Re: Malayalam films / music thread - മലയാള സിനിമ / സംഗീതം...

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anything from Aravindhan? was blown by his work in Chidambaram//

I watched the Gopi-Smitha Patil movie in theater when it arrived. Those days nAn "avvaLavA pakkuvappadalai" and couldn't enjoy the film Didn't get a chance to watch again or any other movie by those award movie people like Aravindan / Adoor...

Well, all thru my stay there, I didn't grow above an average MF-rasigan, who still got a ton of great stuff to watch

[sagi]

Thanks for the recommendations. Will try watching them. I always face these issues while attempting to watch malayalam films:

1. Lack of subtitles

2. Since its widely believed that malayalam is fairly close to thamizh and one does not need subtitles, if I decide to watch without them I lose some key moments becuase of me not understanding the dialogues

3. Even with subtitles, they speak SO freaking fast. Before I read the subtitle, the next dialogue starts coming. And since I spend so much time looking at the bottom of the screen I lose certain acting nuances, symbolism etc.

Delikat possisson for me.

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#11. oru vadakkan veeragAtha - Terrific movie, an alternative rendering of an existing folk-tale of north Kerala. I didn't know the original story (or history, may be) but got educated by co-workers on who "chathiyan Chandu" was. The MTV writing was very similar to R S Manohar drama where villains of folk tales / purANams / ithihAsams become hero.

Directed by : Hariharan (Written by M T Vasudevan Nair)

Actors : Mammootty, Madhavi

Music : Bombay Ravi had his terrific songs and a very nicely localized score that enabled the success of the movie. IMHO, however, his score for prior films were superior and OVV had some very small amount of recycle feel (panchAgni / nakhakshadhangaL / vaishAli)

Age rating : PG13 (smaller children may get scared with kaLari fights)

Move rating: Must watch!

[plum]

I dont want to break the flow of app and Suresh's list but wanted to share a couple of Movies I watched recently.

1. Soorya Gayathri - I had seen the first half long back and I didnt realise that when I saw it this time, until way into the movie. Middling sort of movie. Maybe Lalettan wasnt the superstar by then...lovely songs kept me watching and even in a rather ordinary role, Lalettan is a treat to watch. And I liked how they wrote proper tamil dialogues for the Palakkad family that Lal is part of, although quite a bit of heavy duty Malayalam intervened especially when espousing the philosophical ditties in the climax. Lalettan plays the father of a teenager who joins a medical college, way back in the 80s. Ironically, he regressed from there to MGR-type roles in the late 90s. Now, to the songs (App, link please )
a) Aalila Manjalil - lovely song with a nice melody and typical Mallu orchestration with limited instruments but how the MD arranges the instruments is the key. A textbook on how to create a well-orchestrated non-layered melodious song with limited implements. The tune reminds one of Indraikku Enindha Anandhame, because of the same Raagam but Jesu anna gives it a majesty that the former tune in teacheramma's voice doesnt evoke in me. DOnt know the MD - probably MG Radhakrishnan or Johnson

b) Thamburu kuLir choodiyO - lovely evocative song giving images of a lazy Kerala village with a heavily burdened soul wandering around weighed down by the pressures of life.


2. Kanmadam - the titles said Lohithadas is the director and Pranavam International is the producer. I settled down expecting a lalettan treat. Again, a middling effort.
My uneducated guess is that Lohi started this as a vehicle for Manju Warrier's talent - her character is well etched in the beginning and I was expecting a powerhouse performance, especially with Lalettan playing a supportive role mostly. But it seems Lohi is confused to pander to Lalettan or to Warrier, and ends up satisfying neither so much so that the other Lal, playing a meaty role, walks away with the honours. Typical Lohi flourishes are there as he gets his teeth stuck on characters who we'll probably be contemptuous of in real life - like Lal(not Mohan)'s pimp. I like how Lohi neither painted him as the villainous staple of commercial films nor the golden-hearted saviour of wannabe artsy/dipherent films(Think Cheran, Hirani, Sudhir Mishra, Prakash Jha etc). This is a flawed man, who is given to the animalistic instincts of his trade, yet pining for the normalcy of a regular life, but who doesnt completely change his spots, yet has enough humanity/real-life-veracity to stay away from caricatural villainy.

However, I have upped the ante and signed up for Asianet Movies also now. Just before I signed up, their day's lineup read "Chitram, HHA, Manichitrathazhu and Kireedom". What the.....

