Malayalam Cinema: The Celluloid Controversy

Poster from the web.

Within 24 hours of Kamal’s Celluloid winning seven awards including Best Film and Best Actor (Prithviraj) at the Kerala State Film Awards on February 23, 2013, a major controversy erupted. It was ignited by K. Muraleedharan, son of the former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran. He claimed that the film insulted his father and a bureaucrat who had worked under him.

The debate was fuelled by the politicians. The Minister for Cultural Affairs condemned Kamal. Neither he nor Muraleedharan had seen the movie. The movie industry stands solidly behind Kamal. They point out that Karunakaran’s name is not mentioned in the movie.

Celluloid is a biographical picture about JC Daniel, the Father of Malayalam Cinema. He was the man who produced the first Malayalam movie. It was a silent film named Vigathakumaran (Lost Child). Daniel wriote the story, directed the film and also played the hero’s role. He sold his land reportedly for Rs.400,000. With that money he established the studio Travancore National Pictures in Trivandrum in 1926 and started the production of Vigathakumaran. Most of the Indian films then were based on the puranas but this one had a social theme.

A still from Vigathakumaran

Wikipedia..

Malloor Govinda Pillai a leading advocate of those days inaugurated the screening at Trivandrum’s Capitol Theatre on 7 November 1928. The invitation card reproduced here shows a different date. Probably that was not for the original show.

 Invitation to the screening.

Wikipedia.

Vigathakumaran immediately ran into problems. Those were the days when women who acted on stage or cinema were considered immoral. Daniel settled for a scheduled caste worker named PK Rosie as his heroine. A low caste woman playing a Nair lady was unacceptable to the orthodox groups. She was not allowed to watch the screening. Finally she had to run away from Trivandrum.

Daniel’s movie was a financial flop though it played in Nagercoil, Quilon, Alleppey, Trichur and Tellicherry also. He was down and out. He went back to his native place. He approached the Kerala Government for the Rs.300 per month pension for artists in distress. That was rejected on the contention that the place where he lived had been transferred to Tamil Nadu State. The Government also decided that Balan produced in 1938 was the first Malayalam movie.

Daniel died in 1975. In 1992 the Government introduced the J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam Cinema. Too late for the pioneer.

Kamal, one of the top directors in Indian cinema, depended on two books for scripting Celluloid – Vinu Abraham’s novel Nashta Naayika which is based on the life of the heroine Rosie, and Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan’s biography of JC Daniel. Gopalakrishnan has clearly stated in his book which came out two years ago that K. Karunakaran and the bureaucrat Malayattoor Ramakrishnan did not help Daniel.

Today’s Deepika has given a photo of their issue dated Tuesday, October 28, 1930 which carried a detailed review of Vigathakumaran. Does the Kerala Government still believe that Balan was the first Malayalam movie?

What the Malayalam director’s organization says is that one should see the movie before criticising it. Reportedly, Muraleedharan has referred to Kamal as a third rate director. Shocking.

What is the difference between the people who opposed Vigathakumaran 80 years back and those who are criticising Celluloid now?

Addenda on February 28th morning. The latest news is that K. Muraleedharan has stated that the Celluloid controversy is closed because he watched the movie and found nothing objectionable in it.  Well...well...well... Now, where does that leave the Minister for Cultural Affairs?

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Malayalam Cinema: Snehaseema Revisited

ET Vasudevan’s Snehaseema directed by SS Rajan was released in 1954. The movie was a big hit. After half a century I saw it again two days back on the Asianet Movie Channel. Black and white print of course, but clear, and holding one’s interest throughout.

Snehaseema was notable for many reasons. It was the first Malayalam ‘war movie’ if one could use that label. There is quite a bit of World War II footage in it. During that time there were a number of Hollywood movies, and writings with the war background. Some similarities or adaptations are possible. But the Snehaseema story by Ponkunnam Varkey, a noted anti-Church writer of his time, has a strong social theme.

