Byomkesh Pawrbo (Byomkesh Episode)

This is second in my series of Byomkesh Bakshi’s stories turned into movies. First one was Sujoy Ghosh starrer Satyanweshi. Byomkesh Pawrbo is based on the story Amriter Mrityu by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.

This came as an episode “Amrit Ki Maut” in the Rajit Kapoor starrer TV series. You can find it on youtube https://youtu.be/UR7Vcm1G9P4.

Directed by Arindam Sil, Byomkesh Pawrbo stars Abir Chatterjee in the role of Byomkesh and Ritwick Chakraborty as Ajit Bandopadhyay.

Unfortunately, Indian cinema has not been successful in promoting its regional movies to the entire country. It’s quite woeful that aimless Hindi movies find mass market but good content from regional players never reaches an audience. With advent of Amazon Prime and Netflix, this is changing. According to this Forbes article,  Bengali movies have found an international audience – “Writer-director Arindam Sil’s Byomkesh Pawrbo, the latest in a series of films featuring cerebral Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi, has been acquired by Amazon for international markets, not just its soon-to-launch Indian service, in a multi-title deal with the producer Venkatesh Films.”

Hotstar while not advertised like the two above also has impressive regional content with subtitled movies.

Coming back to Byomkesh Pawrbo…

The movie starts with Byomkesh rescuing a minor girl from trafficking in Kolkatta while his wife Satyabati (Sohini Sarkar) believes he is giving a speech as a function organized by the writer’s guild. Soon Byomkesh is invited by the government to look into some smuggling of illegal arms, left by the British after WWII at Dooars. Byomkesh sets out to Dooars accompanied by Ajith and Satyabati.

The suspicion is on four prominent businessmen with the money and power to carry out these dealings namely Nafar Kundu, Badrinath Das, Biswanath Mallik and Jamuna Das Gangaram. Sukhomoy Samanta (Sumanta Mukherjee), the local head of police is to help them in their quest.

Once they reach the destination, Byomkesh and Ajith find the police head very unwelcoming and he also broadcasts the news of their arrival to all and sundry. This irritates the duo. Soon Byomkesh meets all the businessman and is unable to put his finger on the real culprit. All of them have something to hide. Amidst all this, a simpleton from the village Amrit is shot dead in the jungle. Amrit’s friends feel guilty as they sent him into the jungle and approach Byomkesh to take on the case. Before dying Amrit had claimed that he had seen a ghost in the form of a black rider atop a black horse in the jungle. Amrit dies near the house of a local quack Sadanand Sur and Byomkesh finds horse’s hoof prints near the back wall of his house. While he is investigating the area Sadanand who was away on business to Kolkatta turns up. As he is about to open the main gate of his house, there is a blast and he is killed.

Suspecting a relation between the two murders and the smuggling of black arms, Byomkesh enquires about who owns a horse and learns that all the four businessmen including the police chief owned a horse. This further complicates the matter.

The rest of the story is how Byomkesh entraps the actual smuggler and forces the truth out of him.

Arindam Sil has given a more macho look to his Byomkesh as compared to the original character. Sujoy Ghosh was much more intellectual in his approach, more reminiscent of the arm chair detective. Abir Chatterjee is more muscle and disguises and charm. I guess this makes him more relatable to the masses, my preference of course is the more laid back version 😉

Over all the movie managed to keep the suspense till the end, you can’t say for sure who is the culprit. The stories of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay are more suited for a TV series. And that’s why you will find the TV series faster paced. However, the director has adapted this when well by introducing the various subplots and alternate lines of investigations. Some songs have been added to give mass appeal but they don’t really seem out of place.

I quite liked Ritwick Chakraborty as Ajit Bandopadhyay unlike Anindya Chatterjee as Ajit in Satyanweshi. Also, this version of Ajith was truer to the character and brings clarity for Byomkesh from his reading and writings. Abir Chatterjee as Byomkesh while not the best rendition for me, but still fits the bill. Some more chutzpa would have brought some colour to the more hands-on interpretation of Byomkesh. Sohini Sarkar as Satyabati doesn’t add any significance to the movie, but is unobtrusive and helps in adding precious minutes to the length.

