Which Malayalam film did you watch recently ?

[Plum]

Vinodayathra
Typical Sathyan Anthikkad. . For an ordinary family sentiment movie, the amount of tightness in the script, the remarkable restraint in showing the devastating personal situations that the characters face, and the practical, believable way they handle it, all these stand out.
Raja and Jasmine rule. I tell you, Mary 'Meera Jasmine' Joseph is a wasted talent in Indian cinema.

Azhaga sonnenga Plum. Idhae feelings dhan enakum...
simple and true dialogues... natural acting...( Cinema thanam illadha expressions , acting.....)

Father irandha pona nerathil, Hero kite(Dilip?) Meera vin expression is excellent. ( Veetu porupai yetru konda oru pennin sogam - Nalla express seidhu irupa. Hero kite oru support ai expect pannum Expression......Very Nice...)

Yes, Usha, nInga sonna andha scene and frame - Meera is absolutely fantastic - even in Malayalam Cinema where standards of acting are high, she stands out. That moment where she loses the one person in the world who loves her unconditionally and more than anyone else - even her mother treats her and her errant sister equally - and being the strong, proud person she is, the way she tries to be strong in front of Dileep(Dileep it is) but eventually the way that one expression conveys everything - the gamut of expressions she runs through...

It is easy to call something realistic acting as we would of this - but I bite my tongue when I realise that how do I know? I havent seen anyone in such a situation yet I know seeing this frame that this is as real as it can get in acting. That is the power of great acting.
(nInga sonnA maadhiri, someone who actually went through it will empathise even more.)

There is another moment, which I had observed before in IR Forums while discussing Kaiyethu. In the lead-up to the song, Murali casually mentions that he wants to frolic in the rain because "who knows if I will see another rainy season". You should watch the frame that follows, a close-up of Jasmine. It lasts about 5 seconds, but the expression that she conjures up, the genuine shock, sadness and fear that runs through her eyes - simply well you up.

[Plum]

Raja and Jasmine rule. I tell you, Mary 'Meera Jasmine' Joseph is a wasted talent in Indian cinema.

I quite agree with you Plum ... yet another feat or hers was the movie PerumazhakAlam .... she portrays as a muslim - wife of convicted Dilip - who serves term in jail ... she has to get maapu (forgiveness) from Kavya Madhavan - a brahmin gal - wife of Vineet who gets murdered in some country ... you could see a very good piece of Meera Jasmine .... one good movie ...

Perumazhakaalam runs on empty gas(script) for most of its run-time, and depends solely on Jasmine, and to a lesser extent, Kavya Madhavan. At places, I found it a little too melodramatical, and the characters seemed to be (especially Kavya's relatives) reacting in such a way as to set-up the final set-pieces for showcasing Meera/Kavya's acting chops. However, Jasmine excels as usual.
The pinnacle, however, even for this supremely gifted actress must be Kasthoorimaan and orE kadal.
(I'd request Murali Srinivas to write about orE kadal - I am sure he must have watched it )

[bingleguy]

well probably right you are Plum !!!

But my take on Perumazhakkaalam is that the movie gulps in a lot of realism ....

the story was simple - even predictive - but narration was pretty much focused. Almost everything was made to feel needed for the narration - leaving very little space for strong storyline per say ! Still i feel that the screenplay - was moving at its planned pace giving importance to every character who comes across ... one good thing to note about a script that has lot of sobbing - is that this movie handles it with perfect balance - which would mean - that no dragging on !!!!! by the time you are about to get impacted by the very scene - screenplay has already moved to a different scene ... As all Malayalam movies are known for - this one too was very natural !!!

[Murali Srinivas]

(I'd request Murali Srinivas to write about orE kadal - I am sure he must have watched it )

Plum,

I wrote this in our hub some 2 years ago, to be exact in Sep 2007. I am cut pasting the ame for you. I have not written much about performance [if that was what you wanted] and instead elaborated on the story part. Here it is for you.