It is about Johnny (Satyan), an orphan brought up by the local priest. He grows up and becomes a teacher. Falls in love with the rich school manager’s daughter Omana (Padmini). Her father objects. He wants her to marry Doctor Baby (Kottarakkara), a friend of Johnny.

The lovers get married and have a daughter. But Johnny has to resign his job at his father-in-law’s school. To support the family he joins the Army – Air Force really. In a bombing mission over Burma, probably in 1942, his plane was shot down by the Japanese. He was missing in action presumed to be dead.

Three years pass. Persuaded by others, Omana marries Doctor Baby. They live happily though she carries Johnny’s memory close to her heart. And Johnny is not dead. He was a disfigured and partially handicapped PoW with the Japanese. The war is over and Johnny comes back. Omana now has two husbands, both having married her officially in the Church.

Absolutely complicated situation. One of them has to die to solve the tangle. But in Snehaseema, two die. It is well handled and does not offend the Church or anyone else. There might be silent tears in the audience. That adds to the Box Office clout.

The music is by V. Dakshinamurthy. I think it was the first time that a Malayalam movie tried to break free from the dependence on Hindi tunes. The lullaby Kannum pootti uranguka… became an all time hit. Adhwanikkunnorkum… was also popular. It is claimed that Dakshinamurthy, for the first time,   brought Carnatic raga into Christian devotional music with the song Kanivolum kamaneeya hridayam…

Satyan is good, as always. Padmini looks beautiful and does justice to her role. But Kottarakkara is rather disappointing. The Art Direction and cinematography are good, considering the limitations that existed almost 60 years back.

The cinema also gives an insight into the clothes used in Kerala during the mid-20^th c. In a couple of scenes Padmini appears in chatta and mundu, the traditional white attire of the Nazrani women. The juba or kurtha had made its appearance, but those men who sported an upper garment mostly used long sleeved shirts. These had a 4-buttoned opening in front. Some of the shirts (not seen in this cinema) had a half inch pleat between the shoulder and the elbow. But the most interesting style was mundu worn at the waist over the shirt tails, and a single breasted jacket over the shirt. Some used a tie and a folded kuriamundu, a kind of thin shawl over the shoulders as well. The bush-shirt and subsequently short sleeved shirts became popular in Kerala only in the late 1950s.

Sorry for drifting off the main topic. Snehaseema is a milestone in Malayalam cinema history. A good movie. See it if you get a chance. It was dubbed into Tamil under the title Punyavathi. That was also a big success.

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Note: You can read a good review of the movie by B. Vijayakumar published in The Hindu on 7/6/2008 at http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/06/07/stories/2008060752701300.htm

Cinema: Makaramanju, Lenin Rajendran presenting Raja Ravi Varma

I got to see Makaramanju only yesterday though the film was released last year. In my blog post Lenin Rajendran going ahead with Raja Ravi Varma movie I had translated the name of this Malayalam film to English as Winter Mist. The official name however is The Mist of Capricorn.

Makaramanju is an allegorical presentation of certain segments of the Royal Painter’s life and his creation depicting of the mythological parting of King Paruravas and Apsaras Urvashi. The raja falls in love with Sugandha Bhai (Anjali Bhai in the cinema), his model for Urvasi. In Makaramanju the painter alternates as the king, and the model as Urvashi. There is a continuing interchange between the eras of Ravi Varma and Pururavas, and the characters.

It is remarkable that the Director Lenin Rajendran who wrote the script also, cast Santhosh Sivan, an established cinematographer and director, in the main role. He has done a good job as Ravi Varma and Pururavas. In fact, one wonders in which role he shines better.

Urvashi is played by Karthika Nair. Makaramanju is her second film, and the first in Malayalam. But before dealing with her performance one has to mention Nithya Menon, the pretty young actress. Her portrayal of the Jasmine Girl in the beginning of the movie, though not very demanding, is beautiful. She models for Ravi Varma a few times. Then she is murdered by unknown persons, perhaps at the behest of some jealous lady. There is talk that the painter could be involved. In disgust Varma leaves Travancore and goes to Bombay (Mumbai).