It’s an interesting suspense drama which will keep you glued.

Do Watch.

Dookudu (Daring)

I remember planning to watch this movie on big screen, somehow never got around to doing it. Finally saw it on Hotstar recently where its available with subtitles.

The movie starts with Shankar Narayana (Prakash Raj) who is a popular leader and an independent

MLA from Shankar Nagar (in Hyderabad) during the time of NTR. Shankar Narayan is an honest man who loves his people and has dedicated his life to them. He is a widower, lives with his son Ajay and his brother’s family. Shankar has three close followers namely Sivayya, Meka Narsingh Rao and Ambarpet Ganeshan and his close rival is the highly corrupt Mallesh Goud who vows to destroy him. One day while going for a function, he meets with an accident and is presumed dead along with his brother.

The timeline moves to the current time where we see the Police commissioner in Mumbai being questioned by media about the illegal activities of a local don Nayak (Sonu Sood). Here we see the entry of larger than life hero Ajay Kumar (Mahesh Babu), mercilessly beating up some goons. He is part of a task force charged with arresting Nayak, headed by Nassar (Murthy). Ajay’s identity has been hidden from the media for the success of the operation. To get to Nayak, Ajay captures Guru Talwar who is a close aide of Nayak. Since no one knows where Nayak is, Ajay learns that the way to get to Nayak is through his brother Bunty who is sometimes seen visiting his girlfriend in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ajay and his team go to Turkey. There he bumps into Prashanthi (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) and falls in love with her. Prashanthi, her mother and younger sister are in Turkey for a fashion designing competition which Prashanthi won.

Ajay successfully captures Bunty, and when Bunty calls Nayak, Ajay shoots him. Nayak believes Bunty to be dead. The team returns to India.

Meanwhile, we see that Shankar Narayan didn’t actually die in the accident, but has been in a coma ever since. He has a miraculous recovery and the doctor tells the family that he should be kept away from any shock and should stay happy to aid quick recovery. Shankar Narayan’s one desire was that his son should also stand with his people and be a leader like him.

To take care of his father, Ajay puts on a huge act. He rents his old house in Hyderabad and pretends to be the leader his father wanted him to be. Even the newspapers and TV shows are modified to reflect that his dad's beloved leader NTR is still alive and is the prime minister of the country. The entire act is quite hilarious. Ajay enlists an aspiring actor Padmasri (Brahmanandam) to help him with his drama. Padmasri believes that he is in a reality show being sponsored by Nagarjuna TV channel.

Meanwhile Bunty confesses about Nayak’s close associates to Ajay namely Mallesh Goud, Meka Narsingh Rao and Ambarpet Ganeshan (his father’s erstwhile followers). Ajay is quite unaware of his connection with these men. Nayak returns to Mumbai and kidnaps the police commissioner and sends a warning video to Ajay. Ajay brings Bunty to exchange for the PC. In the fight that ensues, Nayak escapes and Bunty is picked up by Shankar Narayan’s old aide Sivayya. Ajay recognizes Sivayya and runs after him while Bunty dies when he is hit by a train. Ajay captures Sivayya and learns that Sivayya was trying to kill Bunty to get to Nayak. He also learns, that is father was not injured in the car accident but was murdered in a conspiracy by Mallesh Goud and Nayak. Sivayya also learns that Shankar Narayan is alive and goes to meet him.

With this new-found knowledge, Ajay plans his revenge (what a coincidence that his personal and professional enemies are the same 😊). Ajay plans an intricate plot where he pretends to be a film director with some granite land to sell in Bellary. He tricks Meka’s PA and an aspiring actor Bokka Venkata Rao (M. S. Narayana) to get close to the trio of Mallesh Goud, Ganeshan and Meka. He kills the first two in encounter and Meka is later killed by Nayak himself.

