Malayalam Cinema

It's been a long time since I wrote something here, on this blog...

In fact, it all began with a break that was supposed to be short, but it got extended and then I forgot my log in details...

So today, I got it recovered and here I am, blogging about cinema, something that I love to do...
Much water has flown under the bridge; many good films have come and gone...in Malayalam 'Traffic' happened, it was a very different thing to happen to Malayalam Cinema and I earned a friend in the director Rajesh Pillai. Good films happened, along with some regular ones and some trash too. At this instant I remember names like 'City of God', 'Urumi', 'Manikyakallu', 'TD Dasan Standard VI B', 'Maanikyakallu', 'Chaapakurishu', 'Best Actor', 'Rathinirvedham' (the TK Rajeev Kumar one), 'Salt n' Pepper', 'Mumbai March 12' and such films that happened in the recent past, in between my stopping and resuming this blog. There could be names that I forgot. Also got to see some real good films from other languages- Hindi, Tamil etc. But for those, I am thinking of starting another blog...

So, lemme start afresh, writing once again with the passion that I have always had, for movies of all kinds....

Lemme see if I can continue to do this regularly... hope so...

Hydrose, the funny goon who struts with a knife in hand and utters loud and empty threats and changes sides as and when needed, taking care to be always on the safer side- who’d forget this character played by Cochin Haneefa in ‘Kireedom’, a film that’s among the all time favourites of film lovers in Kerala?

It’s indeed sad to think that the actor who had given life to Hydrose and many such funny characters, emoting with ease and delivering dialogues in his characteristic style (mimicked so often on the stage) is no more. My early memories of the actor, like many others of my generation, happen to be of the many negative characters that he played in so many films. Little did I know that the guy would metamorphose into one of the most loved of comedians in Malayalam (Another actor who underwent such a surprising kind of transformation of course is Janardhanan). I didn’t know either that Cochin Haneefa was a scenarist and a director.

Anyhow the man who played the funny Mahout in ‘Narendran Makan Jayakantan Vaka’, Eldo in ‘Mannaar Mathai Speaking’, Philippose in ‘Swapnakoodu’ and those many interesting characters in films like ‘Punjabi House’, ‘Pathram’, ‘Dubai’ etc is no more. The man who directed films like ‘Valsalyam’, ‘Veenameettiya Vilangukal’, ‘Bheeshmacharya’, ‘Oru Sandesham Koodi’, ‘Oru Sindoorapottinte Ormaykku’ etc breathed his last yesterday at a hospital in Chennai, the city that earned him many friends, both in the film industry and out of it.

Lots will be said about Cochin Haneefa today and for the next few days in the very same papers and TV channels that dared to ‘kill’ him a few hours before the end actually happened. So, instead of dwelling on his biographical details and his evolution as an artist, I’d prefer to remember him and his many characters along with you all and bid a silent adieu.

Adieu Hydrose!! Yes, you remain, forever our favourite Hydrose. Can’t say about the new generation, but my generation will continue to remember you for those umpteen funny characters that you have left behind.

Films on terrorism, made in other languages, have hit screens in Kerala. ‘Fiza’, ‘A Wednesday’ and its remake ‘Unaipol Oruvan’, ‘Droh Kaal’ and its remake ‘Kuruthi Punal’, ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’, ‘Aamir’ and such other films have reached Kerala. Noted cinematographer-director Santhosh Sivan from Kerala had, in 1999, made a film named ‘The Terrorist’, with Ayesha Dharker playing the key role; and there have been references to terrorism in mainstream Malayalam films, especially those of the Suresh Gopi-Shaji Kailas genre. But we haven’t had in Malayalam a film that deals with terrorism in an exclusive and sensitive manner.

Amal Neerad, cinematographer-turned-director, now gets ready to bring to Malayalam Cinema the subject of terrorism, with his next offering, ‘Anwar’, starring Prithviraj in the lead. (‘Anwar’ incidentally is the name of a Hindi movie, made in 2007 and directed by Manish Jha, the man who made ‘Mathrubhoomi: A nation without women’, and which discussed terrorism too, in a rather satirical tone).

Amal Neerad’s ‘Anwar’, according to the makers, is “the story of one man’s crusade against society’s evil plots to term him as an outcast”. The key characters in the film include Anwar, a Muslim youth who lives in contemporary Kerala; Ayisha, Anwar’s friend, who is well-educated and who is a chemical engineer; Babookka, who is like a father and an elder brother to Anwar and a tough, daring Anti Terrorist Squad officer who is out to wipe out terrorism.