That is where Sugundha Bhai comes into his life. Karthika does her dual role well. She does present the two personalities handled by her satisfactorily. Quite apparently, the naturalness that Nithya Menon so pleasantly presents is not consistently seen in Karthika’s performance. The reason seems to be that Urvashi is an Apsaras who was banished to earth and therefore is different from mortal females.

As Sugandha Bhai she is more earth bound. Sometimes there is a whiff of sophistication that does not blend. For instance the way she alights from the car – all very modern and confident. Such finesse is not expected from a woman of her level and situation in the story. The car itself is a model that came out after Ravi Varma died. The boat ride of Varma and Karthika also indicate an element of modernity. Such drawbacks could have been avoided, but really they are only a bit of dust in the corner of a brilliant canvas.

Raja Ravi Varma is the man who gave faces to Indian goddesses. Millions keep the prints of his paintings of Mahalakshmi and Sraswathi and others in their prayer rooms and worship them. The Royal Painter chose his models with great care. They were from different walks of life. Soon a rumor started that his models were prostitutes and widows and there was a court case. The Director handles this situation with great ease and there are no boring sequences.

The movie has a thread of sensuality. It is often thin, occasionally thick. That is quite natural for the story in the manner in which it is presented. But there are a couple of negative aspects as well. The rather prolonged erotic scenes slow down the movie when it is already slack at certain places. Also, the same body positions and movements at least on two occasions are illogical in the land of Kamasutra and tedious to watch.

The scenic locations are beautiful. Cinematography by Madhu Ambatt is superb. Music by Ramesh Narayan and the singing are good. In every sphere the movie maintains high standard. That is nothing surprising in a film by Lenin Rajendran. He has created a high quality piece of art.

The King Pururavas – Urvashi painting by Raja Ravi Varma is reproduced in my blog post mentioned at the beginning of this article and also in  Art and Wine. Ravi Varma’s Mahalakshmi painting can be seen in Ashtalakshmi Temple, Chennai.
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Malayalam cinema: Signs of revival?

Last month Anjali published a post titled Ritu. It is about a Malayalam cinema by that name. The writer is annoyed and angry about the movie mainly because the story is an old tale and the script writer has not bothered study the subject and background well enough. I haven’t seen the picture but can understand why Anjali is upset. Many of the new Malayalam cinemas are like that.

Some years ago when I visited Chennai a friend asked me to join him and the scriptwriter of the Malayalam cinema he was producing for ‘working drinks’ at their hotel. I found him and the writer with a collection of English movie cassettes. This was before the CDs and DVDs. They were shamelessly copying from the Western cinemas for the Malayalam picture. I never saw that movie.

The story and script form the heart of a movie. The director, cameraman and actors work to transfer what is written to the celluloid. A good director would work only with a credible and well written screenplay. He and the writer would discuss and finalize the script.

Scriptwriting is a tough job. It requires understanding the place where the story takes place and the people who live there. The visuals and dialogues should give the impression that the story is actually happening there. This requires great concentration and even visualizing the camera angles. Sometimes research is needed. Attention to details is so important.

This is where Malayalam cinema fails. Most of the script writers just rush through the job. Some introduce theatrical dialogues. The producers go ahead with something that should be thrown into the waste basket. There are enough directors who do not bother as long as they get paid. As a result, 90% of the Malayalam movies fail at the box office.

Some time back I had written a post Malayalam Cinema: Going, going, gone? The same situation continues though Malayalam won 13 National awards recently for the year 2009. Imagine, for discovering a good story, Shaji N. Karun, the director of the best film, Kutty Srank waited 10 years. It is a pity that Mammootty lost out to Amitab Bachan for the Best Actor Award in spite of his good performances in three movies, Kutty Srank, Paleri Manikyam and Pazhassi Raja.

