Movie – Palery Manikyam: Oru Pathirakkolapathakathinte Katha (Malayalam)
Director – Ranjith
Producers – AV Anoop, Subair
Cast – Mammootty, Mythili, Shwetha Menon, Sreenivasan, Siddique, Gauri Mangal and a host of newcomers.
Music – Sharath, Bijibal
Cinematography – Manoj Pillai
Editing – Vijai Shankar
Story – TP Rajeevan
Screenplay, Dialogues – Ranjith
Release Date – 5th December 2009

This movie cannot be put into the genre of the usual ‘Investigative Thriller’ films in Malayalam. As the title suggests, it is the ‘Story’ of a murder of a girl called Manikyam that happened at midnight at a village called Palery. So if you’re going in expecting a CBI style narrative where a lot of irrelevant investigation is done only to find a completely different culprit, you will be grossly disappointed. This film has to be watched for the unraveling of the story, rather than the suspense thriller element. And it is that unraveling, which makes this movie very interesting. And let me tell you in the beginning itself, that this film is not everyone’s cup of tea. It has a mature, adult theme and many bold dialogues as well, which may not go down well with children and families. (They can watch if they come without their children though, and I didnt see the Censor Certificate, so I dont know about the rating of the film). Having said this, this film tells the story of the murder very interestingly and keeps the audience hooked throughout. It was very surprising to see lots of lady audience for a film like this on second day at Thiruvananthapuram Anjali theatre. That is indeed a great sign. Lets get to the review now.

The movie is about the first rape-murder case that was registered during the jurisdiction of the first elected cabinet in the Government of Kerala, in 1957. Haridas (Mammootty), a private detective, gets an instinctive feeling to investigate this 52 year old onsolved mystery and solve the mystery behind it. Later it is revealed that he also had a personal reason for the investigation of the case, which was as old as him. Manikyam (Mythili) was the bride of the village idiot Pokkan, who was the son of one of Palery’s most desired women, Cheeru (Shwetha Menon). The morning after the whole village leaves to see a brand new drama in the town and Pokkan leaves along with a magician to perform some rituals, Manikyam is found dead in Cheeru’s house. An investigation follows when Manikyam’s brother finds out that she had been murdered. But the case does not reach anywhere, even though the whole town thinks that the rich landlord Ahmed Haji (Mammootty again) is behind the murder. Haridas travels through Palery finding out more and more about the story of the murder, which had become a legend in the town, 50 years later. He is assisted by his girlfriend Sarayu (Gauri Mangal). Haridas’ findings form the rest of the story.

Ranjith begins the movie by showing visuals of a rape attempt and a child being born and cuts to Mammootty as Haridas, who begins his narration saying that the child was none other than himself. The whole background of the Palery Manikyam case is established through Haridas’ narration, which is addressed directly to the audience. I found that a little putting off first, but it became better and I got used to it as the movie progressed. Ranjith has used a different writer’s story for the first time in his career. TP Rajeevan had written this story as a novel which was serialized for a popular weekly earlier. Ranjith writes his own screenplay keeping that story as the base. As I have not read the novel, I do not know whether Ranjith has done justice to the novel or not. But his screenplay works big time and the unraveling of each mystery is done very interestingly keeping the audience hooked throughout the movie. The characterizations of many key characters are really good. Ranjith had conducted an extensive workshop to select actors playing various important roles in the movie. Except 3 of them, most of them disappoint with no expressions, poor dialogue delivery and out-of-sync dubbing. But this hasnt affected the impact of the movie thankfully because the content is very interesting. Even though the acting might be bad, the dialogues by some of these people were written very well. And as far as the others in the cast are concerned, Ranjith has been successful in extracting good performances from most of them. Dialogues are one of the most interesting parts of the film. The film is full of brilliant dialogues, delivered by various characters ranging from random villagers to the characters played by Mammootty. The film also criticizes both the Communist and Congress parties for their hypocritical ideologies and presents the political situation of Kerala in the 50s very subtly, without deviating from the main story. In fact, it only adds more value to the main story and works as a good backdrop for the turn of events. I want to discuss some more really good aspects of the characterizations by Ranjith, but since that would give away the plot, I am forced to stop myself.

The role of Haridas is a cakewalk for an actor like Mammootty. He plays a character quie close to his age, after a long time. Haridas is a 52 year old, even though he never looks like one throughout the movie, thanks to Mammootty’s suave looks (People who say superstars never play their age can shut up now). There is nothing special about Mammootty’s performance as Haridas. It is a role which he can sleepwalk through. Haridas has a girlfriend, Sarayu who travels along with him as his companion when both their respectives spouses are in some other place. Gauri Mangal as Sarayu gives a disastrous performance. She cannot emote at all.  I wish Ranjith had selected a better person for that good role. Mythili as Manikyam has very few scenes even though the movie revolves around her character. She is decent in the few scenes she has and those scenes haunt us throughout the movie. The newcomer who played her husband, the demented Pokkan, was really good and is one of the few who has been a valuable find from the acting workshop. Shwetha Menon is very sensuous as the younger Cheeru and gives a really good performance during both the younger and older versions of Cheeru. Sreenivasan as an old barber is very effective. He has one of the film’s most quotable dialogues as well. It was great to see Sreenivasan playing a full-on serious character without any kind of humour or sarcasm involved. The newcomer who played the younger version of  Sreenivasan was excellent. He has a striking resemblance with the veteran actor and a good screen presence as well. He is probably the best among the newcomers in the movie. The veteran screenwriter T Damodaran plays the communist Hamsa with perfection. Siddique, in a short role is extremely natural, as is expected out of him. But it is again Mammootty who gives the most effective performance in the film as the other character Ahmed Haji. He has played very few characters with negative shades in his long career. So it is exciting whenever he takes up such a role. And he gives a strong performance in that role, making you hate that character as much as possible, successfully. He delivers some great dialogues as both Haridas and Ahmed Haji. Those who missed his firebrand dialogue delivery in Pazhaasiraja would be happy hearing them. (But his dialogues in English are pretty bad. It just does not seem that he is casually speaking the language). Watch out for him in the scenes depicting his cruel and lecherous behaviour, he shows us why he is considered one of the best actors we have. Ahmed Haji is yet another brilliant performance from the actor. But it is in the climax portion that his performance as one of the characters disappoints us. Ranjith should have handled that particular scene in a more effective way. After a consistently great performance throughout the movie in his different roles, Mammootty lets us down a little in the climax sequence.