Nayak is captured by Ajay and killed unknowingly by Shankar Narayan.

Ajay and Prashanthi also get married in between this revenge drama. Shankar Narayan learns the truth behind the deception and is happy that his son did all this to take care of him.

And they all live happily ever after.

As you can see, the story line of Dookudu is quite complex with many twists and turns. This I would 

say, is a huge differentiator for the movie. From a regular action revenge drama, the various subplots keep the movie lighthearted without compromising the main theme. The flipside is that the movie is way too long (almost quarter to three hours) and at times you just want the villain to come on to the screen quickly. A little crisper editing and fewer songs (songs are below average anyways) would have brought it under two and a half hours and it would have made all the difference.

Having said that, Dookudu is out and out full family entertainer and mostly credited to Mahesh Babu. He has a brilliant screen presence which is almost unassuming. This helps to keep it real in spite of larger than life action sequences. Supported well by Prakash Raj, Brahmanandam, M. S. Narayana and Sonu Sood. Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Prashanthi is ordinary bordering on irritating. You just want her scenes to be over quickly. Like I said music is nothing to write about and the movie could have done with fewer songs. Writer Director Srinu Vaitla definitely has the winning formula (much better than our own Rohit Shetty I must say).

All in all, if you need a lighthearted entertainer to watch with the entire family, this is the movie for you.

Do watch.

Marupakkam (The Other Side)

I stumbled on this movie on Amazon Prime. I absolutely love the way Amazon and Netflix are not just bringing international content at our doorstep but are also making local content more accessible. With subtitled versions of regional cinema, I do hope many more people understand and appreciate this form of art.

A Tamil movie after a long time. I like watching Tamil movies because of all the South Indian languages, I am most familiar with Tamil.

Marupakkam is directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan who is actually a Malayalam director. He is a winner of ten national awards with a lot of critical acclaim as well for many of his movies. I hope I get my hands on some more of his movies in the future.

Marupakkam is based on a story by Indira Parthasarthy. The story starts with Ambi (Sekar), son of an orthodox Tamil Brahmin Vembu Iyer (Sivakumar), who is visiting his hometown with his newly wed Christian bride. Unfortunately, they are not welcomed by his father. Four years later, we see Ambi returning alone to his native on learning of his father’s illness. His father once an erudite brahmin, has now lost most of his movement and doesn’t speak. He hardly recognizes anyone. Apparently, he learnt of Ambi’s separation from his wife and that shocked him into this state.

Through bits and pieces, Ambi realizes that his father has a guilty conscience regarding his first wife Avayam (Radha), and even in this semi-conscious state keeps on repeating her name. Avayam was an accomplished dancer and singer. Vembu Iyer’s mother did not approve of her dancing and forced him to divorce Avayam. He was unable to support his wife and probably realized his hypocrisy once he learned that father’s sins were being repeated by the son.

Through Vembu Iyer’s reminiscences, we see just how much he was in love with Avayam and secretly encouraged her. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stand his ground when it came to supporting her in front of his widowed mother who strongly disapproved of the fine arts. A learned philosopher like Vembu Iyer was unable to answer Avayam when she asked the reason for his objections – do you have conviction? This formed the root cause of his guilt ridden vegetative state.

Sivakumar as Vembu Iyer will make you introspect your own choices in life. Jayabharthi who plays Ambi’s mother and Vembu Iyer’s second wife Janaki, does deserve a mention. A loving mother, dutiful wife, she grew up believing that Avayam was of loose character. However, in the last scene when she sees Avayam while Vembu Iyer is on his deathbed, we see a new understanding dawning on her face. In one stroke, she understood her husband’s guilty conscience.