Actually, 2009 had six or seven good Malayalam movies. One of them was Blessy’s Bhramaram. I was quite impressed by the film. It had a good story and script. The final portion of the tension filled movie was shot in the rough terrain of the High Ranges. Blessy, and Mohan Lal, the hero are near perfect.

Both Mammootty and Mohan Lal continue to dazzle. Their latest releases, Pranchiyettan and the Saint (Direction by Renjit) and Shikkar (M.Padmakumar) are reportedly doing very well.

One problem is that the younger set of actors do not get really good chances. They are mostly wasted in quickly assembled, fight and dance oriented movies.

Unless new stories are found and the script writers and the directors put in hard work, Malayalam cinema will continue to be of low standard. The recent National Awards should inspire the industry to come out with better products.

Also see

Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts

Pazhassi Raja, the Lion of Kerala

By and large, the history books have bypassed Kerala Simham (Lion) Veera (Brave) Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the ruler of Kottayam in North Kerala towards the end of the 18c CE and beginning of 19c. This valiant warrior prince took up arms against the taxation policy of the British East India Company. The war between the two, which began in 1790s, lasted till 1805.

A Malayalam movie based on him was released on October 16 and that has made history. It is crafted by MT Vasudevan Nair and Hariharan with Mammootty in the lead role and is produced by Gokulam Gopalan. With a budget of Rs.27 crores, it is the costliest film ever made in Malayalam.

I have not seen the cinema, but heard Hariharan claim on the TV that full justice has been done to historical details. One can be reasonably certain that with careful handling by this expert team, the movie would be good.

I hope this picture which is made in five languages would spread awareness about the legendary fight by Pazhassi Raja against the mighty Company (which, by then, had assumed the role of a government) among the people of India. The hero’s greatest strength was that he was able command absolute loyalty of his upper caste subjects and the hill tribes at the same time. The manner in which they stood by him in life and in death was something remarkable.

It was Thomas Harvey Babar, a young Company officer who was sub collector of Tellicherry who led the final assault against Pazhassi Raja in 1805. And he came to admire his adversary. He is reported to have said about the raja ‘great man and a great warrior’.

Nick Balmer, the great great grandnephew of Thomas Henry Babar maintains a blog, Malabar Days, which gives some authentic accounts about Pazhassi Raja. The link is Thomas Baber's account of the death of the Pazhassi Rajah, from the study reports by Nick Balmer It is interesting reading.

While talking about the newly released Pazhassi Raja movie, let us not forget the earlier one. In the 1960s, there was a cinema by the same name with Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair in the lead role.

What made that version famous were the songs, written by Vayalar and rendered by Yesudass. Guess who was the Music Director? A R Rahman.’s father, R. K. Shekhar.

Do you remember “Chotta muthal chudala vare…” It is one of the best patriotic songs in Malayalam cinema.

There is also a novel about Pazhassi Raja – Kerala Simham by Sardar KM Panikker.

Related post:

Malayalam Cinema: Going, going, gone?

Star wars in Kerala

There are only two mega stars in the tottering Malayalam cinema industry – Mammootty and Mohanlal. (See Malayalam Cinema: Going, going, gone?) They were superstars till a few years back but were elevated to the higher rank. I can’t answer the question ‘by whom’.

It was not like a Lt. General becoming General or a Secretary becoming Chief Secretary. A few of the next in line heroes (some of them are good) were stagnating and required a new label to enhance their market value and someone had a bright idea. Mammootty and Mohanlal were tagged megastars and the others became superstars.

Not that the change made any difference to performance of the actors. Perhaps their rates went up. Histrionic talent wise Malayalam cinema is well stocked. It is just that some of the actors got stereotyped. Anyway, there is room at the top and near the top for all of them. That is, provided the industry survives.

Mammootty and Mohanlal are great artistes by any standards, anywhere, anytime. Who is better among the two is a meaningless question according to me. (Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts)

Any rivalry between them should be on a healthy level. I have not met either of them. I am sure they are decent people who would not involve in petty squabbles. But the same cannot be said of all their fans. Many of their followers are organized into ‘clubs’.

