Pranchiyettan and the Saint Movie Review: Where Art Meets Commerce

That writer/director Ranjith is among the better filmmakers & story tellers in Malayalam Cinema these days is not an unknown fact at all. In fact right from his 2nd film as director – Nandanam, Ranjith has been trying to churn out films which are within the so called ‘commercial’ set up but yet leave some semblance of artistic touch as well. And all his recent projects like Thirakkatha, Kerala Cafe and Paleri Manikyam- Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha stand testimony to the same. Considering all these things when Ranjith decided to join hands again with Mammootty for his latest movie, the project looked interesting.

What made it even more interesting was the title of the movie itself- “Pranchiyettan and the Saint”, which was not only unconventional, but also did not easily tell you what it was all about. When the first look/trailer was unveiled it partially whetted the appetite of people like me as we could finally realise what the title meant. But believe me even that was just a very small sample indeed of what was going to be in store for the viewers in the form of the movie. Adding to all the excitement was the fact that it was going to be a Eid release along with 2 other prominent movies,M.Padmakumar’s Mohanlal starrer- Shikkar & Lal-Jose’s Elsamma Enna Aankutty.

Have you ever wondered how sometimes the simplest of things can provide joy & happiness that probably even more bigger/complex things cannot provide? Do you still marvel at how for some people it is not materialistic gains alone that provide satisfaction? Do you at times stop to ponder about how in the rat race to excel, you may be missing out on some of the simple joys of life? Well if your answer is a yes to all these questions then Pranchiyettan is indeed the movie for you.

Based in Thrissur in Kerala, Chirammal Enashu Francis a.k.a Pranchiyettan (Mammootty) is a successful businessman. Though he has long diversified from his family’s traditional rice trading into various businesses including jewellery, real estate, financing etc, he is still unhappy for one reason- he feels that he does not have a strong identity and is not a true celebrity yet. Adding to his misery is the fact that a lot of people still call him as Ari (rice) Pranchi , thanks to his family’s traditional rice business. Hence Pranchi is forever trying to do something or the other that will ensure that he earns name & fame and become a true celebrity.

Mammootty and Priya Mani!!!

Right at the start of the film one sees Pranchi visiting the Church late at night and you feel that he’s there for a specific reason. He is there to know if what he wants to do now is indeed the right thing to do at this stage in his life. To his shock & disbelief, his words reach the ears of Saint Francis of Assisi and then Pranchi narrates his story to Saint Francis. He takes St.Francis and the audience through his life’s journey so far and tells us why he has always wanted to make a name for himself and what all he went through in that process.

The movie from thereon is seen through incidents narrated by Pranchi and the movie in itself can be divided into 3 distinct parts. In the 1st part of the movie one sees how Pranchi lost his childhood lady love Omana to his rival, Jose. We are also told that even now he hates to see Omana ( Khushboo ) in the company of Jose ( Siddique ). Both are doctors now & when Pranchi contests for the position of the local club president’s post, he is defeated by none other than Jose. Having decided that come what may he would do anything to get famous, there are more botched attempts at managing the same.

The 2nd part shows the entry of Padmashree (Priya Mani) in the life of Pranchi. Padmashree is an interior designer and is introduced to Pranchi by Omana. As Pranchi and Omana get friendly, Pranchi helps her by saving her ancestral home from being sold off. Pranchi soon develops a liking for Padmashree but doesn’t really manage to convey the same to her. The 3rd part starts with Pranchi visiting Antony Master, the Principal of his old school. It is the last year of service for Antony Master and he’s now worried. He wants to retire with the school delivering a 100 % success rate in the final exams. But he feels that it wouldn’t happen just because of one student- Poly. Intrigued by this, Pranchi decides to take Poly under his fold and ensure that he gets all the support to come out triumphant in the examinations.

One of the best moments in the film!!!