It’s a simple movie, apparently shot in 14 days with a budget of 12 lacs. Yet it delves on the complex issues of right and wrong. Does it matter being learned if you are unable to stand for the truth? At the same time, how do you kindly oppose someone’s unflinching orthodox views, especially when that someone is your mother.

I would say, very relevant in today’s world. How do we embrace our past and ethos without inheriting senseless prejudices?

Maybe the movie will strike a chord in you.

Do watch.

Aparan (The Other)

So, I saw another Padmarajan movie 😊

This one is also a mystery\thriller. Unfortunately, the print I had, had very sketchy subtitles. This did ruin the movie a little bit. It’s a little distracting when you are not able to understand what the people are saying on the screen. Despite that I hope I can do justice to this review.

Vishwanathan (Jayaram) is a young man in a small Kerala village. He lives with his parents and sister and is looking for jobs. Apparently, he has been to quite a few interviews but without any success. The family who is waiting to get the younger daughter married, is eagerly waiting for Vishwanathan to find a job.

He gets an interview call for a job in Kochi. While there, he steps into a restaurant for some tea and is accosted by two goons. They accuse him of stealing money and start beating him. Vishwanathan begs them and tries to explain that they are mistaking him for someone else but they don’t pay any heed. Eventually the police arrive. They arrest Vishwanathan and accuse him of being an infamous fraudster. Fortunately, the chief of that police station turns out to be George Kutty (Mukesh) an old classmate of Vishwanathan and he releases him.  

It turns out that there is a doppelganger of Vishwanathan who is a criminal. Even police have limited knowledge of his background and identity. Eventually Vishwanathan joins the company in Kochi. There he meets Ambili (Shobhana) and falls in love with her. One fine day, Ambili accuses Vishwanathan of abusing her in an auto. Thankfully, he was in office with his boss at that time and manages to convince Ambili of this doppelganger. Soon, people start coming up to him accusing him of cheating them, so much so that his sister’s betrothal breaks because the uncle of the groom accuses him of pickpocketing. In a similar misunderstanding with his boss, he also ends up losing his job.  

Vishwanathan decides to find out about this lookalike and bring him to justice. With the help of George, he finds out his background and learns that he was an orphan and a little older than him. He decides to impersonate the evil doppelganger and starts hanging out at his frequented places. Eventually someone mistakes him for the criminal and takes him to a remote location. Another man ends up paying him 1 Lakh for killing someone and another 50K for a second murder.

Vishwanathan comes back and decides to run away with the money. He is about to go to his native village when a phone call comes for him. This is the evil lookalike. He demands his money.

Vishwanathan still manages to run away to his native with the criminal in pursuit. After making sure that he has evaded the criminal, he makes his way to his home only to see his family crying near a dead body. Apparently, its him.

This movie could easily have passed off for a Hitchcock. In fact, mistaken identity is the theme of “North by Northwest”. But that’s where the similarity in the plot ends, and it is as riveting as any Hitchcock. It will keep you riveted to your seat.

The fact is that you never really see the evil doppelganger, and only hear him once through the phone call. You still end up hating this faceless, nameless criminal. You feel sorry for the poor protagonist, who for no fault of his is caught up in this web. You pray and wish that the criminal is caught and pays dearly for the trouble he has caused. This is no small feat in movie making.

Building a persona just in our minds, is a work of pure genius. Additionally, at times you don’t really know who is who. Given the circumstances, can Vishwanathan also become his doppelganger, especially when he is trying to impersonate him. The duality keeps you on edge throughout the second half.

In the last scene when you see Vishwanathan smirking, you aren’t really sure, if it’s him or his doppelganger or if he has actually become the criminal.

Jayaram has done full justice to the role. From an innocent village boy to a desperate man defeated by this unknown lookalike and then to man on a mission to find the one who has tortured him, he slips into these personas with ease. Shobhana hardly has any screen time and rest of the cast doesn’t leave an impression. But then it is not their story, it is the story of Vishwanathan and "the other".

Do watch.