There is one song in the title sequence by Sharat and a short ghazal sung by Hariharan towards the end. The title song is sure to haunt you much after the film gets over. It keeps playing at crucial points in the film either as the song or background score and strengthen the impact of those scenes. Background score by Bijibal is effective in some places and lets us down in some other places. Cinematography by Manoj Pillai is excellent and this film would probably be his best work till date. He captures Palery in two different moods differentiating between the past and the present. The locations showcased in the movie are really good. The night shots are also done well, revealing certain things and not revealing some other things. Editing by Vijai Shankar could have been better. Art direction, costumes and make-up are really good and capture the essence of the bygone years quite effectively.

On the whole, Palery Manikyam: Oru Pathirakkolapathakathinte Katha is a very intriguing watch. It might not be liked by the common mass audience. But for people who like watching interesting stories and ideas and good cinema, without the trappings of usual commercial cinema, this film would be very interesting. Ranjith is slowly turning into a new-age Padmarajan of sorts. He is trying bold, mature and different themes (Thirakkatha, Kaiyyoppu) and daring experiments (Kerala Cafe) and his storytelling skill is intact in this new movie also. It is interesting to note that Ranjith has always given author-backed serious characters to Mammootty and larger than life characters to Mohanlal. He was never really successful in creating larger than life characters for Mammootty (Prajapathi, Valyettan, Nazrani, Black). And whenever he has tried to do something different with Mohanlal, the movies have flopped (Chandrolsavam, Rock n Roll, Mayamayooram). But I’m sure he will be able to be successful soon in creating much more greater roles which would work very well for both the superstars.

Coming back to the movie, it may not suitable for children as it handles an adult theme based on sex and rape and has certain scenes which may not be suitable for children to watch, even though they are done very aesthetically and effectively. Those scenes and certain dialogues (including abuses) are the crucial parts of the movie and cannot be avoided at all. Mammootty gives fine performances in his different roles. It is great to have the actor in him back through movies like Loudspeaker, Pazhassiraja, Kerala Cafe and this one now after a series of duds. Ranjith has delivered an intriguing film with a minor hiccup in the climax (not that it was bad, just that it didnt rise up to the standard set by the rest of the movie). The movie has taken a good opening and it was great to see all kinds of people, including a lot of ladies, watching the movie on second day.  With the help of some good marketing, this movie should end up being a success. 2009 has been a year of promise for Malayalam Cinema where a lot of great movies have come out. We have one more movie which has generated tremendous hype, Ividam Swargamanu, releasing in the coming weeks. Gulumaal, this weeks other release is also getting a lot of positive response and doing very well.   Looks like this December is a good time for Malayalam movie lovers. Thank you Ranjith Sir for giving us yet another great movie soon after giving us the amazing Kerala Cafe. You are making Malayalam Cinema proud!!

Rating – 4/5

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Many people didnt have any expectations out of this small-budget movie shot on HDV video by adman VK Prakash having Jayasurya and Kunchacko Boban in the lead. But despite that, the film took a great opening today and was housefull for all the 4 shows with much fanfare. The film takes us back to the Priyadarshan/Siddique-Lal kind of cinema of yesteryears where unemployed youths do some ‘tharikida’ to get their hands on some money to solve their problems. And thankfully, the movie doesnt disappoint. It is surprisingly good and finally, it looks like VK Prakash will be having a solid hit on his hands.

Gulumaal tells the story of two crooks – Jerry (Jayasurya) and Ravi Varma (Kunchacko Boban). Both of them are desperately in need of money, and they would do any tharikida to lay their hands on some money. Ravi is the softer crook among the two where as Jerry strongly believes that sentiments and emotions should be kept away in this profession. A police officer Shambhu, who is as stupid as the comic character Shikari Shambu, is on the look-out for these two as well. After a lot of conning, these two get a great deal on their hands when they get to sell a duplicate Raja Ravi Varma painting to a multi-millionaire(Devan). The confusion that follows forms the story of Gulumaal.