Prithviraj plays the title role, that of Anwar while Mamta Mohandas plays Ayisha and Lal becomes Babookka. Prakash Raj once again comes to Malayalam playing the role of the Anti Terrorist Squad officer.

Produced by Raj Zacharias, ‘Anwar’ features cinematography by Satheesh Kurup, music and background score by Gopi Sundar and editing by Vivek Harshan. Written and directed by Amal Neerad, ‘Anwar’ will start rolling in February and is slated for a July release.

Ranjith Shankar’s only association with Cinema, it’s heard, was that he has been a friend to director Lal Jose and had been to Lal Jose’s shooting locations as well. But this guy, when he directed his debut movie, ‘Passenger’, did take us all by surprise. ‘Passenger’, one of the hit movies of 2009, seemed a movie coming from a seasoned director, who knew his job very well.

The script (by Ranjith Shankar himself) was well written, with no loose ends at all and the direction well handled too. The film was a hit, though it didn’t have the usual box office formula and came without songs either.

Now Ranjith Shankar gets ready for his second film. If it was Dileep and Sreenivasan who played the key roles in ‘Passenger’, along with Mamta Mohandas, in Ranjith’s new film, titled ‘Arjunan Sakshi’, it’s Prithviraj who is the hero. The film has Prithviraj playing an architect named Roy, who comes to Kerala after having worked in different cities all over India. He lands up in Kerala

Let’s stay tuned for more on ‘Arjunan Sakshi’.

Yes, fasten your seat belts and get ready for the star war this Christmas Eve, at the Kerala box office- that’s what die-hard fans of Mammootty and Mohanlal seem to say, and something that leading film magazines and television channels seem to endorse.

Well, to be frank, it’s going to happen. Mammootty’s ‘Chattambinaadu’, directed by Shafi, and Mohanlal’s ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, are all set to hit screens on the same day, December 24th. It’s after a long gap that both the superstars are having releases on the same day, and hence, it’s news for film lovers as well as film journals.

Whether it will be real war at the box office this year is, to be honest, quite uncertain. That Mammootty looks dashing as the Kannada landlord that he plays in ‘Chattambinaadu’ is notable. That Mohanlal and Rosshan Andrrews had earlier given us the mega-blockbuster ‘Udayanaanu Thaaram’ is worth remembering.

On the one hand, youngsters are eagerly awaiting the release of ‘Chattambinaadu’ to catch their own Mammookka (for whom some of them undoubtedly have in their hearts admiration

mixed with envy, courtesy his looks and charm) in that dashing get-up. At the same time, on the other hand, news that ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’ brings together people like director Rosshan Andrrews, scenarist James Albert (of ‘Classmates’ fame), actor Mohanlal and veteran actors Thilakan and Kaviyoor Ponnamma (who play Mohanlal’s parents after a long gap of time) gives scope for the hope that the film could be a good one, with a good storyline and a well-written script and good performance from key players.

This is just one side of the picture. There’s another side to it.

Shafi, who had made hits after hits, somehow failed to make a big impact at the box office with his last film, ‘Lollypop’, which was greeted with the loudest of boos. That suggests or rather proves that Shafi being the director or the film being a colourful entertainer or Mammootty appearing in a dashing role would have no significance at all at the box office. The mix of ingredients should be well balanced; the packaging should be perfect and the performances should be timed well for ‘Chattambinaadu’ to be a hit.

Coming to ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, the name itself could deter youngsters and even fans from coming to see the film. Youngsters, who have their own sway at the box office, nowadays don’t like such titles. For them the title should either be short or trendy and peppy. Moreover, though ‘Udayanaanu Thaaram’ was a hit, the credit, to a great extent, goes to Sreenivasan too (who scripted the film and acted in it too), though Rosshan did his role perfectly well. Similarly for scenarist James Albert, though his debut film ‘Classmates’ was a hit, the credit for that goes, to a great extent, to Lal Jose too. Incidentally Rosshan’s second film (‘Notebook’) and James Albert’s second film (‘Cycle’) turned out to be rather unimpressive too. Added to all this, Mohanlal playing a down-to-earth farmer, with obviously no punchy one-liners for his fans could go against ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, which would have to depend a lot on word-of-the-mouth publicity to make it at the box office.