Agantuk (Stranger)

The thing about Bengali movies is that everyone has watched it, discussed and critiqued it. Bengali cinema is almost the stand in for intellectual cinema in the global world for India. Quiet unlike the Tamil or Malayalam cinema which are truly hidden gems which hardly anyone knows about even though they are as much (and sometimes even better) a critique on relationships and human nature as any of Satyajit Ray’s movies, albeit anyone outside the diaspora speaking the language hardly knows about them.

So, I accept the fact the reviewing a Bengali movie that too a Satyajit Ray is indeed bold on my part. Then also, if you google the film, you will find countless reviews and blogs about his movies.

In a way, my introduction to non-Bollywood movies was through the Bengali movies. Given the fact that my Alma-mater had the most prolific Bengali association who used to screen regular movies.

The fact that “Agantuk” is available on my newly acquired Amazon Prime subscription (and that too with subtitles), was just enough temptation for me to spend a hot Bangalore afternoon watching the movie. Who can say no to Satyajit Ray 😊

Agantuk or stranger is a movie which attempts to lay bare the innards of a human heart and mind. A couple living in Calcutta, receive a letter one day (yeah, remember the snail mail days, the movie was released in 1992) informing the woman that her uncle or mama (Mother’s brother) who had left home and disappeared 35 years ago, is in New Delhi, and wants to visit and stay with them for a week. The letter makes it abundantly clear that he knows it’s an imposition but given the tradition of “Athithi Devo Bhav” in India, would still be welcomed.

No one has seen or met Manmohan Mitra (Utpal Dutt) for past 35 years. Immediately you see the wife Anila Bose (Mamta Shankar), trying to recall every small detail about her long-lost uncle while the husband Sudhindra Bose (Deepankar Dey) is first suspicious of the stranger writing to them and then rues his lost weekend. While the kid Satyaki is excited that a great uncle is visiting.

Anila convinces Sudhindra to meet the uncle before deciding whether he is fake or real, even while she hides the valuable bronze figurines. Manmohan Mitra arrives at the designated hour. We see the obvious hesitation and unfamiliarity. While Satyaki immediately becomes friends with Manmohan Mitra, Nila isn’t quite sure. While she goes about the duties of a being a hostess, she doesn’t really address him as uncle.

The rest of the narrative is simple, where everyone tries to ascertain if the uncle is who he says he is.

And that’s where the simplicity ends. The various characters in the film come and go, and leave thread of human psyche behind. Nila’s actor friend, who is curious to know this stranger, almost like a specimen in a lab. Even though he tries to ascertain his superior knowledge initially, quickly drops the act when he realizes that not only Manmohan is a great intellectual but is also very perceptive. On the other hand, the lawyer (Sudhindra’s friend), who is supposed to be straight forward and knows about cases relating to impersonation, loses his cool when his world view doesn’t match that of Mitra’s. Unable to stand his ground, his only conclusion is that of mistrust and exploitation.

Sudhindra while he doesn’t fully trust Manmohan (he even checks his passport), does admit that he is very knowledgeable and well-traveled. Nila, on other hand is epitome of indecision. While she wants to trust, and find the warmth of familiarity in her only living relative, at the same time keeps on worrying about it not being so. Contradiction to this is Sital Sarkar, Manmohan’s old neighbour, who takes him at face value and finds it funny when Manmohan tries to show him his passport. You almost miss this narrative in the movie, it’s that subtle.

Satyaki, does what a child does best. Believes and bonds.

Agantuk or Manmohan Mitra, who is an exceptionally gifted mind, expert in anthropology, has travelled the world studying tribals, is a non-conformist in the truest sense. He disregards any conventional definition of civilization, religion, savagery, technological advancement and even God. The dichotomy of civilized and what gets termed as savage or barbaric in today’s world, what is considered important and what is truly important is the underlying theme of the narrative. Especially poignant in the way Manmohan leaves nothing important or his “entire inheritance” for Nila in the end. Also spelt out more fervently in his dialogue with Sen Gupta.