The entire movie comes across to us as vignettes from the life of Pranchi. There is humour in abundance (though not of the slapstick variety) throughout the movie. It’s a treat to watch Mammootty as Pranchi going through hilarious situations in his attempts at becoming popular. He is matched comfortably in the initial segment by Innocent who plays Vasu Menon, a very good friend of Pranchi. Again in the 3rd segment when things get a little too heavy, there are some light moments brought about by another veteran, Jagathy Sreekumar who plays Pandit Deena Dayal. Needless to say both Innocent & Jagathy prove that their experience is worth the weight in gold with their performances.

Kushboo as Omana plays a supporting character very well, while Siddique has nothing much to do. Most of the others who play supporting roles also do justice to their characters. Ranjith himself lends his voice to St.Francis (Jesse Fox Allen) and that makes the conversations between the Saint & Pranchi to be very interesting indeed. Seasoned cinematographer Venu succeeds in capturing the indoor shots very well indeed. Especially commendable are the sequences in the grave yard & the church which convey the needed feeling of intrigue right at the beginning.Ouseppachan’s background score and the song (Kinavile) go in sync with the mood of the film.

Ranjith’s writing & direction is top notch in the film. And the dialogues written by him are extremely effective. If Mammootty comes across wonderfully while speaking the Thrissur slang, part of the credit is indeed due to Ranjith as well. But it is not that the film does not have its share of glitches. Post interval at some points, the film does indeed appear to meander aimlessly. Also some characters do not really add any relevance to the plot per se. But it is to Ranjith’s credit that he manages to overcome all these glitches and still come up triumphant. While the 3rd segment of the film especially starts dragging a bit, Ranjith makes it up for the same with the way he brings the movie to its logical conclusion.

And having spoken so much about the movie it will be a shame not to touch upon Mammootty’s performance in the film. When you watch the film, you seem to suddenly realise that Mammootty & Pranchi are so much interlinked. That’s because Mammootty makes the portrayal of Pranchi in such a natural way that you begin to even forget that this is actually a performance. We all know that some actors are really gifted enough to carry certain characters to great heights. Mammootty is one such actor and it’s remarkable indeed that he does it time & again. Though one keeps seeing memorable characters being portrayed by Mammootty often, Pranchi is a character that will not fade away with time.

As you step out of the theatre you’ll walk away with a smile on your face and you’ll hope to cherish some of the simple pleasures of life and that’s the victory of Ranjith and his tale of Pranchiyettan and the Saint.

First Look/Promo of the film

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/pranchiyettan-and-the-saint-movie-review-where-art-meets-commerce/

August 15 Movie Review : Death of a director and writer

There was a time when nearly every film of director Shaji Kailash was pronounced a blockbuster even before it released. He was among the most successful filmmakers in Malayalam Cinema especially in the 90’s. With a plethora of hits like Thalasthanam, Ekalavyan, Commissioner, The King, Aaram Thamburan, Narasimham, Shaji was indeed in demand among producers for a long time. S.N.Swamy is another well-known name in the history of Malayalam Cinema. Swamy has been the screenwriter for blockbuster movies like the CBI Diarykurippu Series, Irupatham Nootrandu, Moonam Mura, August 1, Naduvazhikal etc. So when Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy came up with a plan to work on the sequel to August 1, a popular action-thriller directed by Sibi Malayil, written by S.N.Swamy himself and starring Mammootty in the lead, it must have sounded so wonderful right?

Well the answer is a yes and a no. Yes because it would have been great to see all these big names unite and deliver an interesting sequel to a wonderful movie. But it’s also a no because of late both Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy seem to have kind of lost their magic touch. Shaji Kailash without his firebrand writers- Renji Panicker and Ranjithhas been feeling handicapped and his recent misadventures like Drona 2010, Red Chillies, Sound of Boot, Ali Bhaietc have only gone on to illustrate the same. Same is the case with S.N.Swamy when you compare his recent works like Janakan, Sagar Alias Jacky, Rahasya Police, Positive etc. Added to this is the fact that August 1 was a taut action-thriller based on the popular book, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth ( which also generated a movie of the same name based on it ).