The conflict between the fans of the mega stars came into the open with the release of the star-studded production ‘Twenty Twenty’ promoted by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Almost all top actors including Mammootty and Mohanlal are in the cast.

The protest was sparked off by the posters of that film. Mohanlal supporters felt that Mammootty was given more prominence in the publicity material. It is said that the producers brokered an understanding with the agitating fan clubs to enable smooth release of the movie.

But the embers flared again when the Mammootty film ‘Love in Singapore’ opened recently. The star’s head was cut off from the posters, and flexi boards advertising the cinema were destroyed. Replacements also met with the same fate. The opposite camp retaliated in kind when Mohanlal’s ‘Red Chilli’ was released.

I believe that the posters cost Rs.133 each, and flexi boards Rs.60000 each. One can imagine the extent of this meaningless destruction. The poor producers, many of whom are already deeply in the red, have to bear the additional and unplanned expense.

The simple logic the fans should understand is that even the best actor has a stage only if producers are around to risk the money to make movies. That some film makers producing low quality pictures should close shop is another matter.

[This is inspired by a report in the Malayala Manorama Chennai edition of 18^th February.]

Malayalam Cinema: Going, going, gone?

What is Malayali about Malayalam cinema except the language? Hardly anything. Almost gone are the days of stories with soul in them, themes that deal with people of the land, their lives, the situations they face, their dialogues and music. In the process, Malayalam cinema has lost its identity.

What we have today is a concoction of fighting where the hero vanquishing a group of baddies with incredible ease, bomb blasts, AK 47 firing away, taking law into own hands, spiting the police, theatrical dialogues, dances that are choreographed almost identically. I am told that the thugs who fly off the hero’s fist are paid by the number of turns they take in the air before biting dust.

Is this the formula that the audience wants? Not if the figures are to be believed. Out of the sixty odd Malayalam movies released in 2008, only about five were commercially successful. There were movies which ran for only three days. Why do the producers persist with the beaten (!) path?

It seems that an emerging trend is for some of the actors to come up with story lines where they are depicted as larger than life heroes. The thread is then developed into a script. Who now cares whether the producer loses money or not. There will be always another one who is ready to sell his ancestral house or beg or borrow to produce a movie.

Where is the scope for good stories, enchanting music and soul stirring lyrics in this scenario? In the rush for knocking together a movie, creativity and histrionic talents have no place. Pulling the trigger does not require great acting capabilities. And, there are enough English action movies to borrow from.

Songs are sometimes finalized in a few minutes. The director explains the situation to the music director and the lyricist. An instant tune is hummed and the poet fills in the words. Presto, the song is ready. There is no chance for the music director and the song writer to apply heart and soul. It is almost like a factory production line.

Amazingly, in the crumbling Malayalam celluloid world, two figures stand tall – Mammootty and Mohanlal. There is still no one to challenge them. Among the heroine, in my opinion, the pride of place goes to Meera Jasmine and Gopika.

Do you agree with me on the current state of Malayalam cinema?

Also see

Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts

Life without computer

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Let us spare a minute to pray for the victims of the latest horror episode in Mumbai – the dead, the injured and the hostages, and their families. There is nothing communal about those who are suffering, those beyond suffering – all human beings like you and me.

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‘No work on the computer’ was the medical advice after a plaster cast was put on my left foot which had a fracture. That was earlier this month. The leg, I was told, had to be kept up all the time.

I was quite upset about this. Felt that the doctors were making unnecessary fuss. But they had a point. At the age of 75 one has to be careful about such things.

The first impact of the restriction was that I realized I could still write with hand after depending on computers for about ten years. I acquired a writing board which can be kept on the armrest of my easy chair. I could keep my feet up and write. My daughter keys in my handwritten manuscripts.