VKP (as he is called in the ad-circuit) handles the movie effectively. He has taken a huge risk by shooting the movie on video(HDV). Even though celluloid is clearly missed and the film looks like a tele-film in many places, you dont really bother as there is enough activity going on in the movie to keep you engaged. But there are many advantages in shooting the film on video as well. You can make small movies in low budgets, save a lot of time and have options of multiple camera angles for the same shots. In fact, HD and HDV are supposedly the future in filmmaking (provided they do something to give us that feel of watching an actual film). The movie seems to be quite heavily inspired by a recent Hindi movie (I’m not giving away the name as that would reveal the ending). But I heard both these movies are inspired from the same foreign film called Nine Queens. In spite of that, VKP succeeds in giving his audience their share of fun throughout the movie. Even though the dialogues for characters like Suraaj are really silly (his jokes are very amateurish, but it goes in sync, bcoz his character is modeled on Shikari Shambhu), the director manages to handle them effectively and make people laugh for those really silly jokes. He has been able to extract neat performances from most of his cast members as well. VKP must be appreciated for taking risks with each movie of his. This time he has a decent script by YV Rajesh to support his experiments as well.

Jayasurya shines as Jerry, the lead con-artist in the movie. His character has some grey shades and the young actor has portrayed it really well. He has been proving time and again that he is fit to do any kind of role unlike many of the other young actors now. Jayasurya’s trademark humour is intact and he scores quite a few times with it in the movie, even when the script lets him down. This movie can be called Kunchacko Boban’s actual comeback. He really didnt have much to do in the dud called Lollipop. But in this movie, he is really impressive as the soft-spoken junior con-artist Ravi Varma. He has improved considerably with his comic timing also. Suraaj Venjarammood is completely silly and over-the-top(purposely). But thankfully, he doesnt resort to his usual style of double meaning jokes this time around. His introduction was supposedly a take on Baba Kalyani, but people didnt get it I guess. It is such a relief seeing some clean comedy from him. Bijukkuttan was not impressive at all. He has hardly risen to the standard he set to himself through Chotta Mumbai after that movie. Salimkumar is hardly there. Devan is quite good, especially in the last scene of the movie. The heroine Mithra is wooden and no expressions come on her face at all. Nedumudi Venu, Manian Pillai Raju, etc have minimal roles. Director Siddique’s cameo was unintentionally hilarious.

Music is good, except for the track ‘Vennila’ which was totally unnecessary. There is actually a ‘Cabaret’ song in Malayalam after a long long time. (I thought they became extinct after the Jayan-Nazir period ).  The animated portions used in the songs were terrible. It would have been better if they didnt have it at all. Background score also consistently gives the tharikida mood. This is perhaps the first movie to release in Malayalam, shot by a lady cinematographer – Fowzia Fathima. There is nothing spectacular about the camerawork in this movie unlike other VKP movies where the camerawork would be brilliant, even if the movie is terrible. There were some nice shots and good angles, but they were few and far in between. But since the movie does not require exceptional camerawork, it is quite okay. The brightness was very low, but I learned that it was problem with the projection. The video look takes time to get used to. Editing by Mahesh was competent.

All in all, Gulumaal is a reasonably good film which stays true to its title. The climax would come as a shocker to you, if you havent seen the films which inspired this one. (Which is why I havent written about my opinions on the climax here. Why spoil the fun!!). Jayasurya and Kunchacko Boban are really impressive and from the audience response, it looks like the film will have a successful run(but the superstar releases that are coming back to back in the coming weeks may pose some threat to the movie). A lot of promotional activity is going on on the television and radio channles which would help in marketing the film as well. You wont regret seeing this film. Thats a sure thing!!

Rating – 3.5/5

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Amitabh Bachchan playing a 13 year old at the age of 67. Now, this news itself was the biggest promotion for the film Paa. And add to that, Abhishek playing reel-life father to his real-life father, the media went crazy creating story after story and speculations about the movie. When the first look of the film was out, everyone went all out saying that the movie was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button told in reverse, because of the Progeria disease. (At least this film explains the cause of the abnormality, there was hardly any explanation about the curious case in that movie ) And since the disease was featured in another Hollywood film Jack, they started saying Paa is a rip-off of that one. ‘The media should be more responsible‘ as Abhishek says in the movie, because Paa is none of these and is a completely heart-warming tale of a wonderful child called Auro played astoundingly by Mr.Amitabh Bachchan.  After Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi, Auro is here to steal your hearts.

Paa is the story of Auro(Amitabh Bachchan), a child who is affected with an extremely rare genetic disease called Progeria, where the child is 5 times his age, physically, while his mental age is perfectly normal. So when he is a 13 year old child and behaves like one, he looks like a 65-70 year old man. Auro was brought up by a single mother Vidya (Vidya Balan), who is a gynecologist. Auro lives with his Maa and Bum (his grandma, played by a brilliant Arundhathi Naag) in a beautiful house and goes to one of the most prestigious schools around. He has a great circle of friends whom he has loads of fun with. But Auro is not aware of his father, Amol Aarte (Abhishek Bachchan), whom Vidya broke up with once she became pregnant (because he wasnt ready to accept the child). Amol is now a hot-blooded young politician who is focused on making the country a better place and proving that Politics, is not such a bad word after all. What happens when Auro and Amol become friends, forms the story of Paa.