Anyway, since ‘Chattambinaadu’ is a colourful entertainer and youngsters are already bowled over by Mammootty’s looks, the film would no doubt get a decent opening. As for ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, since it’s Antony Perumbavoor who’s the producer, there would be no stone left unturned as regards publicity, the film may get a smooth take off. But the ultimate fate of the two movies (or for that matter any movie) happens to be unpredictable.

I do understand that I sound rather cynical making such an analysis and sharing such thoughts. But given the rather whimsical and unpredictable nature of film-goers in Kerala and taking into consideration the current trends in Malayalam Cinema (which would baffle the best of analysts), I may be pardoned for sounding a bit cynical, or to be precise, a bit concerned. This because in my heart of hearts I wish that both these films, or for that matter all films that hits screens, eventually emerge triumphant, for the sake of Cinema as an industry, for the sake of the many people whose lives and fates are tied to the film, for the sake of all film-lovers.

So, let’s hope ‘Chattambinaadu’ and ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’ eventually end up being hits, big hits.

It’s a real pleasure to begin this blog by writing about a movie like ‘Neelathamara’.

There may be ‘erudite’ critics and reviewers who’d like to point out where Lal Jose has gone wrong or where he has committed ‘sacrilege’ in the name of movie making. But for me, a movie is to be viewed setting aside all preconceptions and with a free mind, as an average viewer.
So, to be honest, I liked Lal Jose’s ‘Neelathamara’ and I’d like to use this blog to congratulate and with all heart appreciate all those who dared to remake the original ‘Neelathamara’, which was made three decades back and was directed by Yusuf Ali Kechery. Director Lal Jose, producer Suresh Kumar and scenarist M.T.Vasudevan Nair, the three men who made it all happen, deserve the most of appreciation. Kudos to the team who stood beside them to make the film a reality!

It was heartening to see that Padma, the theatre in Ernakulam where the film was being shown, had all shows going full. It was heartening to see youngsters, families and all sections of the film-viewing public of Kochi being there to see this ‘remake’. It was heartening to hear the audience applaud loudly when the film’s name and the names of M.T and Lal Jose appeared on the screen. But what followed immediately afterwards made me sad and resentful too.

Sitting beside us (I was accompanied by a friend) were two young guys who were among those who greeted the titles with applause. But the remarks they made immediately afterwards as the key characters, mainly women started appearing on screen, made me wonder if they were the same guys who seemed to be admirers of MT and Lal Jose. The way they retorted to some of the on-screen dialogues, uttering lewd comments too at times, made me think, with vehemence, why these morons never give a consideration to others, who like them, have paid for their tickets out of their pockets.
Well, the movie went on and the unwarranted utterances of these guys and some others too in the hall went on.

Coming on to the movie, ‘Neelathamara’ has as its plot a very simple story. The main attraction of the movie is that this simple story is narrated in a rather simple manner.

I however wouldn’t like to say much about the story, because those who have seen it or the old ‘Neelathamara’ at least know the story and those who haven’t seen both can find it out for themselves. The narration, the characterisation, the performance by the key players (most of them debutants), the song visualisation, the technical aspects –all have been handled in a very sensitive manner. The cinematography, art-work, costume designing etc stand out. The sound-designing too is impressive, but since it’s not Resul Pookutty who has done it, people may not notice it.
For the average viewer, the main highlight of the movie should be that it’s all very much simple and realistic. There is nothing complicated or complex about ‘Neelathamara’. It touches chords in the hearts of viewers.
‘Neelathamara’, which narrates a story set in the late 1970’s (1979) and does it credibly and sensibly, is a film that you should not miss out on. The film ventures to link the past with the present and makes comments on many things that concern our lives, but all in a subtle manner.

‘Neelathamara’ is one such film that should be viewed, enjoyed and encouraged, all with a very open and unprejudiced mind.

Here we go, with a new blog dedicated to Malayalam Cinema.

The purpose of this blog would be to discuss things pertaining to Malayalam Cinema, irrespective of whether it’s a mainstream film or an offbeat, arty one, old or new, hit or flop. Anything and everything relating to Malayalam Cinema will be discussed here, ranging from news and snippets to reviews and previews. Nostalgic stuff too may find place here.

A major highlight of this blog would be to view and discuss films from the perspective of the viewer and not the erudite critic. (There is of course no denying that the erudite critic plays a very important role in the growth of cinema). Of course the approach will be sensible, but as far as possible malayalamcinema-buzz.blogspot.com would try to view it all from the perspective of a sensible, average viewer who likes to see films without preconceptions and take it and enjoy it for what it is.

So, welcome abroad. Fasten your seat belts. Here we go…..