Tag: Malayalam

  • Bobanum Mollyum

    The first tee I made for myself. You have to be Malayalese to get it.

    Bobanum Mollyum

  • Awesomeness is homemade

    Three weekends and three Malayalam movies – different genres, different directorial approaches and a largely non-overlapping cast. But all of them underlying that this is indeed becoming a glorious age for Malayalam cinema! New stories, novel thoughts, fresh perspectives – this is a wonderful time to be a viewer. I decided to write this post, because as I’d mentioned earlier while on the subject, movies are a representation of an era, and years later, I’d like to read this and remember what a great time we had!

    On the first weekend, we saw ABCD, (trailer) starring Dulquer Salmaan, who with each outing impresses further, seems destined to be an actor and a star, and might not have to wait for years like his father (Mammootty) to attain either. Our decision to see it in the theatre was also heavily influenced by the presence of Jacob Gregory, whom we were fans of thanks to Akkara Kazchakal. The movie was not meant for intellectual stimulation and delivered its promise of entertainment quite easily. What it also did was look at contemporary issues in a non-preachy way. Despite a few niggles – the editing could have been better, Gregory’s accent could’ve been worked on and he could have been better utilised in the first half – Martin Prakkat has ensured that his success continues after his debut film Best Actor. Extra points for not trying to force fit a love story that could have spoiled the superb essaying of a script-backed character by Aparna Gopinath, the very anti-thesis of a traditional Malayalam movie heroine.

    The second weekend saw us in PVR for 5 Sundarikal – an anthology with stories of 5 different women in various life stages. 5 directors, with one of them making a debut. My favourite was Aashiq Abu’s Gowri, (despite not being a fan of Kavya Madhavan) thanks to the really sensitive story of a couple whose life goes through a drastic change after a seemingly casual remark by a visiting friend. Kullante Bharya was an equally strong contender, and quite unchacteristic of Amal Neerad, I might add. I place it second only because the story is an adaptation. Dulquer takes on the narrator role with ease and does a splendid job of making sure the nuances are caught just right. Shyju Khalid’s Sethulakshmi, based on a story by M Mukundan, is poignant and very disturbing! Fantastic treatment of the story in terms of catching expressions, and portraying scenarios. Anwar Rasheed’s Aami does not fail only because of the superb portrayal of the protagonist by Fahadh Fasil, who captures the flitting gray shade nuances of his character with ease, and the riddle based flow of the story. Sameer Thahir’s Eesha, starring Isha Sharvani and Nivin Pauly reminded me of a short story (not sure if it’s Archer) and was probably the only one which only worked marginally for me. But in all, it was an excellent compilation.

    The best was saved for the last – Murali Gopy teaming up with Arun Kumar Aravind after Ee Adutha Kaalathu – Left Right Left. The title of this post is inspired by its tagline – revolution is homemade. Fantastic casting, with Hareesh Peradi, (what was he doing in Red Chillies?!)  Murali Gopy and Indrajith making each character easily believable. So strong is the script that you feel the angst and pain that each of them have within – and that even goes for the ruthless character played by Hareesh Peradi. The political overtones are more than obvious, but yet manage not to take over the film. There is an immense amount of realism in the movie, and that is not because one could easily associate it with real life personalities, but because even the secondary characters have a clear DNA – why they are the way they are, what drives them, what is their rationale for doing the things they do. It is really difficult to choose between the three protagonists and that’s because of the strong script as well as the brilliant portrayals. Like I mentioned in a tweet, it was awesome to see the sons of gifted actors – Murali Gopi, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sudhir Karamana, and Vijayaraghavan in a single movie! If that isn’t new generation Malayalam movies, what is? 🙂 A powerful, hard hitting movie, and kudos to the director for delivering the script just right! For now, watch the back story of the characters in the movie’s potent anthem

    until next time, malayalam cinema #ftw

  • Movie magic

    There’s a new wave of movies in Malayalam which have now gotten a genre all to themselves – they are being called ‘new generation’. This has as much to do with the new breed of filmmakers/actors/technicians who’ve begun to make their mark as it is to do with the themes that are portrayed in these films and the mindset that a viewer has to probably adopt – this mindset being radically different from the one reserved for the standard potboiler fare that viewers were used to. I stress the last two because it isn’t as though these kind of movies had never been made before. It was just that they were very few in number. Simply put, the maker and viewer generations are now showing a radical shift from even say, 2-3 years back – in terms of approach, outlook, perspectives, perceptions and expectations.

    Movies being a medium of expression, I have always been intrigued by the subtexts, though I have not had the liberty of time to actually spend thoughts on the subject.  This article, for instance, does a good analysis on Mani Ratnam’s movies and the influence of various narratives. These days, when I watch (malayalam) movies from the 80s and 90s,  I try to identify the themes that have been used in/inspired them. Earlier than that would be difficult since I have no primary experience of the era.