Anyways due to the love for August 1, the faith in Mammootty , the unstinted hope that Shaji and Swamy would pull it off and also for the fact that I had nothing else to watch over the weekend, I had no other go but to watch August 15. There’s nothing much in terms of the story/concept if case you have already seen August 1. The older movie dealt with a young CM thrust into power (Sukumaran) who through his work gets very popular with the people but also earns the wrath of his detractors who then decide to get him eliminated and take the help of a trained assassin (Capt.Raju) and its upto Dy.S.P Perumal ( Mammootty ) to solve all the knots and bring the story to an interesting climax. The film was an adrenaline rush and proved to be very commercially successful too.

August 15 begins with the C.M of Kerala, V.G.Sadasivan (Nedumudi Venu trying hard to carry off as V.S.Achuthanandan) suffering a cardiac arrest, throwing the official machinery into a state of chaos. It’s then discovered that the cardiac arrest wasn’t a natural occurrence and was probably induced by a poison administered somehow. This sends the top police brass into a tizzy and then the onus is on Perumal (Mammootty) once again to handle the case and look at solving the mystery in his own characteristic style. This in a nutshell friends is what the story is. To a casual observer who is not well versed with Malayalam Cinema or Kerala politics, the film is likely to just come across as a film, which though touted as an action- thriller, has hardly any thrills on offer.

But for someone who has been following Malayalam Cinema and/ or is well versed with Kerala Politics the pain is increased two-fold. Not only is the story a pale copy of the original, the treatment is amateurish and extremely archaic. The way events unfold so leisurely can even get on your nerves at times. The identity of the assassin and the people behind his entry is revealed very early into the film. With that being the case then enough care must have been taken to ensure that the audience is otherwise kept spellbound by what ensues after that. Sadly nothing like that happens. You can go out for a snack, a smoke ( if in a single screen ), to make that long call back to your girlfriend/boyfriend ( don’t even think of making this a date movie ) or whatever else you want to do and still come back and feel that you haven’t missed out on anything.

And what do you take out when you leave the auditorium after you finish the movie? Well most likely it would be the fact that the film actually tries to end up being a propaganda vehicle for the current LDF Government in Kerala. With constant references to the Communist Ideology, a top cop proud to be more of a “comrade” than a cop, references to the so called conflict between the present C.M and his party secretary and of course the constant back ground ‘lal salaam’ theme all go on to wear out your patience. When Sai Kumar is trying to talk about how it’s the party that’s more important than individuals and that he has only respect for the C.M, you can actually feel that the audience has had enough and the catcalls are justified. That in a nutshell summarizes what’s wrong with the movie.

What was Shaji Kailash thinking when he wanted to show the involvement of the Cyber-Cell in the film? Well the unit functions not like a smart, state of the art technical support wing of the police as it should be but rather as some cheap call-centre. The constant reference to Wikipedia while showing Mammootty researching about poison on the internet is also unknowingly funny.If there is anything worth talking about in the film then it is nothing other than the way Mammootty has been presented. He looks extremely fit and dashing and is very much the ideal cop as required for the role. But then does it mean that that you must continue to show him in slow motion shots throughout the film?

Siddique is decent but then he’s no match to Captain Raju in the older movie who really carried out the role of Gomes the assassin with a lot more panache. Among the supporting cast veterans like Madhu, Nedumudi Venu, Thalaivasal Vijay etc carry out their roles as usual. Lalu Alex is completely natural in the role of the ADGP who is jealous of his colleagues, but at some point of time even his antics begin to wear you out. There is no scope for romance in the movie (thankfully) and hence the two heroines – Shweta Menon and Meghana Raj have nothing much to do in the film. All said and done August 15 is another reminder that one if cannot match the heights of a landmark film ( forget exceeding it ) then its better not to tamper with it with a plan of making a sequel or a prequel. If their last few movies weren’t enough then this one is more than enough to strongly suggest that Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy should gracefully retire and refrain from inflicting such films on us. What’s in store for them in the future? Only time will tell of course, till then lets wait and watch.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/august-15-movie-review-death-of-a-director-and-writer/

Paleri Manikyam- Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha – This is what Malayalam Cinema needs!!!