In that manner I could keep my blog going, concentrating on posts that did not require research. But emails pose a problem. Don’t know how long it would take me to catch up with the backlog. Hope that no one would be offended by the delayed response from me.

One good thing that came out of my enforced computer holiday was that I could get on with my reading. Currently I am on to Empires of the Indus – The Story of a River by Alice Albinia. It had earned Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for work in progress.

This fascinating book combines history with the experiences and observations of the British born author’s travels along the Indus River. Considerable amount of research has gone into the beautifully written work. It is good reading as well as a reference book.

The next one lined up is India’s Unending Journey by MarkTully who had a long stint in India with the BBC. He is a world famous radio personality. You might have read his earlier work, No Full Stops in India.

I was also able to watch some good movies, mostly Malayalam. It is amazing how the two actors, Mammootty and Mohanlal, continue to dominate the Malayalam cinema, something that they have been doing for quarter of a century. At one time Prem Nazeer was known as the evergreen hero. Now it is the turn of these two versatile artists.

But the best thing that has come out of the enforced rest is that I spent more time with my family, particularly my little granddaughter. She tells me about her school, friends, ideas and so on. That is great.

The plaster cast on my foot was taken off yesterday and a bandaged applied in its place. Two more weeks of rest. But I am starting selective use of the computer. In fact this post is done all by myself.

Also see: How I write Blog posts

Tamil Cinema: Sathyaraj on the march

I seem to have got on to a cinema mode. What prompted this post is a piece by Arun Kaimal in the (Chennai) Metro Manorama of yesterday about Sathyaraj, one of the leading Tamil actors, handling the roles of father and son in a new picture. It has an interesting name ‘Nine Rupee Note’. This is being made by Thankar Bachan based on his own short story with the same title.

We have seen both Mammootty and Mohanlal doing such dual roles in Malayalam. The one that comes to mind readily is Mohanlal’s ‘Ravana Prabhu’ the sequel to ‘Devasuram’. But it seems that acting as elderly characters is nothing new to Sathyaraj.

I first saw him in a Tamil movie called ‘Kadalora Kavithakal’ may be twenty years back. He impressed me with his performance in that one. Subsequently I have seen some of his other pictures but can’t recall the names.

If I remember right, the girl who acted as ‘teacheramma’, the heroine in ‘Kadalora Kavithakal’, was Rekha from Kerala. I think her first Malayalam picture was ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’. A competent artiste. I haven’t seen her in cinema for sometime.

From Arun’s article I learned that Sathyaraj, 54, son of Dr. Subbiah, is from an affluent family of Coimbatore. When the family objected to him joining the film industry, he just ran away to Chennai. And once he was involved in the movies, it was a procession of success after success. The one who ran away from wealth making good – theme for a cinema?

Playing heroine in ‘Nine Rupee Note’ is Archana. Remember this darkish actress? Didn’t she play the lead role in ‘Veedu’? I think it was for her performance in this picture that she won the National Best Actress Award. Very good actress. She als acted in Shaji N. Karun’s internationally acclaimed Malayalam movie ‘Piravi’ with Premji. Hope I am not mixing up in assuming that it is the same Archana Arun Kaimal has mentioned.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing ‘Nine Rupee Note’.

Ends.

Also see:

Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts

A Malayalam cinema and its lyrics.

Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts

The mention of Dasaratham by Maddy of Maddy's Ramblings in his comment on my post Reproductive tourism & other matters triggered a chain of thoughts on Malayalam cinema in my mind. Dasaratham was a good picture in which Sibi Malayil competently dealt with the daring theme of surrogate mothers. Initially I mixed it up with Devasuram a movie that I liked very much. In my opinion, it was IV Sasi’s finest directorial venture.

But apart from that, what made Devasuram such success? For one, the screenplay by Ranjit. I believe he modeled Mangalasserry Neelakantan on a real life character. Then of course, Mohanlal’s towering performance. Revathi living the part of Bhanumathi with characteristic ease. Innocent in a totally different role – versatile, I must say. The net result was a box office hit.