Balki should really be appreciated for one thing. He has taken away everything that we have been relating to Mr.Amitabh Bachchan for all these years, in this movie. His personality, his grace, his new trademark goatee, and most of all, that voice of his. How can you get Bachchan without that baritone?? But Balki proves us wrong. You dont see Amitabh Bachchan anywhere in this movie. It is Auro right from the introduction scene till the end of the movie. And God, what a performance by the man as Auro. He is absolutely stupendous. Auro is witty, mischievous, sensitive, emotional, stubborn, loving, and of course, loads of fun. He breaks into a cheerful monkey dance whenever he is happy. By the time the movie gets over, you also feel like getting up and dancing like that. And another interesting fact is that, they have used the disease only as a backdrop for Amitabh to play this peculiar character. The movie is not ‘about’ Progeria, but Progeria just acts a catalyst in the narrative. 15 minutes into the movie, you completely forget about the disease, and start seeing Auro as a child only. Amol is an idealistic politician who makes 3 mistakes in the movie, according to Auro. The scene where he realizes his first mistake, is a gem. The movie is as much about Auro’s Maa as it is about his Paa. Vidya, Auro’s mother is a strong woman and she doesnt lose hope even when she knows her son is suffering from such a terrible disease.

I just dont have enough words for Amitabh Bachchan’s performance in the movie. I was really skeptical about the movie and his performance after I saw the promos and heard his voice in one of the songs. But he charms you like never before. Auro is one of his finest performances till date. Despite being covered almost fully by prosthetic make-up, Bachchan Saab emotes exceptionally. His body language, voice, behavioral pattern, everything is just like a child. His body language is truly exceptional. He gets clumsy when he gets nervous or excited, just like a child would. There are several similar nuances in his performance throughout the film. I thought Mohanlal would be getting the National Award this year for the Malayalam film Bhramaram, but after seeing Paa, I’m afraid the Big B will probably beat him at the awards this year. You do not get to see a 67 year old performing so wonderfully as a 13 year old very often. I can go on and on about his performance in the film, but I think it is best when you see it yourself. And one more thing, his performance is way better than Brad Pitt’s in the extremely tedious Benjamin Button (for the losers who would want to compare both these films )

Abhishek Bachchan is wonderfully understated. He gives a credible and subtle performance throughout the film. Even though his episode with the media seems a little far-fetched, he makes it believable through his fine performance. To play screen dad to your real life dad, is not such an easy thing, especially when it is someone like Amitabh Bachchan. Watch out for him in the scenes where he breaks down in the second half. Fabulous acting, I must say. But the one who shines the most after Bachchan Sr, is of course, Vidya Balan. She was written off after some flops. But she is back with a vengeance. She looks absolutely stunning and delivers a fantastic performance. How many actresses of her age would dare to play mother to Amitabh Bachchan? Vidya pulls it off extremely well. Watch out for her in the scenes towards the end of the movie, she is brilliant!! Another brilliant example of good casting is Arundhati Naag, who plays Auro’s grandmother, whom he fondly calls ‘Bum’ (for obvious reasons ). She is truly wonderful. And its such a relief that Kirron Kher was not cast in that role. Paresh Rawal is impressive in his short role. Last time, he got Amitabh Bachchan as his son-in-law. This time, he gets him as his grandson. Just like ‘Sexy’ from Balki’s Cheeni Kum, here we have another wonderful child, Pratik Katare, who plays Auro’s best friend Vishnu. He gets the best lines in the movie and certain whistle-worthy scenes as well. Even the other friends of Auro from school are really good, especially the girl. Balki knows how to use children effectively, I must say. And thankfully, he doesnt show children in the stereotypical way they are portrayed in our films.

Though the subplot of the slums and corruption scam wasnt needed, it doesnt do much harm to the movie. Balki showed he is wonderful with sharp, witty dialogues in his first film Cheeni Kum itself. Same is the case with Paa. The film is full of witty one-liners, most of them delivered by Auro. Some of them really make you think. And the constant reference to potty by Auro stays true to the child’s mindset at that particular age. Even though the screenplay is predictable at many instances, it is filled with wonderful moments that leave you smiling, so you dont really mind it. Balki keeps the narrative sweet and simple throughout, which works so well for this movie, which could have turned into a melodramatic bore in the hands of any other lesser director.  Employing new devices such as video-chat, mail, etc to carry forward the narrative, was a great idea, and it works very well too. And the part where Balki succeeds the most, is extracting exceptional performances from each member of the cast. This is only his second feature film, and he has shown so much maturity and sensitivity as a filmmaker. He is sure to go places in future. The innovative opening credits featuring the other most important member from the First Family of Hindi Cinema, would bring a smile on everyone’s face. After all, Its all about loving your family.

Now about the two legends from south, PC Sreeram and Ilaiyaraaja. What can I say about them, that has not already been said!! PC shows why he is the best in India through his amazing cinematography. Be it the locales in Britain or the beautiful house of Auro and Vidya, he gives them the right colour tone and treatment through his camerawork. There is a shot where a car moves towards the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, through the Rajpath. It reminds you of a shot from Mani Ratnam’s Mouna Ragam, where the camera was on the same Rajpath, but facing the India Gate, on the opposite direction. Both those shots are nothing short of brilliant. Ilaiyaraaja’s music works wonders for the film. He lifts our spirits through his background score and has given some great melodious songs as well. ‘Mudi Mudi‘ and ‘Gumm Summ Gumm‘ are the picks of the lot. Too bad that Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Mere Paa‘ is not used fully in the movie. But the theme music of the film is better than all the Hindi songs of the year put together. It gave me goosepimples each time it was played in the movie. So, PC sir and Raja sir, hats off!!! The jumpy editing by Anil Naidu worked very well in the ‘Mudi Mudi‘ song. But it was jarring at certain other parts in the movie. But for most of its running time, the editor did a good job. Art direction by Sunil Babu was really good as well. The space of Auro’s room was done really well. The prosthetic make-up by Christien Tinsley and Dominie Till is first-rate.