Sometimes the unexpected can really turn out to be a pleasant surprise. I have always believed in the same and keep experiencing something like this once in a while purely by default. Now recently I’ve again had the fortitude of having one such experience and that was while watching Paleri Manikyam- Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha ( Paleri Manikyam- A Midnight Murder Story, from hereon referred to as PM ). PM is a deeply moving story of someone in search of truth. One night in a village called Paleri in North Kerala (Malabar region) in the year 1957 certain incidents shattered the peace of the village and forever changed the lives of so many people living there.
That night saw the murder/death of two people- Manikyam and Bhramadattan. Manikyam was recently married to Pokkan, a dumb witted son of Cheeru- the village prostitute and Bhramadattan was a young namboothiri. Different theories abound for the deaths/murders and the police are called in to investigate. That was also the time when the 1st Communist Government in Kerala was to assume charge. So the local Communist Party members also were keenly following the case proceedings. It was being mentioned that the party helped in ensuring support to certain people suspected of foul play, the prime person being Ahmed Haji. So the investigation comes to an end after a few people are arrested and later let off due to lack of evidence.
On the same night when Paleri was shaken up by these events, a boy was born in the same village. The boy grew up listening to the tales of that shocking night and about Manikyam in particular. The boy is now Haridas a private detective and he along with Sarayu, a criminologist are now in Paleri as Haridas is now on a mission to finally put the stories to rest and find out the truth behind the events of that fateful night. With most of the people connected with the events being dead one is not clear as to the actual intentions of Haridas, but that gets cleared as the story progresses.
I go back to the first line of this post as I had mentioned the unexpected can turn out to be a pleasant surprise sometimes. To start with the movie is based on a novel of the same name by T.P Rajeevan and I have never read the same till now. I was aware that the novel and the film dealt with the first ever registered case of sexual harassment in the state. I did not really know what to expect and thus imposing faith in Mammootty and Renjith the director, I set forth to watch the movie and experience the magic in motion for myself.
This is probably one of the best personal movies that one can see. By calling it a personal movie I’m referring to the way the director enables us to move along with Haridas and experience the proceedings for ourselves. While Mammootty as Ahmed Haji is the one who will probably gain the maximum accolades (well deserved too), Mammootty as Haridas is very much essential to the plot as well as he plays the narrator for most part of the movie very effectively. Manoj Pillai’s camera lights up the natural locations so admirably that one cannot but help being wonderstruck.

Haridas and Sarayu investigating
Many a times in the early part of the movie while Haridas is taking us through Paleri and introducing characters and events to us I could distinctively feel that I was watching a play on stage. This was something I found to be very different and refreshing. For me the best part of the movie was the sequence where Haridas is narrating and you see him in the middle of the scene while to both his left and right you find a traditional boat laden with people (in the river ). But there’s a difference between both the boats, while one shows Manikyam coming home with Pokkan after the wedding, the other shows the dead body of Manikyam being taken for post mortem by the police.
Such a brilliant encapsulation of time and moments in a single frame has to be seen to be actually believed. Sharreth and Bijibal also deserve mention for their musical score which is very apt for the movie. The movie has very few well known actors (mainly Mammootty, Shweta Menon, Sreenivasan and Siddique) and most of the other actors are drawn from T.V and theatre. What is commendable is that Renjith had actually organized a talent hunt camp for the same which had more than 500 participants. It was this camp which helped Renjith choose people like Musthafa (younger Keshavan), Sreejith (Pokkan), Vijayan Nair (Velayudhan) etc who are all very effective. Both Srinivasan and Siddique as true veterans lend justice to their roles.
Shweta Menon as Cheeru balances oomph and helplessness effectively and Gowri Munjal is decent as Sarayu. As the central pivot ( Manikyam ) the debutant Mythili couldn’t have asked for a better start to her career. How do I write about this film without saying anything about Mammootty? Well after starting the year disastrously with duds like Love in Singapore, Ee Pattanathil Bootham and Daddy Cool, he has bounced back tremendously with Loud Speaker,Pazhassi Raja, Kerala Cafe ( Puram Kazhchakal ) and now PM. Whether its as Ahmed Haji,Haridas or Khalid Ahmed,Mammootty is simply superb.In fact while watching him as Ahmed Haji the cruel landlord with a weakness for women I couldn’t but help thinking of Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Vidheyan where Mammootty was wonderfully effective as Bhaskara Pattelar, an exploitative landlord.