Saw "Ore Kadal", a Malayalam movie and this was my first screen watching at Mayajal. Would like to talk about the same.

At the very outset this is an off beat movie and the megaphone is wielded by Shyama Prasad who has to his credit some good films like Agni Sakchi and Akale.

The story is set in a Metro (though fully shot in Chennai but due to some reasons, it is being shown as a North Indian city).

Dr.Nathan is a well known socio- economist who has many laurels to his credit. He has won innumerable awards for his works and has published many papers and books. Currently he is doing a paper on Un employment in India among married folk. He is a loner who never believes in any relations or relatives(In fact the film opens up, with him getting a call from his home town asking him to come down as his Chinnamma is sinking). He is a materialistic person who spends time with a woman (who caters to the high end of the society) whenever he has the Biological urge.

Accidentally he overhears an animated conversation a woman has with her husband over the public phone as their son is not well and needs to be taken to hospital. He finds out that this couple lives in the same apartment where he stays and takes the mother and child to the hospital as the husband is away from town. He learns that the husband is presently not having a job and this increases his interest.

When the husband comes back, this woman (Deepthi) persuaded by her husband is again back to Nathan's apartment asking for money as they need to pay the rent. She offers to pledge her jewels. He refuses initially but later gives her the money but returns the jewels. Her husband who does bits and pieces of jobs earns some money and again she is asked to do one more favour. Nathan being an influential person can fetch a job for him, if he puts in a word. She goes to his apartment and finds Nathan fully intoxicated. He is "celebrating" his Chinnamma's death and he flatly refuses her request to recommend a job for her husband stating that each one has to take care of himself. Then out of the blue he asks her whether she can "accomdate" him as he wants a woman badly. He tells her if she is not interested, she can go away.Though startled by his open question, she stands there hesistantly and when he touches her she repulses feebly and after a while allows him.

Once or twice this happens and during one meet she asks her whether he likes her. He replies in the negative stating that he does not carry any love or affection for her and it was the bodily need that took him to her. To rub salt in the wound, he asks her "why you allowed me because you wanted to make sure of the job your husband badly wanted, right?" . This point blank bullet shatters her and she returns dejected.

Later she finds out she is pregnant. When she tries to reach Dr.Nathan, he is gone abroad for a seminar. Her husband unaware of all these (now firmly in a job,courtesy Dr.Nathan) would be taking care of her. While she is in the advanced stage of her pregnancy, Dr.Nathan returns and he meets her. She tries to convey the message but she is unable to do so. Again she is hurt when he cooly says that he never thought about her during his long stay away.

She delivers a girl baby. But her mind is very agitated and it gets reflected in her actions. One night her husband wakes up and gets the jolt of the life when he sees her wife trying to throw the baby away saying that it is dead. She had lost her mental balance as she is caught between the "sin" she commited and her inability to come out of that. She is taken to a mental asylum. Before this Dr.Nathan visits her and she reacts violently with him.

Dr.Nathan discusses this issue with his "companion" (he had already hinted about his relationship with Deepthi) and she spills the beans to him telling that the baby is his. He taken aback initially refuses to believe but understands later that it is true. A man who had till that time steadfastedly refused to believe in any relationship is a broken man now and he immerses himself in liquor.

Deepthi is cured (some years pass by) and they start residing in another place. She slowely comes to grips with the life but her sub conscious mind is not fully free. She indulges in Bakthi but solace eludes her. Accidentally the husband (Jayan by name) meets Dr.Nathan in a bar and invites him home.

He comes to their house. Jayan is not there and on seeing him coming, Deepthi shuts the door and refuses to open it in spite of he ringing the bell and knocking the door. Dejected he turns back and when he reaches the gate he finds the two children coming back from school and when he sees the younger one his heart starts pumping. The elder boy unable to recogonise him go past him but this girl has a deep look at him. Unable to take it any further, Dr.Nathan walks away.