I am amazed by artistes like Revathi and Suhasini. Their strength is not glamour but great histrionic talent. The fluidity of the face, smile that spreads sunshine, eyes that reflect expressions of life, body movements that are so natural – all these and more put them on a different pedestal. A comparison could be Sharada of the previous generation. Also Smita Patil, Shabna Azmi, Jaya Bachan.

I am not really in touch with the current movies. Two good actresses, Manju Warrier and Samyukta Varma, I believe, are out of action now. Then there is Kavya Madhavan who grew up with the movies. Also a pack of talented young girls of glamour. But the outstanding one, I think, is Meera Jasmine.

Let me deal briefly on the sensitive and difficult to answer question – who is a better actor, Mammootty or Mohanlal. Both have great stage presence and done many superb roles effortlessly. If my memory serves me right, Mohanlal once said words to the effect that Mammootty wanted to be an actor and tried hard to be one, but he (Mohanlal) happened to become an actor by chance. Mammootty seems to have more professionalism. I wonder if either of them could have emulated the performance of PJ Antony in Nirmalyam. Not that such comparison has any meaning.

Normally I don’t read film reviews. For serious viewing I select movies based on three factors – director, script writer and the lead actors. In that order. This criterion has not let me down so far. I have come across some Malayalam movies that are very good.

Ends.

Also see: A Malayalam cinema and its lyrics.

A Malayalam cinema and its lyrics.

Yesterday I saw a Malayalam movie, a rather dated one, on TV. It impressed me. Before going into the other aspects of that cinema, I would like to talk about the lyrics in it.

The movie has only one song. The lyrics by Rameshan Nair, particularly the second line which contains only three words, reiterated my conviction that Malayalam songs are so descriptive with the minimum use of words. One can almost visualize the scenes without the help of a camera.

A literal translation of the words in question into English would read ‘inner courtyard besmeared with moonlight’. Doesn’t sound all that poetic. One can improve it by changing it to ‘moon-washed (or moon-bathed) inner courtyard’. Still not good enough. In Malayalam, the lyrics are ‘chandrika mezhukiya manimuttam’. And that is poetry.

What do these words bring to mind? It could mean different things to different people. Here is one scenario. A quite moonlit night. An old nalukettu tucked away in some remote village. The manimuttam (inner courtyard) with its tulasithara (a basil vase). Someone sits on the mezhukiya (cow dung coated) floor, staring at the moon-washed white sands of the courtyard, thinking of – what? It could be so many things; imagination has no limits.

The song also reminded me of one from yester years. Unfortunately I can remember only the first line now: Nalukettin thirumutta thilaveyi lettunilkum Krishna thulasi poove… Does anyone know the rest of it?

Coming to the movie – it is by the one man movie machine (a borrowed usage), Balchandra Menon. I never used to take his creations seriously till I saw ‘Achuettante veedu’ yesterday.

The story is basically simple, a tale that we see in many families and places. The characters are fantastic though. They are not unusual; we often find them in real life. But how minutely Balachandra Menon observed them and transferred them so realistically on to the celluloid is truly amazing. He has woven the story tightly and smoothly without even one obtrusive knot. The deft manner in which Menon handles the suicide attempt is excellent. The dialogues are crisp, to the point, and carry the story forward.

The artistes merely live their parts. I wonder whether the movie would have had the same quality if there was one character more, or one less. The only comment about casting is that Sukumaran was overqualified for the role; it didn’t offer any challenge to the great histrionic talent the actor had.

The subtly symbolic end where the heroine walks to her new job against the backdrop of a serpentine political jatha in front of the Government Secretariat is a master stroke. Life goes on in spite of snakes and ladders.

Achuvinte veedu is not a great movie. But it is a good one. If you haven’t seen it yet, get hold of a print.

Ends.

Also see:

Malayalam cinema: Random thoughts

Malayalam songs: Lyrics