Especially hard hitting, for me was the story he told about the painting of a bison which in a way paved the path of his enlightenment.

Satyajit Ray is of course one of the best directors in the world and his grasp of his craft is unparalleled. The story does not drag anywhere and there are no loose ends (Nila, having established that Mitra is no crook, even replaces the bronze figurines). It’s refreshing because you hardly find this with directors these days.

Utpal Dutt is superb in his portrayal of an unconventional Mama. Familiar yet a stranger. Mamta Shankar's portrayal of indecisive niece, wanting to have faith but corrupted by her surrounding and her own thoughts, is par-excellence.

Where the movie fails for me though, is that it lacks depth. The characters and caricatures are all too obvious almost borderline clichéd. Of course, being a Ray has its own set of expectations.  Except for Manmohan Mitra and Nila, none of the characters leave an impact.

All said, the movie is riveting, and has a lightheartedness about it.

Do watch.

Kariyilakkattu Pole (Like a Zephyr of Dry Leaves)

Even before I start writing anything about the movie, I want to confess that I am in love with the name of the movie. It is like reading the first line of a Kamala Das or Amrita Pritam poem. And it becomes even more sublime when you consider the fact that the movie is not a sufiana ode of love and longing, it is a crime\mystery\thriller.

Mystery dramas are my guilty pleasure. I read and re-read Agatha Christie, Feluda, Sherlock Holmes etc. like a maniac. I watch all mystery shows on TV and movies of this genre. Lack of good mysteries (and not crime\thriller) in Bollywood movies is my constant source of consternation.

Thankfully Malayalam movies come in handy. The fabulous CBIseries, Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha (Amidnight murder story). Add to these Mammootty and Mohanlal starrer Kariyilakkattu Pole. I could not guess the killer till the very end :)

The movie starts with the dead body of a noted film writer and director Harikrishna (Mammootty) at his cottage where he retreats while writing. DSP Achuthankutty (Mohanlal) is assigned to investigate the murder. The investigation team finds various clues at the crime scene, all of which point to the fact that a woman had committed the crime.

The only problem is that it is soon revealed that there are at least three women who had a grudge against Harikrishna in addition to the fact that he was an incorrigible womanizer.

I always hesitate when I write about a murder mystery because, I don’t want to give away any indication about the killer. In this case, all the three women seem to have a strong motive for murder and each of them is hiding something during the investigation.

All the actors in the movie have given excellent performances. The ambiguity of Mammootty’s character where you never know his true intentions, the calm yet commanding demeanour of Mohanlal and the shroud of secrecy surrounding the characters of Karthika, Sripriya and Unni Mary will have you riveted to your seat.

P. Padmarajan who wrote and directed the film has kept the movie fast paced and editing crisp where every moment takes the story forward.

For those who love this genre, you will not be disappointed.

Do Watch.

How Old Are You

For those who do not know about Manju Warrier or haven’t seen her movies, I will recommend to immediately do some googling. She is one of the finest actors of our times. Her movies never disappoint.

“How Old Are You” is a story of a UD Clerk, Nirupama Rajeev. Nirupama, is a woman going about her life nonchalantly. She is a mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter, living with her husband and in-laws. Life has no interests beyond the clerical job and taking care of the family. Aimless and dreamless, Nirupama exists.

The husband, Rajeev (Konchako Boban) is fed up of his wife whose sole preoccupation is what to cook for breakfast. He gets a chance to go to Ireland and applies for a visa making it abundantly clear that he will not be able take Nirupama, unless she gets herself a job. Unfortunately, Nirupama is unable to get one. Meanwhile, The President of India visits Kerala and Nirupama’s daughter gets a chance to ask him a question. The president is impressed wants to meet the person who taught her this, and that person turns out to be Nirupama. She is all set to meet the President for breakfast. Unfortunately, with all the hype, the meeting doesn’t go well and Nirupama becomes the laughing stock of social media.