If you do not feel touched by this movie, then there should be something wrong with you. Such movies are not made quite often in Hindi Cinema. I thought Kaminey was the best film to have come out this year so far. But Paa has acquired that place now. Lets wait for 3 Idiots to see if that position would be changed. I’m sure Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan would be walking away with almost all awards next year for their performances in the film. The good thing is that the movie does not get all sentimental and melodramatic as one expects when such a theme is taken. But for most parts, the movie makes you laugh out loud with its extremely witty dialogues and scenes. And otherwise, it would make you smile with so many great moments.Balki seems to be another Rajkumar Hirani in the making. He is all heart and we love it.  After a long time, I got moist-eyed while watching a Hindi film. (The last one to do this was Taare Zameen Par in a December 2 years ago). Paa should not be missed at any cost. It is truly a beautiful, heart-warming film with a landmark performance by the biggest superstar in the country, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Hats off to you, Sir!! And Abhishek would be a very proud Paa, quite literally as he has also revived their home production company AB Corp Ltd. with such a beautiful film.

Rating – 4.5/5

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10. Chaanthu Thottille (Banaras)
Music – M Jayachandran
Lyrics – Gireesh Puttenchery
Singer – Shreya Ghoshal
Picturised on – Kavya Madhavan, Vineeth
This one became an instant hit with both youth and elders alike. Multiple National Award winner Shreya Ghoshal was roped in from the north to deliver this folk number composed by M Jayachandran. She surprised everyone with her impeccable pronunciation of the language. A good picturisation at a great location like Banaras with great dancers like Vineeth and Kavya Madhavan also added to the appeal.

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9. Poomukhavathilkkal (Ivar Vivahitharaayaal)
Music – MG Radhakrishnan, Recreated by M Jayachandran
Lyrics – S Ramesan Nair
Singer – Vijay Yesudas
Picturised on – Jayasurya, Navya Nair
This was a unique song in quite a few aspects. A superhit song of yesteryears was recreated for a completely different situation in a different film. And the son of the original singer, sang the new version of the song. Vijay Yesudas rendered his father’s evergreen melody almost perfectly and gave it a whole new feel. The song about a perfect wife was enacted by Navya Nair in Jayasurya’s dream in the movie.

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8. Kunnathe Konnaykkum Ponmothiram (Keralavarma Pazhassiraja)
Music – Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics – ONV Kurup
Singer – KS Chitra
Picturised on – Kaniha, Mammootty
This song is sure to win some awards for best female playback singer next year. Ilaiyaraaja gives us a gem of a song in Chitra’s mesmerizing voice. ONV’s great lyrics and the royal picturisation add more value to the song. The movie is still running successfully and this song is repeatedly played on TV and radio these days. I would be surprised if Chitra doesnt get any award for this one.

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7. Annarakkanna Vaa (Bhramaram)
Music – Mohan Sithara
Lyrics – Anil Panachooran
Singers – Mohanlal, Vijay Yesudas
Picturised on – Mohanlal, Niveditha, Suresh Menon, Muralikrishnan, Lakshmi Gopalaswami
Now this has got to be the children’s favourite. Children all over Kerala were singing this song which can also serve the purpose of being a nursery rhyme. Mohan Sithara takes us on a nostalgic trip with his wonderful tune. Mohanlal sings the song with the required rawness and Vijay Yesudas joins in later to support him. The song had a major role to play in the movie’s narrative as well. Anil Panachooran’s lyrics are also effective.

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6. Aazhi Thira Thannil Veenalum (Bhagyadevatha)
Music – Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics – Gireesh Puttenchery
Singer – Karthik
Picturised on – Jayaram, Kaniha
Ilaiyaraaja never fails to deliver. This song which has Karthik on vocals becomes an instant favourite on the first hearing itself. A rhythmic folk tune rendered in the wonderful voice of Karthik, this song was a huge hit during the run of the movie in April-May. The typical light-hearted Sathyan Anthikkad picturisation also helped a lot in the song becoming a hit.

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5. Alliyambal Kadavil (Loudspeaker)
Music – Job Master, Recreated by Bijibal
Lyrics – P Bhaskaran
Singer – Vijay Yesudas
Picturised on – Mammootty, Sasikumar
This has to be the best among the various reworked/recreated old songs in Malayalam. Vijay sings his legendary father’s evergreen song yet again. This song and its video is sure to make anyone feel really good. Mammootty and Sasikumar revisit their past in the video of the song which is nostalgic as well as fresh. Bijibal has kept the orchestration simple and beautiful and that is what works most for this new version of the song.

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4. Picha Vecha Naal Muthalkku Nee (Puthiya Mukham)
Music – Deepak Dev
Lyrics – Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri
Singer – Shankar Mahadevan
Picturised on – Prithviraj, Meera Nandan
This song became a rage and was there everywhere. Shankar Mahadevan’s powerful vocals were used in a completely different way in this song. Deepak Dev made a fabulous comeback through this album which had lyrics by Kaithapram. The slo-mo picturisation of the ‘agrahaaram’ featuring Prithviraj and Meera Nandan also clicked well with the audience. The song is still a favourite of TV and radio channels.