[plum]

Kanmadam had a couple of decent numbers from Ravindran - ManjakiLiyude mooLipAttunde which was a decent hit in the 90s. However, nothing of the order of the classics in early 90s from the same man

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plum,
I haven't watched both these films

'anubavichchadhE ekkachchakkam'nu nAn ninaichchukkittu irukkappO, pArkkAdhadhu adhai vida adhikam-nu theiryudhu
I'll search for the songs you've posted about and share the links

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thamburu kuLir choodiyO (surya gAyathri):


Oorvashi & Mohanlal

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Alila manjaLil (surya gAyathri)
(I've heard this song many times before What a lovely number!)



I must watch this movie!

[plum]

app - be warned it is only a Ok movie. But then even Ok movies from Malluland those days are deeeply engaging..and the songs are a good attraction.(BGM is horrible as usual - found this even in movies like Chitram, Kireedom etc - and Johnson is supposed to be the best BGM provider according to Mallu fanatics who reject IR ).

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. But then even Ok movies from Malluland those days are deeeply engaging..

Yes and hence those are #12 & #13 of the listing

#14 moonnAm pakkam - the movie I watched only recently on the internet and without question a classic! A lovely tale where sea is a character The title does not mean 'third page' but 'third day'. wiki says it got filmed in Kumari mAvattam of TN (KoLachchal).

Directed by Padmarajan

Actors : Thilakan (what a show), Jayaram, Jagathi, Asokan & Raguman. There is also this girl Keerthy whom I've seen only in this movie and I don't think she became very popular despite this successful movie / role.

Music by IR ! Most of us are familiar with the terrific songs (uNarumee gAnam & thAmarakkiLi pAdunnu thai thai thagadhOm). And the BGM is quite acclaimed as well (I would even say a text book on movie BGM). One of the two movies where IR had opportunity to work with the legendary Padmarajan. IMO the only good movie in this combo as I'm not a big fan of the other (season, Mohanlal in the lead role, again kadal puRaththu movie).

Age rating : U / G
Movie rating : Must watch! Be prepared for a "leisurely" BM kind of narration, veedu comes to mind, but the movie is sure to hit us hard in the later part, why, even a little melodramatic I would say!

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#15 veLLAnakaLude nAdu - enjoyed watching this on big screen a few times those days. Never had a chance to revisit on small screens after that. Except the 'road roller' scene and a couple of Mohanlal-Shobana scenes, don't remember much now - except that this was a neat Mohanlal - Srinivasan comedy.

Seems to be available on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25g19LWi1jo

Directed by Priyadharshan (written by Srinivasan, the comedian himself. He did a number of scripts those days that brought smiles to KL people who were used to only crying in the theater before...)

Actors - Mohanlal, Shobana, Srinivasan - all decent performers

Music by MG Radhakrishnan / Johnson - don't remember much about the song or music anymore. Those weren't bad either

Age rating : U (Means G in U.S.)

Movie rating : OK

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Indulged in the youtube of veLLAnakaLude nAdu last night with a view to catching some nice scenes but ended up watching the whole movie

Excellent dialogs and interesting narration!

Plus an in-form Mohanlal in ~80% of the scenes - what more one wants!

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#16 niRakkoottu - As per Murali Srinivas sir, this movie was a quickie done by Mammootty during the period when he had to shave his head / had very short hair etc for BM's yAthra. Just to utilize his jail kaidhi apperance of yAthra, he did another jail kaidhi movie in parallel it seems. I watched this movie a few years back on DVD and liked it very much.

Directed by - Joshi, who did many interesting movies with Mammootty. Commercially one of the very successful directors of 80's but cannot be simply dismissed as a masAlA guy. There used to be some masAlA elements / moments here and there but with most of his movies, the presentation was typically impressive and even the content quite acceptable.

Actors : Smart-looking Mammootty, Oorvashi & the beautiful Sumalatha (with limited acting talents though, otherwise could have challenged the biggies in TF field those days! And. like many beauties on screen - Jayaprada / Sridevi et al - ended up living with a, IMO, totally "looks-wise-unmatching" guy in real life, Kannada actor Ambareesh, who is a central minister now...he reminds me of villain actor Mansur Ali Khan ).

Music - Shyam. As usual sodhappal BGM but had a lovely song, 'poomAnamE oru rAga mEgham thA', one of the biggest hits for him & KSC in Kerala those days! It was heard everywhere at the time when I started off in Palakkad & for many years later on! So lovely to watch on screen too!