Deepthi's husband on arriving in the night find the house dark and on putting on the lights find all the photos of Gods broken and she replies that she tells him that she had lost belief. She having surrendered to Almighty to "save" her finds she is unable to ward of the thoughts of the other person and had broken the photos. Unable to take it any futher, the next day she takes both of her children to Dr.Nathan's flat and what transpires between the two forms an absorbing climax.

As I said at the starting, it requires some guts to do such a movie and Shyama Prasad deserves kudos for this. He paints the complex human mind in the celluloid with a expert touch and he carefully avoids any visuals which would derail the essence of this movie.

Coming to the lead actors, Mammootty as Dr.Nathan had given out a brilliant performance. He had taken up a role which few Indian actors would dare attempt to and had come out with flying colours. As for as Deepthi character is concerned, it is again a life time performance from Meera Jasmine. The joining of National award winners Mammootty and Meera for the first time had resulted in a great treat for the audience. Naren as the unsuspecting husband fits the bill and Ramya Krishnan as the companion gives out a matured performance.

The film will not cater to commercial BO, but neverthless an absorbing film for people who look for something different.

Regards

[Plum]

Murali, thanks. I was looking more for a performance appraisal but this one is a nice review capturing the movie very well.

[Murali Srinivas]

The second one is "Chattambi Nadu" which is being directed by Shafi. Though a masala flick, here Mammooty plays a role called Vijayendra Mallaiyaa, a Don by profession. Here he speaks Malayalam with a Kannada accent. Set for release during Christmas, they call it as Festival mood film implying it would be a mass entertainer.

As expected this film that got released on 24th has hit its target audience well. Labelled as Mass Masala, the movie is rocking in BO. Here are some reviews.

Chattambinadu Movie -Sify

By Moviebuzz

If your idea of a movie is some mindless entertainment at the cinemas and your favourite hero is Mammootty, then chances are that you may like this film.

Director Shafi has narrated a story which is a potpourri of films like Rajamanikyam, Prajapathi, Thommanum Makkalum and a few others of the similar kind, but certainly without much of the charm of any of these films, in the absence of a credible storyline!
How many times have we been taken to some curious land in the Tamil Nadu border, where the hero is the God for the rather dumb natives and he has a past that will be revealed only during the second half? Amidst confusions galore, the hero will have the whole village ready to die for him, except for the villain and his cronies who will pose some problems until the climax, some minutes before the end credits start rolling.

Well, the story happens more or less the same way, in a remote village originally called Chembattunadu as well. The rivalry between two wealthy families had brought in some chattampis (goons) from neighbouring areas and after a while, they took control of the village.

Chembattunadu soon became Chattambinadu. Vijendra Mallaya (Mammootty), who speaks Malayalam with a heavy Kannada accent, soon comes to Chattambinadu, after he buys the property belonging to Mallanchira Chandramohan (Manoj K Jayan). This enrages the wicked Kattappilly Nagendran (Siddique) and he begins to pose troubles one after the other for Mallaya. There are some local chattampis in the area, like Makri Gopalan (Salim Kumar) and Dasamoolam Damu (Suraj Venjarammood) that is meant to makes things more interesting.

Mammootty looks eminently handsome in his trimmed moustache and neatly cut stubble. He wears a white kurta- pyjama, white shoes, dark sunglasses and a red tilak on his forehead that makes him quite an imposing figure. He talks in a peculiar accent and the actor has taken some nice efforts to give the character some real difference.

Mammootty’s punchline a mixture of Kannada and Malayalam is sure to become popular. But why does only his character speak in such an accent and everyone else converse in fluent Malayalam, including his gang members?

Vinu Mohan, who plays Murugan, is like a brother to Mallaya and the young actor has come up with one of the best performances in his brief career. Both the heroines, Lakshmi Rai and Manikyam Mythili, have limited roles to play.

Siddique, as the menacing villain, looks fine but has nothing much to do other than what we have seen in some of his earlier films. Salimkumar and Suraj tries really hard, but they too have nothing new to offer.