Renjith ( with camera ) - the master director & storytellerThose who go to watch the movie expecting it to be a racy murder mystery would be disappointed. This is something much more than that. It stands tall as a social commentary. Even as you have certain doubts as to the way Haridas and Sarayu are shown sharing an infidel bond and also the way they are shown with their mannerisms(Haridas is mostly seen with his Jim Beam and Sarayu is forever smoking) as the story progresses one even is able to get the connection to all this with the main plot.Saying anything more would only spoil the experience while watching the movie and hence I wouldn’t want to elaborate further.
A story that is very much relevant even today, this is what Malayalam Cinema needs and I hope we get to see many more movies such as this one in the coming years.

Originally posted in PFC- check it out here -http://tinyurl.com/y3wzx27

Kerala Cafe- Do Step In Here for a While

After a fairly satisfying Pazhassi Raja the next Malayalam movie that I was looking forward to was Kerala Cafe for a variety of reasons. For one the movie is an anthology of short films made by 10 different directors with separate cast and crew. The cast comprises of most of the well known names in Malayalam cinema and also has a fair number of younger actors as well. Also the directors are all part of the current new generation of filmmakers who have already made waves with their movies or have recently embarked on their cinematic journey. Holding all the strings together is Renjith, the man referred to as the “chief architect” behind this project.
The movie basically is about 10 different short films, all of which have one common connection- “Kerala Cafe “, a railway cafeteria in one of the busy railway stations in Kerala. All the stories in some way or the other are connected to the café & finally they are bound together in the café itself in a very unassuming manner. So let me begin my journey of revisiting Kerala Café-
1.Nostalgia- Directed by M.Padmakumar, this short film is the first one in the series and it talks about a character (Dileep) who is an NRI in Dubai and is typically facing a conflict of thoughts. While in Dubai he is shown in a nostalgic mood while catching up with friends and talking about Kerala. But when he visits Kerala with his wife (Navya Nair) and kids his real sense of reasoning takes over. It is clear that he is there only to make money and doesn’t care for family or friends either. This is certainly not a great start to the movie primarily because there’s nothing too novel about the plot of this short film. Not a bad attempt but not something that certainly calls for your attention.
2.Island Express- Directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan, this one probably has the most number of characters and also the most number of stars (Prithviraj, Jaysurya, Rahman etc). Based on the gruesome Perumon Train tragedy of 1988, this one starts as a very hazy, disjointed and confusing film. But slowly as the missing links get filled you realize that there is certainly a charm to the whole short film. I liked the last scene in particular which was shot on a bridge.
3.Lalitham Hiranmayam- Directed by Shaji Kailash, this one talks about a man (Suresh Gopi) who is torn between his wife ( Jyothirmayi ) and his mistress ( Dhanya Mary Varghese ). Though the topic of infidelity is handled reasonably well, the sequence of events as they unfold and also the characterization makes it look very ordinary.
4.Mrityunjayam- Directed by Uday Ananthan, this one stands out from the rest of the short films – not because it’s the best of them all. But because it’s a horror film and doesn’t really fit into the construct of the anthology. Its all about a so called haunted house that’s under the care of a Tirumeni (who else but Thilakan) and one day a T.V crew arrives there headed by Fahadh Fasil to check out the place. It’s a kind of misfit in the movie- probably intended just to show some variety.
5.Happy Journey- Directed by Anjali Menon, this one certainly draws our attention due to the simple plot that’s well told and for the brilliance of Jagathy Sreekumar. Jagathy plays a middle aged insurance surveyor with a lecherous eye. During a bus journey from Ernakulam to Calicut he comes across an attractive young girl (Nithya Menon ) who frightens him by revealing that she’s a terrorist with a bomb on board the bus. With the suspense enhancing the interest levels, this one is a pleasure to watch.