Age-rating : For mature audience only (wife suspecting / resultant murder shown as the main theme)

Movie rating: Must watch - both for M's performance & the interesting narration!

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#17 New Delhi - masAlA, yes, but what a nicely made one! My roommate had a bunch of IW & SS novels and I've just finished reading Almighty by IW when my collegemate co-worker said this movie is a nicely indianized version of that novel. So, we both went to the theater and thoroughly enjoyed it! A few years back revisited on DVD and still found it worth a watch!

Directed by - Joshi

Actors - Same Mammootty / Sumalatha / Oorvashi plus Thiyagarajan (alaigaL Oyvathillai villain), Suresh Gopi & Devan (one of the villains of Rajini mega hit bAtshA)

Music - Same Shyam, sodhappalO sodhappal BGM, no noteworthy song. The movie actually deserved an IR score!

Age-rating - PG13, IMO - there's some violence / rape etc

Movie rating - Very interesting watch!

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#18 oru CBI diary kuRippu - The obvious, must-be-in-this-list movie For the classy presentation, interesting script and an elegant role-execution by Mammootty. (BTW, I have been to the 'pOLakkuLath' hotel & dined there one day - who also happened to be a customer of our equipment...the movie is based on a real story happened in their hotel)

Directed by : Madhu (Written by S N Swamy) - From this combo, a real trend-setter of a movie!

Actors : Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Jagathy

Music : Shyam...though not great BGM, for a change, not irritating at least!

Age-rating : PG13 (murder investigation thingy, not suitable for smaller kids IMO)

Movie-rating : Obviously a "must watch"!

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#19 vaishAli - was really moved at the end of this movie (dhukkam thoNdaiyai adaikkum apdeembAngaLE, adhu! I just read the plot in wiki - which brought me back to memory the climax scene and eyes welled up!). Movie based on a small story of 'Rishyashrungan' inside the epic Mahabharatham. Terrific writing by the legendary M T Vasudevan Nair

Directed by : Bharathan (who worked with Kamal for Devar Magan)...don't know why the group went to him instead of their regular Hariharan. Well, it would have been as good had Hariharan handled it also.

Actors : Newcomers (Suparna / Sanjay) in the main roles of Vaishali / Rishyashrungan, Geetha, Nedumudi Venu

Music : Bombay Ravi with terrific, terrific songs! indhra neelimayOlam & indhu pushpam choodi nilkkum rAthri are, IMO, classics!

Age rating : PG (children typically can watch this ambulimAmA kind of movie but the "seducing" kind of scenes need some parental decision making - as to whether their children can watch or not)

Movie rating : Must watch!

[plum]

oNNu mudhal poojyam varE (from one to zero)
Lovely. This is the sort of movie for that justifies the amount I paid for my d2h connection.

Not knowing anything about the movie was a plus as the premise is unique, and the treatment is susepnseful yet the focus is on the characters, their emotions and in-the-moment.

Actually, the premise is not exactly unique. A random phone caller, and his voice being the sole identity of him until the climax was seen in the riotous Ramji Rao Speaking(ArangERRa vELai) later, but Malayalam film-makers of 80s showed there are several ways to skin a cat.

Aleena, a widow, grieving her irreverent, free-spirited husband(Prathap Pothen in a breezy cameo, impresses, with Malayalam movie makers not reducing him to loose types as the tamil compatriots did), lives with her only daughter, all of 4 years old in a big lonely house.
The times being what they were, the daughter, Deepu(Geetu Mohandas, adorable and unlike her peer Shalini, child-like and natural), gets into the habit of using the sole gadget in the house(unthinkable in these times, isnt it?) - the big, antique-looking telephone. As she randomly keeps calling people, she runs into a "TElephone uncle", who evinces interest and keeps calling back.

Meanwhile, Aleena confides to her close friend, who advises caution. At this point, the director establishes the lecherous Malayali small-town scenario as the two friends go to a ice-cream parlour. The power-equations in Kerala, hopelessly tilted towards the lecherous male, as even a waiter in the parlour openly leers at the women, is a telling capture of the times and the place.

The screenplay keeps us in suspense as to the intentions of the "uncle" as he befriends the kid, fills her need for a father figure.

I was bracing for a completely different movie during the Christmas sequences, when a creepy-looking guy, in Santa Claus costume, accosts the daughter, and gives her a gift. For a moment, Deepu is not seen anywhere, and as Aleena panics, we brace for a kidnap-by-the-lecherous-characters-seen-before-ransom-and-unknown-telephone-uncle-coming-in-and-killing-the-villains movie.