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3. Aadiyushassandhya Poothathivide (Keralavarma Pazhassiraja)
Music – Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics – ONV Kurup
Singers – KJ Yesudas, MG Sreekumar, Krishnanunni, Chorus
Picturised on – Mammootty, Sarathkumar, Manoj K Jayan, Padmapriya, Kaniha and others
ONV’s inspiring lyrics in this song captures the soul of the movie Pazhassiraja. Ilaiyaraaja came up with a fantastic tune (even though he said that he could’ve come up with better tunes). And when it is KJ Yesudas who is singing, we have nothing else to do, but to remain in awe. MG Sreekumar, another prolific singer joins him in this awe-inspiring song which shows Pazhassi and his army preparing for their battle against the British.

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2. Swapnangal Kannezhuthiya Malsyakanyake (Bhagyadevatha)
Music – Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics – Gireesh Puttenchery
Singers – KS Chitra, Rahul Nambiar
Picturised on – Jayaram, Kaniha
Another Ilaiyaraaja melody. This song reminds you of various other songs by Ilaiyaraaja but is still extremely soothing to hear. Chitra and Rahul Nambiar’s perfect singing takes the song to greater heights. Great lyrics and the wonderfully simplistic picturisation also helps this feel-good romantic melody, which was one of the high points of the movie. I have been constantly listening to this song from the time it released and I still love it as much. It was a tough decision to move this song to No.2 position as this one also was equally deserving for the No.1 position.

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1. Anuraga Vilochananayi (Neelathamara)
Music – Vidyasagar
Lyrics – Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma
Singers – V Shreekumar, Shreya Ghoshal
Picturised on – Kailash, Archana Kavi
This song is a blockbuster. The caller tune of every other person in our state is this song. It has fascinated the youth and the elders alike. The new singer V Shreekumar now has lots of fans for his unique voice and delivery. Shreya Ghoshal as always is pitch-perfect in her singing. Lal Jose, Vijay Ulaganath and team recreate the romance of the 70s through some spectacular visuals. The pairing of the newcomers Archana and Kailash is very  refreshing. After a long time, a Malayalam song is being celebrated inside the theatres for every show. Such a rage was seen the last time maybe for ‘Ente Khalbile’ or ‘Kolakkuzhal Vili Ketto’. So this song, which also marked the glorious comeback of our favourite composer Vidyasagar, unanimously gains the No.1 spot.

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P.S. – The theme song ‘Kadhayamama’ from Kerala Cafe missed being in this list by a very small margin.

Paiyaa looks like a breezy movie starring the young and talented Karthi, along with current favourite Tamanna. The movie is directed by Linguswamy who has given superhits like Aanandam, Run and Sandakozhi and an average Bheema earlier. The music for this youthful movie is by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The movie is expected to release during the Pongal festival in January next year. The album has 5 songs composed by Yuvan and written by Na. Muthukumar.

‘Poongatre Poongatre‘ is an upbeat, youthful song rendered very well by Benny Dayal in his powerful voice. The tune reminds you of some old English songs, but since that has become a common thing with Yuvan’s songs, lets not go there . The lyrics by Muthukumar are in pure Tamil for a change with no English words thrown in for rhyming. The lines, tune and singing give a very breezy feeling to the song which goes perfectly with the movie’s mood. The electric guitar portion towards the end is really good. All in all, a good start to the album. (3.5/5)

‘Thuli Thuli‘ by Haricharan and Tanvi begins with a very familiar tune done with guitar notes. From the lyrics, one gets a feeling that this would be a rain song and the composition also gives that particular mood. Haricharan is a great singer and he has done a wonderful job with his vocals. The song which talks about the hero’s dream girl, has a catchy chorus part which repeats several times during the length of the song. Tanvi is just there to do some humming in between. The song is Haricharan’s all the way and he delivers a good one. Coupled with a good picturisation, this song should work very well once the movie comes out. (3.5/5)

‘Suthudhe Suthudhe‘ by Karthik and Sunitha Sarathy starts with a female humming portion which is very similar to Yuvan’s own ‘Enammo Nadakkirathe‘ from Sandakozhi. Karthik is one of my favourite singers from the younger generation, and his voice can make even average songs sound great. This love song has a nice tune by Yuvan and good lyrics by Muthukumar and Karthik makes sure that the song sounds really nice through his youthful rendering. The female singer Sunitha Sarathy is again doing only backing vocals. On the whole, a nice energetic number. (3.5/5)

‘Adada Mazhaida‘ by Rahul Nambiar and Saindhavi reminds you of the team’s superhit song ‘Dhavani Potta Deepavali‘ from Sandakozhi. An energetic number with folk beats, Rahul Nambiar shines in this song. Again with rain as the backdrop, this song would do very well if it has a neat visualization. Saindhavi joins in towards the end and is the first female voice to be actually singing some lyrics in the entire album so far. She does very well and adds some energy as well. I have been giving the same ratings for all the songs so far because all of them have been equally good. It is not different in the case of this one also. (3.5/5)

‘En Kaadhal Solla‘ by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Tanvi is a soulful track with some great beats. Yuvan’s singing is really good and the melancholic nature of the song is brought out well through his singing, though it sounds like ‘Oru Kal Oru Kannadi‘ from Siva Manasula Sakthi at times. The guitar interludes are interesting. The humming portion by Tanvi is neatly done and adds more value to the song. Yuvan’s singing and the catchy beats are the highlights of this song. I’m giving the same rating again for this one also. (3.5/5)

Paiyaa’s music is consistent to say the least. It has 5 equally good tracks with good, catchy, youthful and energetic tunes. The lyric writer has used hardly any English words for the sake of rhyming in any of the songs (which is a rarity in Tamil songs). Almost all songs have just male voices and the presence of a duet in this romantic film is sorely missed. The only female voice heard singing some lines is Saindhavi’s in the folk number. The album would become more popular once the videos of the songs are out. All in all, a very good complete album from Yuvan after a long time.