Amongst all the chaos, Rajeev leaves with Lakshmi (the daughter) for Ireland, telling Nirupama that he doesn’t trust her upbringing.

Meanwhile, Nirupama’s college friend, Susan David manages to find he through all the social media hype and visits her. She reminds Nirupama of the dreamer that Nirupama was in college and encourages her to find that aspect of her life once again.

Nirupama has on organic terrace garden which gets noticed and she gets to supply organic vegetable for a 2000 people marriage. How she finds her determination and resolve and becomes an ideal for her daughter as well as the world, is the basic story of the movie.

Roshan Andrrews (also directed Udayananu Tharam) , the director of the movie has done a superb job in telling a tale of a woman caught in the social mores and the expectations of the world from her. A subtle and yet powerful depiction of how a woman can lose her self-respect and forget what she is capable of, because people around her treat her like a condiment. It’s not a lecture in feminism. It’s about a person believing in themselves to leave their mark on this world. The film also remains relatively fast paced and doesn’t succumb to melodrama or histrionics at any point.

And what a comeback movie for Manju Warrier. She has played the part to perfection. All kudos to her for not letting the film become a cliché.

A perfect watch for a slow weekday.

Do Watch.

Pranchiyettan & the Saint

I have been a little disillusioned with movies in the recent times. Nothing worthwhile to watch... I mean every time I switch on the TV, I can just somehow manage to watch a record breaking ten minutes of “Chennai Express” before I switch the channel and that is the biggest hit of the year. And so while I have all the time in the world yet no will to watch any movie.

So after long I picked up this Mammootty movie and I must say it was an excellent movie to watch. There is no one like Ranjith to take the simplest of tales (he does that to complex ones as well ;)) and transform them into a story which tugs all you the strings of your heart, Nandanam being a classic example.

But not to divert - Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a beautiful tale of an uneducated, highly successful businessman with a golden heart. His only wish is that people should look at him with the same respect as they would give to an educated person. Even though he donates to all kinds of causes, he never gets the social status he so desires. He tries all tactics from running for presidency of a local club to donating to political parties and temple festivals but most outrageous of all, tries to buy Padma Sri for himself as he is conned into thinking, it is up for sale - all with hilarious outcomes.

Then enter Padmashri (Priyamani) and a boy who is failing in exams and with a tragic life and everything changes.

While the story might seem ordinary, what makes this story extraordinary is superlative acting of Mammootty and beautiful direction by Ranjith.

The movie has its comic moments and is very light hearted but still keeps you glued to the screen. I personally don’t think great stories or movies have to be necessarily complex tales with tragedy and complex emotions. Some of the best movies are simplest characters played honestly and the most mundane of tales told well.

Mammotty is par excellence and great storytelling by Ranjith.

Do Watch.

Nerariyan CBI

(An unnatural story told in a natural way)

I am always nervous when I write a review for a mystery. You have to tell a story without actually telling it. This movie is murder mystery, fourth in the sequence of investigative thrillers starring Mammootty as a CBI officer.

The story starts with four friends spending a day at the ancestral estate of one of the friends. The estate has a worship room which has been locked and is considered cursed. During the night one of the girls not related to the family is found dead outside her bedroom near a staircase. Her death is written off as supernatural and the case is frozen. Four years later a young IPS officer, fiancé of one of the girls contacts his superior Sethurama Iyer (Mammoottyy) to solve this case which has been troubling him.

Sethurama Iyer, relooks at the fundamentals which the police at the time of enquiry ignored. His investigation reveals a story about almost all the family members, all of whom could have had a motive for killing the girl.

What I liked about the movie is that like a typical “Agatha Christie” novel it has you guessing till the end. The movie is sufficiently fast paced without being melodramatic (except the background music every time Mammootty comes onscreen). It has enough twists and turns to confuse you and keep you riveted.