6.Aviraamam- Directed by B.Unnikrishnan, this one talks about the effects of recession on a happy family. Siddique is an I.T entrepreneur and one day sends off his wife ( Shweta Menon ) and children for a vacation to his in- laws place. He doesn’t want to go with them since he knows that he’s very badly caught in a debt trap and can’t figure out a way to get away from it and so decides to do the inevitable. It’s a fairly ordinary story but thankfully the performances from both Siddique and Shweta elevate the proceedings considerably.
7.Off-season- Directed by Shyamaprasad, this one is the only light hearted story among the entire anthology. Suraj Venjaramood plays a tourist guide in Kovalam who one day meets a couple from Portugal. Thinking that this is his big ticket he showers attention on them only to know that they are penniless themselves . This short film helps in kind of bringing up some funny moments in an otherwise serious anthology of short films here.
8.Magal- Directed by Revathy is a serious social commentary on issues like poverty, adoption and prostitution all in a single short film. While most part of the film remains quite average the ending more than compensates, making it quite a heart touching short film.
9.Bridges- Directed by Anwar Rasheed, this is probably the best among the entire lot. It starts off as something hardly impressive- a boy in Fort Cochin has sneaked in a kitten at home which his father disapproves off. On the other hand there is a poor family somewhere in the rural hinterland not far away from Cochin. Here the husband and wife ( Salim Kumar and Kalpana ) keep squabbling over Salim’s old mother ( Shantha Devi ) who is almost blind and difficult to look after. Some stunning visuals by Suresh Rajan ( DOP ), brilliant performances and a very well executed closing shot makes this a treat to watch.
10.Puram Kazchakal- Directed by Lal Jose this is about a bus journey where Sreenivasan the narrator is traveling from Valparai to Chalakudy and in between there’s a mysterious man (Mammootty) who boards the bus and is perennially impatient and so is ridiculed by the others on board. While the narrator was busy lost in his thoughts about the girl whom he had lost, he is rudely shaken up when the reason behind Mammootty’s irritating behaviour unfolds in a brilliant manner. This one does great justice to the presence of powerhouses of talent like Mammootty and Sreenivasan.
The movie works overall to a reasonably extent not just because quite a few of the short films are indeed redeeming and well shot. Of course these short films, the cast and crew do help in the overall process, but there are a few other redeeming features seen in this project. To start with the entire team has believed in the concept of coming up with an interesting anthology of short films and they have managed to come up with something that meets the objective reasonably well.
It has also allowed some of the directors to experiment and do something away from what they have been doing conventionally. Like Anwar Rasheed who has made a mark by making blockbusters like Rajamanikam, Chota Mumbai and Annan Thampi has made something completely refreshing with his short film (Bridges) over here. Shaji Kailash is known again to make large than life movies like Commissioner, Narasimham, The King etc and this time he has chosen to make an emotional family subject. Shyama Prasad who is well known for his unusually different choice of subjects for his movies has tried his hand at making a very light hearted feel good short film over here.
The project has also allowed directors to focus on issues close to their heart (Revathy- Magal) or think out of the box (Shankar Ramakrishnan- Island Express). Also the movie has brought in a balance of both experienced artistes and those who are fairly new. As an experiment the movie certainly does put in a reasonably commendable show. It’s nice to see the work of so many talented actors and technicians being brought together on a common platform like this. I wish that there are more such attempts made in Malayalam Cinema. For those who are going to cry hoarse by asking why are we celebrating even some small attempts to make something decent- I just have this to say- Kerala Cafe is in no way a modern classic, but certainly an interesting experiment. And such experiments definitely need all the encouragement.
And of course before I conclude I would certainly like to congratulate Renjith in particular for conceiving the entire project and bringing on board the entire team to showcase Kerala Cafe in front of us.