Rating – 3.5/5

Movie – Neelathamara (Malayalam)
Director – Lal Jose
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues – MT Vasudevan Nair
Producer – Menaka Suresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar
Cast – Archana Kavi, Kailash, Suresh, Rima Kallingal, Samvritha Sunil, Sreedevi Unni, Parvathy and others.
Music and Background Score – Vidyasagar
Cinematography – Vijay Ulaganath
Art Direction – Gokul Das
Editing – Ranjan Abraham
Lyrics – Vayalar Sharat Chandra Varma
Costumes – Kukku Parameshwaran
Make-Up – Sreejith Guruvayoor
Release Date – 27th November 2009

Very rarely does a film become house full in Kerala based on the merits of the director and the crew. It was great to see the first show on the first day of Neelathamara becoming house full just because of the two names, Lal Jose and MT Vasudevan Nair. And even more rare is the fact that this is a film where almost all the members of the cast are newcomers. The only known faces in the movie are of Samvritha Sunil, the television anchor Parvathy and Rima Kallingal. And through some amazing marketing and lovely songs, this movie had created a great buzz among the youth. Neelathamara is the first official remake of an old Malayalam movie in a new version. The original Neelathamara (1979) was directed by Yusuf Ali Kechery and scripted by MT Vasudevan Nair. The earlier version also saw the debut of the yesteryear actress Ambika, who went on to become one of the top actresses of her times. 30 years later, Lal Jose has recreated the movie with a script reworked by the original writer MT Vasudevan Nair. Archana Kavi and Kailash make their debut in the lead roles supported by Sreedevi Unni, Samvritha Sunil, Suresh, Rima Kallingal and others. The promotions which showed a sensuous and beautiful Archana in the old world costumes of blouse and skirt, created a frenzy among the young crowd and her introduction in the movie was received tremendously, almost at par with the reaction seen for a superstar’s introduction (Complete with paper bits flying in the air and all that. Most of it would have been done since she was also present for the show). There was a great crowd of young girls as well, which is a great sign on the first day of a movie (where girls usually dont come). That means the movie has generated enough hype for all these people to come and watch it on the very first day. Now, lets get to the review.

The movie has a very tried and tested storyline, of a vulnerable young housemaid falling in love with the young son of her mistress. What happens after that forms the rest of the story. This story may not have been a common one, back in 1979, but we have seen lots of similar stories after that, the most recent one being Ranjith’s Nandanam (2002).  But MT and Lal Jose make sure that the cliched story does not appear that way through their treatment. In fact, the movie has a completely refreshing feel to it. Watching the movie is like reading one of MT’s short stories which would make you smile and feel nostalgic. This movie takes us back to a village in the 1970s and recreates that era beautifully and tells an interesting story of a helpless girl Kunjimalu (Archana) who falls for her mistress’ son Haridas (Kailash). She also has a friend in her neighbour Ammini (Rima Kallingal). But what happens when Ratnam (Samvritha Sunil) and Appukkuttan (Suresh) come into her life? The movie is about that and also about the tale of a peculiar flower that blooms in the neighbourhood temple called Neelathamara.

It is indeed very refreshing to see so many new faces in a film. The interesting thing is that even all the supporting characters are played by new actors, quite unlike the regular newcomer movies that are made in Malayalam. Archana as Kunjimalu, the protagonist of the movie, makes a warm and confident debut. She looks extremely pretty and there is an old-world charm to her face. Though majority of the audience had come to see her for various other reasons (mostly for the skin show which would be there because of the kind of dress she wears in the movie), they were soon hooked seeing her convincing portrayal of Kunjimalu. MT penned a fine piece of dialogue for her where she says, ‘Enne polullavarkku abhiprayam undayittu enthenkilum kaaryam undo?‘ (Or something similar) which instantly touches you, as part of a particular scene. She has performed without any hiccups of a newcomer, shows great promise and can be moulded into a fine actor, if she gets to do more films with directors like Lal Jose. And the fact that she and Parvathy (who plays the older version of Kunjimalu) have a strong resemblance in their features, also adds more value. She has got a fantastic start for her career with a Lal Jose-MT film. Hoping to see more good work from her.