It is the script that is the weakest link here and that is evident all along. The scenes and even the locations remind us that this is a rather meek hodgepodge of situations from quite a few films from the past, with related themes. Manoj Pillai's camera, however, does a brilliant job and Alex Paul's music seems to be okay in parts. At just more than two hours and eight minutes, Chattambinadu may turn out to be a mindless mass entertainer. The film is worth a look for Mammookka, he is simply awesome and holds the film together.
Verdict: Paisa Vasool

Review from another Forum

CHATTAMBINADU

It’s purely a trading with the strong screen presence of Malayalam Cinema’s showman Mammootty. And the team behind the screen succeed in that. That is what we can realize from the overwhelming response of the huge crowd who leave the theatres after watching Chattambinadu.

Cheerful comedy is Shafi’s forte. The spectators have got a touch of his comic vein in movies like Kalyana Raman , Thommanum Makkalum, Pulivaal Kalyanam and Mayavi. In his latest offering, the director joins his hand with script writer Benny P Nayarambalam to unfold the story of Chembattu Nadu, which is notorious for the big number of Criminals living there.

The basic plot gave the script writer an extra freedom to fit in bits and pieces of peculiar kind of humor that rims on perplexity and absurdity. In so called ‘Pollachi entertainers’ this perplexity is an inevitable factor. That is what Benny P Nayrambalam did with the screenplay.

As a result , Suraj Venjaramoodu and Salim Kumar came on screen with some comedy numbers that will remind you of their roles in some earlier movies. Sidhique’s villain character Nagendran is also a replica of many of his `usual’ villain roles. The story line also does not have much of a distinction from these sort of masala movies- A flashback , then the puzzlement and mistaken identities …..
So what makes the difference and add color to the whole movie…….It’s Mammootty.

It is an astonishing show by the actor. His looks -swashbuckling, his style is grand and the Megastar really excels in the lead role of Veerendra Mallayya. The fight sequences are also thrilling. His dialogue delivery- perfect.

Except her beautiful looks, Lakshmi Rai as Gouri does not have much role to stir up her acting sensibilities. The film also has a huge star cast including Janardhanan, Vinu Mohan, manoj K Jayan, Shobha Mohan, Vijayaraghavan, Saikumar, T G Ravi, MohanJose, Sphadikam Goeroge to name a few.

On the whole, Chattambi Nadu does tickle a funny bone and provide some thrilling moments, but the story lacks newness and is very much predictable. But the film may be accepted as a mass masala entertainer and the director has boosted the Megastar superbly, making the film a delight to watch for the fans of Mammootty.

Meanwhile Mohanlal's "Ividam Swargamaanu" has also been released [it is released in chennai also] and this family story with the backdrop of Agriculture land issues has opened to mixed response. This film is directed by Roshan Andrews [who earlier directed Udhayanaanu Tharam]. Here is one review from the same forum.

Ividam swargmanu

After narrating the grievances and happiness in the life of a budding director in Udhayananu Tharam and a different kind of teenage love story (Notebook), here in his new offering Ividam Swargamanu, director Roshan Andrews touches upon land grabbing, soaring prices of essential commodities and environmental issues which are the present day concerns of Kerala.

The story is set in a small village near the banks of Periyar. Mathews (Mohanlal)is a farmer living respectfully with his father Jeromis (Thilakan) and mother (Kaviyoor Ponnamma). Later the villagers get lured by the idea of a Town ship. Actually the Township is a trap set by a kingpin in realty sector Aluva Chandy (Lalu Alex) who prompt the majority of the villagers to sell off their lands to him. Anyhow Mathews is not interested to sell his land which he has loved so dearly as his family. The rest of the story is a saga of Mathews’ emotional relationship with the soil, his cattle and his father.

The story looks simple and might also sound like a good material for a masala movie. Script writer James Albert has dealt the subject with much care and has not meddled the actual story line by adding unnecessary commercial stuff till first two hours of the movie. And the last thirty minutes of the movie is funny, but rather it seems like a compromise formula that James was forced to do so as to include some comedy moments. Till then the movie is in a serious track. The script writer could have done without those silly moments but that would have removed the little commercial touch.

