ ഒരു ഭാഗത്തു ഒതുങ്ങി പോകേണ്ടിയിരുന്ന ഒരു കല സൃഷ്ടിയെ ഭാഷയുടെയും ഭൂമിശശാസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെയും അതിരുകൾ കടത്തി ജനകീയവത്കരിക്കുന്ന സേവന കർമം ആണല്ലോ അണിയറ പ്രവർത്തകർ ചെയ്തത് എന്ന് ആലോചിച്ചു ആശ്വസിച്ചു. ബിഗ് ബി എന്നാലും ഇഷ്ടപെട്ട സിനിമകളിൽ ഒരെണ്ണം തന്നെ. സാഗർ ഏലിയാസ് ജാക്കിയുടെ ടീസർ ഒരു ബി എം ഡബ്ള്യു പരസ്യം ഓർമിപ്പിച്ചു കെട്ടടങ്ങി..അൻവർ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ പക്ഷെ ഡിസപ്പോയിന്റ്മെന്റ് കോപ്പിയടിയുടേതായിരുന്നില്ല ട്രെയ്‌റ്റർ പോലൊരു സിനിമയെ വെറും സ്ലോ മോഷൻ മഹാമഹം ആയി കുറച്ചതിന്റെതായിരുന്നു.വീണ്ടും ഇത് പോലെ ഒരു അനുഭവം ഉണ്ടായതു ചാപ്പാ കുരിശ് കണ്ടു ഇറങ്ങിയപ്പോഴാണ്. വീരയ്യയിൽ തന്നെ.അന്ന് പക്ഷെ കണ്ടിറങ്ങിയപ്പോൾ അറിയില്ലായിരുന്നു കൊറിയൻ ഹാൻടെൽഫോൺ ആണ് മലയാളവത്കരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത് എന്ന്. വണ്ടിയിൽ കേറി വീട്ടിൽ എത്തുന്ന വരെ മലയാള സിനിമ ഒടുവിൽ പ്രമേയപരമായും അവതരണശൈലിയിലും കൈവരിച്ച മാറ്റങ്ങളെ പറ്റി ഞങ്ങൾ വാചാലരായി. അന്ന് സ്മാർട്ടഫോണും ഡേറ്റയും ഇല്ലാത്ത കൊണ്ട് വീട്ടിലെത്തി ബിഎസ്എൻഎൽ വഴി പിസിയിൽ നിന്ന് നെറ്റിൽ കേറി കുത്തുന്ന വരെ ഡിസ്പ്പോയിന്റ്മെന്റ് കാത്തു നിന്നു. ഒരുമാതിരി പണ്ട് ഹൈസ്‌കൂളിൽ വെച്ചൊക്കെ നമുക്ക് ഇഷ്ടപെട്ട കൊച്ചിന് വേറെ ലൈൻ ഉണ്ടെന്നു അറിയുമ്പോ തോന്നുന്ന ഒരു ഫീലിംഗ് പോലെ ആയിരുന്നു. എക്സൈൽഡ് ബാച്ചിലർ പാർട്ടി ആയപ്പോ പക്ഷെ കോളേജിലെത്തിയിട്ടും ലൈൻ ആവാത്തവന്റെ മരവിപ്പ് ആയിരുന്നു . ഇയോബിന്റെ പുസ്തകം പക്ഷെ ഒരു അപവാദം ആയി, ലാസ്‌റ് ഓഫ് ദി മോഹിക്കൻസിലെ ഡാനിയൽ ഡേ ലൂയിസിന്റെ കാട്ടിൽ കൂടെയുള്ള തോക്കും പിടിചോണ്ടുള്ള ഓട്ടത്തിന്റെ പാവനസ്മരണ ഒഴിച്ച് നിർത്തിയാൽ. ഇതിനിടക്ക് ട്വന്റി ടു ഫീമെയിൽ കോട്ടയത്തിന്റെ പേര് പല ഇഗ്ലീഷ് പടങ്ങളുടെ പേരിന്റെ കൂടെ പറഞ്ഞു കേട്ടെങ്കിലും എനിക്ക് അത് ബ്രോക്കേഡൗൺ പാലസ് ആയിരുന്നു. സ്റ്റേക് ഔട്ട് വന്ദനവും വൺ ഫ്ലൂ ഓവർ ദി കുക്കൂസ് നെസ്റ്റ് താളവട്ടവും എ റോമൻ ഹോളിഡേ കിലുക്കവും ആയപ്പോഴും പ്രിയദർശൻ സീൻ ബൈ സീൻ പുനർനിർമാണം ഒഴിവാക്കിയിരുന്നു എന്ന് ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞാൽ എന്നാ പിന്നെ സ്‌ട്രൊ ഡോഗ്സ് വരത്തൻ ആയാൽ നിനക്ക് എന്നാടാ എന്ന് ആരേലും ചോദിച്ചാൽ ഒരു കുഴപോം ഇല്ല ചേട്ടാ ആയിക്കോ എന്ന് മാത്രമേ എനിക്ക് പറയാൻ ഉള്ളു.ഇതൊക്കെ പിന്നെ എന്തിന് എഴുതിപിടിപ്പിച്ചത് എന്ന് ചോയിച്ചാൽ ഇന്നസെന്റ് ലോ ലാ പടത്തില് രാത്രി കുന്നിന്റെ മോളി കേറി നിന്ന് വിളിച്ചു കൂവുന്ന പോലെ ആണെന്ന് കരുതിയാ മതി.ബട്ട് എ പവർഹൌസ് ഓഫ് ഒറിജിനൽ ടാലന്റ് ലൈക് ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ സിംപ്ലി ഡിസർവ്സ് ബെറ്റർ എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു കൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ ഉപസംഹരിക്കുന്നു.