Originally posted in PFC- check it out here- http://tinyurl.com/yg8qq7d

What ails Malayalam Cinema today?

It’s a known fact that by & large Malayalam and Bengali films have gone on to stand out for the quality of movies getting made over the years. While Bengali cinema has seen masters like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak etc during the yesteryears and is now being represented by the likes of Gautam Ghosh, Rituparno Ghosh etc, Malayalam cinema too has had its maestro’s like Adoor Gopalakrishnan,Aravindan, Bharathan,Padmarajan,T.V.Chandran etc who have brought movies of a different perspective to the intelligent audience. The difference between the Malayalam & Bengali film industry lay in the fact that while mainstream cinema in Bengali in the last 2 decades especially had degenerated into typical potboilers which were not for the intelligent audiences, in case of Malayalam cinema by & large the mainstream cinema was also of high standard. Movies made by stalwarts like Sathyan Anthikkad,Sibi Malayil,Fazil, Priyadarshan etc went on to revolutionize the 80’s and the 90’s.

This brings us to Malayalam cinema of the present. Why do we constantly hear complaints of the quality of movies going down? Why do people long for the kind of movies of the 80’s and 90’s even today? Is the situation out of control? Let’s take a lot at the situation and some of the factors going against Malayalam Cinema presently.

Genuine shortage of good films

Last year’s biggest hit was Twenty: 20, a commercial khichdi which went on to break all records of the Malayalam film industry. While that can be considered as an exception, even if one looks at the other movies made, the scenario appears bleak. Veruthe Oru Bharya was the 2nd biggest hit and while it brought back a new life for Jayaram, the movie would hardly have been considered brilliant in front of some of Jayaram’s earlier movies under directors like Sathyan Anthikkad or a Rajasenan. The story continues with most of the recent releases.

Lack of audience for middle of the road cinema

It’s a shame that in Kerala today a genuinely good film like Jayaraj’s Gulmohar, which saw writer-director Ranjith making an excellent debut as an actor or M.G.Sasi’s Adayalangal struggles to get a theatrical release. And even for some good movies done by Mohanlal like Akashagopuram or a Pakalnakshtrangal, the audience preferred to stay away, preferring to instead watch him in a Twenty: 20 or a Kurukshetra.

Influence of Hindi,Tamil & Telugu Cinema

While one always knew that Malayalam cinema stood for realistic portrayals and also appreciated it, both the film makers and the audience were satisfied that they were able to reach out to the expectations of each other. The audience in Kerala has always been intelligent and preferred to see realism in Malayalam movies and left the larger than life and the glossy stuff to Hindi & Tamil cinema. So much so that in recent times SRK and Vijay have become very big stars in Kerala also on account of their popularity among the youth. This was still all right but seeing the ever increasing popularity of Hindi & Tamil movies in the state, some of the film makers decided to go in for more gloss in their own movies. Thus bringing in typical mass dance numbers and other symbols, more representative of a Hindi or a Tamil movie. In the bargain the element of realism so much an essential part of Malayalam cinema started getting lost.