And about the performances, Mohanlal has given a controlled performance, and it is a similar sort of role that he had done previously. Among the female leads Priyanka and Lakshmi Gopalasamy are apt for their roles and performance wise also it is okay. But Lakshmi Rai’s was an okay character, but performace not impressive.
Other veterans Thilakan, Sreenivasan, Shankar, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Shobha Mohan, Sukumari and Innocent are good in their roles.

Now the actor who scores the most. It is Lalu Alex at his best. His Character Aluva Chandy is a treat to watch. Likewise is Jagathy Sreekumar’s Bhuvanachandran.

As a director Roshan Andrews has not done something up to his calibre to take this film to a higher level of enjoyment. Another draw back of the film is that it does not offer some memorable scenes for you to remember or cherish about. There are no songs in the movie and this denies the spectator the moments of relief that is essential for the tight first half. The film is a bit dragging in the first half and the second half is more fast paced.. The camera work by Divakar is fine.

Anyhow it is a nice attempt to make a movie on a subject like this and the movie definitely will be appealing to serious movie buffs.
After all it is a simple movie .....……

Regards

PS: Plum, thanks for the Ore Kadal compliment.

[complicateur]

Ividam SwargamANu - Thank God for the occasional director like Rosshan Andrews! More thoughts will come tomorrow.

[Plum]

Ividam SwargamANu - Thank God for the occasional director like Rosshan Andrews! More thoughts will come tomorrow.

ada solli rendu naalaachupA. Politician maadhiri Promises galore but no delivery

I caught snatches of UdhayanANu ThAram in Asianet a month back. Maybe I didnt catch the dialogue well but the reaction was "idhula apdi enna irukku". Must admit I only watched the latter half - muzhusA parthA dhAn solla mudiyum.

[littlemaster1982]

I caught snatches of UdhayanANu ThAram in Asianet a month back. Maybe I didnt catch the dialogue well but the reaction was "idhula apdi enna irukku". Must admit I only watched the latter half - muzhusA parthA dhAn solla mudiyum.

I had watched the entire film, but still felt the same. Probably, I didn't get the references.

[complicateur]

ada solli rendu naalaachupA. Politician maadhiri Promises galore but no delivery

A few thEvai illAtha AANi's got in the way. UT isnt a great film by any measure. Just the comedy and Srini's penchant for not even sparing Lal as an object of satire in a movie in which he is the lead.

Anyway here is my take on Ividam SwargamANu.

For many a month I have decried the loss of the mid 80’s aesthetic in Malayalam cinema. My initial impression after I left Sangam Cinema’s after Rosshan Andrews’ Ividam SwargaMANu, was that someone had finally heard my personal grievance and decided to address it. But on further deliberation I’ve changed my tune. Andrews’ is far to given to meticulous preparation for his characters to have the organic arc that the ones in that golden age. Nonetheless, his brand of filmmaking is certainly a few steps above what currently passes for mainstream cinema in Malayalam these days.

There is a throwaway scene towards the middle of the film where the actions of AluvA ChANdy, the ‘villain’ of the piece, are justified by briefly referencing the financial troubles that resulted from his speculative investments. In a film that otherwise paints that character rather broadly as a villain at large the scene does well in humanizing the character slightly.

The film also utilizes completely Malayalam cinema’s greatest asset – its reliably brilliant supporting artistes. It is in particular heartening to see Thilakan and Lal share screen space considering the cold relationship between the two that existed since Spadikam. Lal is as usual adequate with his brilliance breaking through in a couple of sequences. Writing “while his words portrayed confidence his body language did not” is a fairly simple stringing together of words. Navigating half a minute of screen time that naturally convinces you that Maththai is experiencing these conflicting emotions is a different ball game and it takes an actor of Lal’s caliber to execute this effortlessly. The only sore thumb in the film is Lakshmi Rai, but why pick on the only negative when there is so much else good about the film. Even the sermonizing in the latter sequences is entirely forgivable for the entertaining manner in which it plays out.