Atleast, that's what Tamil films have prepped me for.

But the movie neatly sidesteps my tamil-developed masala sensibility now.

Turns out the telephone uncle had sent the gift and Deepu has just got in the midst of the christmas carol.
We still dont know who this uncle is, and what are his motivations.

Slowly, Aleena is drawn towards the Voice, and falls for him. Her loneliness and the need for love is so beautifully captured(unknwon face playing heroine does very well).

The relationship between Aleena and Deepu is also sweet - as the plot develops as above, at one point, there is a lovely sequence between mother and daughter where the motherr asks if Deepumol likes the telephone uncle, to which the daugther says, yes; then she asks does deepumol likes mummy; yes; Then she asks, does deepumol like telephone uncle like Dad.
It's a beautiful sequence that captures her loneliness, burdens and the longing for a companion.
The sequence is elevated further when the daughter, self-aware for all her 4 years of age, even at that age, as children do, sensing the inappropriatenes of the question "mummy endhini ingEnE kElkunnu". Obviously, she doesnt understand what mummy is asking but she can sense that she doesnt know how to answer that - and for all her affection for the telepone uncle, she is clearly not looking at the uncle as a replacement for the lost father. Beautifully done.

Further developments are best watched rather than told. Suffice to say that the climax is moving, heart-rending and one can feel the bleakness of the life (emotional life I mean- they are quite well off financially) of mother and daughter. That's when the relevance of the title - From One to Zero - strikes me. From hope to hopelessness.
Amazingly, most of the crew is making its debut, including the heroine.

Mohanlal, as the voice, doesnt show his face until the climax of the movie. Only Malayalam Cinema of 80s fossible.

There isnt much of a story here, and there isnt even the typical gratifying element that those 80s Mallu cinema offerred - namely, a tour-de-force performance by one of the Ms. Mohanlal is just a random voice, and has absolutely nothing to emote and is helpless bystander in the climax.
A debut-making heroine and an unheralded child artiste is all you see on screen for the most part, yet, it is engaging to the last.

Geetu Mohandas, as the little girl, is endearing in a way her peer Shalini never was. That was the time when Tamil and Telugu cinema had child roles that were of the Baby Shalini type, and it took the Keralites to show us what a really endearing child character can do to a film. Ofcourse, Shalini had her place in Kerala as well, with Mammootty even going through a phase where his movies were dereided as atypical "Bibi, Baby Shalini and a benz car" vehicle for him. But, on the side, you had movies like this and children like this in those movies

The single song in the movie - comes in different versions - Raarirariram Raaro is heart-breakingly poignant, almost as much as a thenpaandi seemaiyile.

Golden period of Indian Cinema, truly, happened in 80s in Malayalam.

[app_engine]

Great post, plum!

The song was a hot favourite for me all thru the Palakkadan years, though I didn't know the name of the movie

Only a few years back the web informed me the name of the movie and I enjoyed watching the interesting telephone movie on youtube (posted about it in the hub then)!

The literal meaning of 1 to 0 is the rotary telephone (dial starts with 1 ends with 0) and the figurative meaning you nicely explained!

Sweet song & movie!

[plum]

Saw 2 more Mallu movies. Both I had big expectations. One I had seen before and quite liked. But a little underwhelmed after current viewing. Will update

[Bala (Karthik)]

Great post plum, and great going App. This is going to be very useful for me

[plum]

Oru YathraMozhi

Pratap Pothen's (not so) ambitious venture bringing together the explosive combination of Mohanlal and Nadigar Thilagam was just sort of ok in my first viewing. Seeing it again, the flaws are obvious
Nadigar Thilagam has a wimpy role, which is fine, but then  in every scene he has with the Mallu heavy weights, on one hand, you can see the respect in their eyes and body language ut the scenes have been written with the guns heavily loaded in their favour!

This is a run-of-the-mill story of a Building Contractor from TN, visiting Kerala for a contract, getting a girl pregnant, and failing to
honour his commitment to her under pressure from parents; later, when visiting after 30 years, finding that his son is a vagabond waiting to find his father and kill him.

No prizes for guessing who is the father and who is the son.