Kailas, as the law graduate Haridas whom Kunjimalu falls in love with, is smart, handsome and again, confident. He carries off his role extremely well and does very well in the romantic portions. He is a great addition to the industry which has a huge scarcity of good newcomers. Rima Kallingal is extremely natural as Ammini and plays a credible supporting role. She looks very pretty too. But the abrupt conclusion to her character created some confusion among the viewers. I guess MT left the reason for that incident to the imagination of the audience. Samvritha Sunil shines the most among the lot. She gets some really nice lines and scenes in the second half of the movie. Her character is very mature, educated and sensible. But still she has all the basic emotions of a woman as well. Even for her older part (played by a new actress whose name I didnt get), she has given her voice, and has done a good job in that too. The lady who acts as the mother of Haridas, is wonderful and consistent throughout the movie, even in her older version. Suresh as the ruffian Appukkuttan is decent. The karanavar, the aalthara aashaan, etc. are competent. A presence of a Bhagavathar is felt throughout the movie with keerthanams floating in the air everytime night comes. But the ones who dont perform well are the (really) old ladies – Kunjimalu’s grandmother and the other housemaid. Kunjimalu’s grandmother is supposed to have difficulty in walking, but she appears to be very cool and healthy while she walks. And also, her lips does not move at all when she says dialogues. The dubbing was out of sync at a lot of places for her. Even the other housemaid’s bad acting got a few laughs from the audience.

Lal Jose has narrated the story in a short, simple and sweet way. His handling of the romantic portions deserve special mention. The Talat Aziz, Yesudas and Jagjit Singh songs that play from Haridas’ tape recorder create a great ambience. The songs also indicate the passage of time in the movie. ‘Jalte hai jiske liye‘ is played at an earlier stage of the movie, whereas ‘Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho‘, which is a relatively newer song, is played during the latter part of the movie. The idea of using Yesudas’ song ‘Zid na karo‘ along with the lovemaking scene was a great touch. It also made sure that the voice of Yesudas is not missed in such a movie.  That particular sequence has been shot extremely well by Lal Jose and is one of the very few such scenes which have been taken well in our Malayalam Cinema. MT creates some peculiar characters and instances like the bhagavathar,  the aashaan at the aalthara, Ammini and even the Neelathamara, which stay in our mind long after the movie is over. The movie is less than 2 hours long which is a very good thing, as the story was a very short one. Many people are complaining that there was no major turn of events in the climax. But I felt the climax was done very well. In fact, it couldnt have ended in any other way. There was no  melodramatic crying and cliched dialogues and all that. The characters deal with the situations with maturity and react as they would do if they were caught in such situations in real life. The movie ends by giving you a good feeling. Very few Malayalam movies have been able to do that recently.

The music is the major attraction of the movie. Vidyasagar has bounced back with an amazing soundtrack. The track by V Shreekumar and Shreya Ghoshal,’Anuraga Vilochananayi‘ has become a rage all over Kerala. No other song has become such a huge hit in the recent times (maybe after  Kolakkuzhali Vil Ketto). It is the ring back tune of every other person now(including mine ). And the song got an amazing response in the theatre. I was so sad that the other wonderful song ‘Neelathamare‘ was used only as part of the titles. I wanted it to be there in the movie as well. ‘Pakalonnu‘ is a slow, ghazal type song picturised wonderfully by Lal Jose. Vidyasagar does an extraordinary job with the background score of the movie as well. He creates the right ambience and mood for the entire movie. The tunes used in the background during the romantic portions are exceptionally good.

Cinematography is another highlight of the movie. This film was supposed to be the debut of cinematographer Vijay Ulaganath. But he suddenly had to do Madambi in between and that became his debut film (he did good work in that too). But he touches a new high with his work in Neelathamara. He has shot the movie in different colour tone which gives an old world feel. The night shots are shot remarkably as well. Editing by Ranjan Abraham is perfect. Art direction by Gokul Das recreates the entire time period of the 70s with precision (including Cuticura powder, Brut perfume, calendars from old Saaree shops and many more small touches which are not very obvious). Costumes by Kukku Parameshwaran stay true to the time period. Make-up by Sreejith Guruvayoor is excellent. The sound department has also done a great job.

On the whole, Neelathamara is a beautiful picture which takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the 70s. To tell such an oft-repeated tale effectively is not such a simple task. Lal Jose gets full marks for making this story interesting for the new generation as well. The movie has opened very well thanks to the great marketing by the team. The name MT Vasudevan Nair should bring in the elderly people as well, including the people who have seen the original Neelathamara. Neelathamara is a strong reinforcement that our cinema hasnt totally deteriorated. And as I have mentioned in the title, thank God for giving us Lal Jose. He has constantly been giving us good cinema which is a mix of both entertainment and artistic value. Many other senior directors in the industry have been expressing their strong desire to direct a script by MT, but the legendary writer chose Lal Jose to direct his script. That itself is such a great honour to the talented director, who is certainly the best director in Malayalam Cinema at present. As far as we have people like him around, we need not fear of a decline for our industry. In short, Neelathamara has to be watched – for its simplicity, the nostalgia, the romance, the songs, the performances, the camerawork, the dialogues, the emotions, the characters and most of all, the great feeling it gives you while watching it.

Rating – 4/5

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‘Kilu Kilukkum’ by Sithara takes us back to the cabaret songs of the 70s. The whole composition and rendering has maintained that retro feel throughout. And that is probably the best thing about this song. Lyrics by Simon Paluvi also gives that 70s feel. It should probably be an item number picturised in a retro style in the movie. Special mention to Manu Ramesan for coming up with this unique tune which reminds us so much of the 70s and those cabaret songs which would most probably take place at the villain’s den (who would most probably be Josprakash ). Singer Sithara is quite good and has the kind of voice which we have heard in those kind of songs earlier. Even though remixes have been done, its probably the first time that a retro style song has been attempted in Malayalam. So this song scores in that aspect. (3.5/5)

Vivek Ranjit.