Another problem has been that of Hindi,Tamil & the Malayalam dubbed versions of Telugu movies flooding the theatres in Kerala. While Hindi & Tamil movies have always found patronage in Kerala, they are finding more acceptances nowadays due to the fall in standards in Malayalam cinema. Aamir Khan’s Ghajini has become the highest grossing Hindi movie in Kerala also. But it is the wide release of the Telugu dubbed movies which is proving to be a big nuisance. For the producers and the distributors, this is a cheap option- the cost of dubbing is not high & the movies get widely released for a 1-2 week run. This sometimes even acts as a stumbling block for the release of a small Malayalam movie.

Shortage of Theatres

The multiplex culture is yet to invade Kerala (Mohanalal in partnership with someone else is now coming up with a chain of multiplexes targeting mainly the smaller towns) and so it’s still the traditional single screens and the cineplexes which rule the roost. Over the last few years a lot of theatres have given away to shopping complexes and other constructions due to either business or other reasons. A huge city like Cochin- Ernakulam does not today have more than 10 -12 direct release theatres ( Ernakulam+Fort Cochin+Tripunithira area) and that makes the availability of screens also a major problem especially if it’s a small movie getting released.

Stars holding Sway

Nearly 3 decades old in the industry and the 2 M’s Mammootty and Mohanlal still rule the roost. They continue to do 5-6 movies a year and try to balance the middle of the road cinema with the commercial movies. Dileep and Jayaram (after T: 20 and Veruthe Oru Bharya) are hanging in there, while the others including Suresh Gopi hardly seem to hit the bulls eye these days. Among the younger stars it’s only Prithviraj who seems to have some kind of connect with the audiences. When it comes to the heroines the problem is even different. Most of the Malayalam heroines like Nayanthara, Bhavana,Navya Nair, Mamta Mohan Das are more prominent in the other South Indian languages. Kavya Madhavan and Gopika have now retired after their wedding. So a new bunch of heroines are required to bring in the freshness.

Silver Lining in the cloud?

So is the situation completely out of control? Are all the factors mentioned above to much to handle? No, I would feel that the situation can still be brought under control.
Given below are some ways to overcome the same and bring back the earlier days of the Malayalam Film Industry-
Prominent film makers like Sathyan Anthikkad, Sibi Malayil, Joshy, Fazil etc to make movies more frequently with the same kind of realism that they have been working on.
More emphasis on script to be given. People like Ranjith, Blessy,Lohitadas, Sreenivasan,T.A.Razzak etc to lead the way. Bring out more works of literary giants like M.T.Vasudevan Nair.
Encourage work of talented directors like Blessy, Shaji.N.Karun etc who can bridge the divide between mainstream & middle of the road cinema.
Make use of digital cinema- Qube & UFO to help in releasing the smaller movies
Curtail the release of dubbed releases by fixing a maximum number of movies allowed per year.
Catch them young- the Kerala Government can through their own Film Society
(Kairali) organize mini festivals in college campuses and enable the students
to get exposed to critically acclaimed Malayalam movies.
The bodies like MACTA ( Malayalam Cine Techinicians Association Federation),
AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes) and the Producers Council should come forward to genuinely encourage and make good cinema. Why cannot there be budgets set aside for making some small intelligent movies patronized by these bodies itself?

All said and done all is not over and I am sure that important stake holders should be working on some of these points listed above and maybe some other points not listed here. As far as 2009 is concerned I am looking forward to movies like Pazhassi Raja (directed by veteran Hariharan, screenplay by M.T.Vasudevan Nair,Mammootty in the lead), Kutti Shranku ( directed by Shaji.N.Karun, written by Shaji.N.Karun & P.F.Mathews and with Mammootty in the lead), Brahmaram ( directed and written by Blessy and with Mohanalal in the lead), Sagar Alias Jackie ( directed by Amal Neerad,written by veteran S.M.Swamy and with Mohanalal in the lead). All these movies are of different genres and look quite exciting. I also hope that these and more such movies do their bit in a small way at least to restore some of the past glory of Malayalam Cinema.

Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/what-ails-malayalam-cinema-today/