Mohanlal is irreverent, as only he can be, in front of Nadigar Thilagam, and certainly has the author's backing in his scenes with NT. Still, NT being NT, runs equal with him, and shows the young man he can match him even with that disadvantage - whether it be in the care-free uncoordinated but charismatic dancing movements stakes(a strong area of Lal) or neutralising the cocky youngster with his charisma and charm(Lal doesn't know NT is his father until the climax).

Nedumudi Venu, ill at ease initially, gets one author backed scene with NT and aces it comfortably. Playing the unrequited lover of NT's victim, he takes care of her post NT's  exit after the pregnancy and sees Lal as his own son, himself remaining unmarried. The way he confronts NT after knowing the truth with controlled fury, shows the level of talent in Mallu filmdom.

Thilagan, who apparently sought out Pothen asking him to create a role for him just so that he could act in at least one scene in his lifetime with his childhood hero NT, also gets a powerful moment in his scene with NT, and aces that scene thanks to the director's staging of the scene being loaded heavily in his favour

However, there is a pay-off to all this as both Thilagan and Mohanlal get to mouth dialogues(perfectly apt for the movie's siutuation) which could express their real-life placing w.r.t NT

1) Lal, in the climax, after finding NT is his long-lost enemy of a father, hides it as he has come to respect NT in his recent interaction and has lost his hate. So, as NT tries to come clean to him that he is indeed his father, he mouths what I'd call a adi poli dialogue from a NT fan's POV

He says "periyaarE, gningaLe pOl oru dhEhathiNde maganAya bhagyam enikkillA"

This to me is a sister-dialogue to NT's "ungaLa thAnE nambaNum" to Kamal.

Because, Lal obviously isnt from the NT school, and cockily does his own thing without reverence to NT throughout this movie(Not in terms of movie situation but overall body language w.r.t a fellow actor). But in the climax he has to admit that while he may be a king in his own domain(style of acting), he is still not bigger than this man, and that this man is much more, and that he is obviously not a heir to this man. The respect and love as he says that is so proud a moment for a NT fan. Lal is a God of acting in his own way - and even he has to bow before the God of Gods, acknowledging it in his irreverent manner.

The second pay-off is much more easier to process. Thilagan, fully in control of the frame as always, still manages to show his reverence to NT in his scene with NT.

The situation goes like this: Thilagan is the character who knows NT's identitiy and the only one capable of identifying NT to Lal as his father - which will enable Lal to satiate his  burning rage of killing his father. He(Thilakan) had lost his leg thanks to NT in the past.

So, Thilagan arrives all too spookily and as he meets NT, you wait with suspense for his reaction(remember, this character was created just so that Thilagan could do this scene as per his wish). It is very clear that the screenplay was cleverly woven to make Thilagan bow in reverence to NT in this scene as the character recalls how the chopping off his leg made him see the world with new eyes, and made a family for him and small pleasures that his cocky self wouldn't have found otherwise. So, he says something like

"Without you, I wouldn't have been able to see and do everything I did in my life"

While being a statement that fits very much the screenplay, the twinkle in Thilagan's eyes clearly show he means that more personally!

Wow! What an endorsement! And saying this, the grand old man of Malayalam cinema actually falls at NT's feet. I bet Pratap Pothen didn't write that moment.

I actually have seen Mallu brothers making fun of NT as theatric while claimingThilagan and Lal are the natural actors, and therefore, greater.

This is as grand a statement as any that these two could  make to make it clear who was the real emperor of acting.

For that alone, I would recommend this movie for NT fans.

(Of course, there is this other now-old man in the background, More about him later)

[plum]

V_S- I need manjoloum Rathri audio urgently! Whattay song! It sets the tone stressing your mind right away, with a burden as strong as Govindan Kutty(lal's character)'s burden in the movie, while giving the closure as well soothingly, recognising his mellowing down at the end.

And MSV singing EriKanal kARRil(although not picturised).

Thaimaavin Thanalil is as dripping with romance as a song can. (And that for a portly Lalettan and Bala Karhtik's musicworld friend, Ranjitha)

And BGM ofcourse.

[plum]

The other one is sanmanasullavarku samaadhanam, which a lot of you will know as Illam with Surya Dad. I expected it to be 10 levels above the tamil version. Perhaps that was too much to expect. Either that or I missed the kerala milieu nuances.

[groucho070]

Plum, just read your review on Yathramozhi. I saw it in youtube, never got around watching it. Now, I really want to watch it, thanks to you.

[plum]

V_S - I recently lost my complete audio collection in a hard drive crash. I badly want to hear audio of Yathramozhi now. unga kitta EdhAchum irukkA?

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