    I saw Thoovanathumbikal again recently, a fantastic movie which deserves a ‘new generation’ tag even if it were made now, especially because of its sensibilities. It is very much what I call a mood movie – requires the viewer to succumb to the mood to truly enjoy it, especially the current day viewer who expects something to happen every second, and nuances are not counted. (probably why Annayum Rasoolum was not appreciated much – it’s less to do with the theme and its twists and more about the way it’s been dealt with – the sophistication and the aesthetic) Timeless as Thoovanathumbikal might be, I wonder how much one would appreciate it more if one had experienced first hand the societal values, mindset  and the ethos of the time. The rain, for example, which plays such an important part, do we view it in that light anymore? At the same time, the maturity of the person is also a factor. I was nine when it released and would have slept through it! 🙂

    And that’s probably why cinema is indeed magical – not only is it a representation of an era, or a part of it, but at any point in time, there’d be someone who’d be able to relate to it, across the passage of years.

    until next time, moving pictures

  • Roleplay

    Jagathy Sreekumar, in my opinion, is one of the finest comedians actors to grace the screen. Probably THE finest. Since he’s acted only in Malayalam movies (over 1000 of them), he’s relatively lesser known to non Keralites. But you don’t have to go away, this is not about him or even Malayalam movies or even movies.

    Contrary to his usual on-screen characters, he’s a very serious person in his media interviews. He was once asked why he accepted all the roles that came to him, and why he wasn’t more choosy, especially since he could afford to. Pat came the reply “I’m a professional. Do you think a doctor should be allowed to choose which patients to accept?”The interviewer predictably moved on to easier pastures.

    This was sometime back, but I was reminded of it during the debate on Tendulkar ‘walking’.  (he walked away despite the umpire signaling ‘not out’) Both Jayawardene and Ponting were clear that they’d walk only after they were declared out. Though I have not always been a Tendulkar fan, I have been an ardent admirer for quite a while now, of the player on the field and the person off it.

    So it was quite a difficult question – the morality of a professional (?) ‘walking’ without considering his responsibilities to the team. (forget the expectations of a nation for now) Was he being selfish – keeping his ‘fair play’ image intact? (though Ganguly claimed Sachin hasn’t always ‘walked’)

    While the moral question lingers, I thought I got an insight into Sachin’s behaviour from this amazing article I read thanks to Roshni. It says that Sachin is a bridge, between two eras of cricket, and he realises the responsibility. As a sport, today’s cricket, both on and off the field, is vastly different from what it used to be, and yes, it is no longer just a sport. As the author quotes “The team’s rabid popularity, is a reflection of rising national ambition, of pride in national achievement.” Maybe Sachin realises a bit beyond this too, and is doing his bit to ensure that in the pursuit of success, a right set of ethos is also kept in mind. Playing the game to win, and playing it fair.

    Jagathy, legendary though he is, perhaps has it easier. There are bigger stars around him who are expected to be role models. He can get away with moral absolutism.  Tendulkar probably has the tougher job – as he charts new territories in terms of matches played, runs scored, centuries made, he also has to navigate new grounds in moral integrity, balancing his own stance with the expectations of a team, a nation and still ensuring that he’s a worthy icon in all respects.

    until next time, Godlike

  • Putting on an act

    For a while now, Renjith has been the gold standard (for me) in Malayalam cinema. Yes, he still disappoints occasionally, but his good works more than make up for it. So I had no hesitation in booking tickets at PVR for Pranchiyettan and the Saint. In addition to writing, directing and producing the film, Renjith also lends his voice to Saint Francis’ character, who starts speaking fluent Malayalam at the end of a hilarious sequence in which Mammootty questions whether the Christians of Kerala were being idiots by praying in Malayalam to a saint who couldn’t understand it.

    If someone had shared this script with me a few years back and told me to pick a lead actor, I’d say Mohanlal. But not anymore. The two superstars of Malayalam cinema have always been contrastive, on and off screen. Mohanlal earned his chops with portrayals of characters that we could either easily identify with or be in awe of. We laughed with him, cried with him, egged him on. In the mid nineties, he moved on to roles that had more serious shades. Less than a decade later, the actor in him died, leaving fans like me fighting discussion crusades that lacked heart. His last good performance was Thanmathra. When people talk about his supposedly superlative performances in films like Bhramaram, I wonder if they have lowered the bar, as a favour to their favourite actor.  I can understand that, most of his other releases make me cringe. I also wished movies like Pakshe and Pavithram hadn’t been made earlier, so that he could’ve done them now. His interviews make me wonder how this serious person with a philosophical perspective on even mundane things could ever have done those amazingly funny characters early in his career. Its a glimpse of the abundance of acting talent he possessed. Now he is just a superstar.

    Mammootty, on the other hand, I had never considered a brilliant actor, despite films like Thaniyavarthanam. It was his screen presence and the strength of characters that carried him. Cop, lawyer, CBI sleuth, he brought a special something to the role, which made him a star. But the thought of him doing comedy was funny, despite coming across in interviews as a very witty, fun loving person. Over the years, he has slowly scaled his repertoire. Now he dazzles us with films like Kaiyoppu, Loudspeaker and Paleri Manikyam, each a different genre and style, and even in utterly nonsensical films like Pokkiri Raja (a Tamil film made in Malayalam, go figure) he displays a comic timing that makes you forgive the movie. In an equally masala commercial movie called Daddy Cool, in one scene he references a character he played 13 years back! Instant Classic. At 56, the method actor has arrived.

    Mammootty is now extremely comfortable as an actor and is not afraid of even having fun at his own expense. The things the mimicry guys used to feed on – his dancing skills (lack, that is), hand gestures are all part of his own comic repertoire now. On the other hand, Mohanlal is a shadow of his former self. One can actually see the labouring that goes into his acting now, where, once upon a time, his portrayal of characters seemed so natural that we regularly forgot it was an act.

    I thought about both of them in the context of talent and passion – last week’s post. Having seen the above two, I have to wonder again whether passion commands more perseverance than talent.

    until next time, cut.