I personally love murder mysteries and all sort of detective thrillers.

Direction and editing are crisp and Mammoottyy plays the suave, persuasive yet firm CBI officer brilliantly.

A pleasant break from dull romances and run of the mill stories.

The movie is available with Moser Baer with subtitles.

Do Watch.

Sallapam

While many people might classify this movie as a love story, I would say that this is a woman’s story, who in spite of very adverse circumstances knows how to live life and fight for it too.

Radha (Manju Warrier) is a young girl who has been working as a servant maid cum companion to Padmini (Bindu Panicker) and her two kids. Padmini’s husband works in some Arab country and sends money regularly. Radha’s father is a drunkard who went chasing some actress, while her mother committed suicide on rail tracks. She was brought up by her aunt and her son Divakaran (Manoj K Jayan). Divakaran is a railway employee and sort of a rowdy whom the people fear. It is understood that Radha will marry Divakaran when time comes.

Radha is very fond of music but never gets a chance to learn and sing because the upper class land lady and her daughter keep her out of the school. A village fest is being organized and Sasikumar aka junior Yesudas (Dileep) is being called to perform. While still very young, he is a beautiful singer and needs a female voice to accompany him on stage. As luck would have it, he hears Radha and chooses her. Later Radha discovers that Sasi is actually a carpenter who along with his uncle is doing some repairs at Padmini’s house. They start talking and get closer.

Meanwhile, Padmini’s husband comes back from “The Arab” and desires Radha. Padmini on discovering that tells Divakaran to take Radha with him and arrange for their marriage quickly. Divakaran and Padmini are unaware of Radha’s affection for Sasi.

Radha declares her love for Sasi and runs away to his house only to discover that Sasi and his family live in abject poverty and Sasi could never support her. She also runs to Padmini for help who knowing her husband’s character is unable to help Radha. Completely distressed, Radha contemplates suicide but Divakaran stops her telling that he will take care of her no matter what.

While the story may not be great there are a couple of points I feel need to be highlighted here especially in light of the current debate on women’s portrayal in Indian cinema. 

• There are no black and whites in the world. Fighting is not always the right path. Survival is.
• While Padmini is a housewife completely dependent on her husband, on learning his evil intentions for Radha, she is mature enough to not blame that innocent girl but take measures to ensure her safety. Also leaving the man, while bold decision, might not have been feasible for her and her children, but she has not been shown weak even for a second. She makes her displeasure apparent to her husband.
•  Radha, an innocent village belle who constantly looks over her shoulder while walking on desolate roads for eve teasers, does not fail to destroy a ruffian’s cycle but has the sense to run away on sensing danger. While dependent on Divakaran, she also has the courage to stand up for her love and not give in to forcibly marrying him.

All in all, a woman’s strength is not in pretending that the streets are safe and men are angels, but knowing when to stand up for one’s rights and dignity and when to flow with circumstances. Not every battle has to be fought. The trick is to know which one to fight.

I would say “Do Watch” for sensible portrayal of women in seemingly simple day-to-day stories.

Kudos to Manju Warrier for a simple yet stunning performance.

The DVD is available with Moser Baer with subtitles. 

Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja

This movie is a historical biopic. Since I don't really know about this historic character, I will just review the movie as a story, though I understand it will be limiting and not really do full justice to the movie.

It's the story of a prince who stood against the Britishers to save parts of modern day Kerala from their enslavement. To defend Kottayam and surrounding areas against Tipu Sultan, Pazhassiraja joins army with Britishers while his fellow kings run away. After the victory, britishers levy ncreasingly higher taxes in farmers resulting in social uproar. the taxman appointed by Britishers is a former aide of Pazhassiraja and he (Chandu) commits atrocities under Pazhassiraja's name. Britishers attack Pazhassiraja's palace, seize his property and wealth forcing him to run away.

Pazhassiraja along with his trusted army chief starts gathering army to fight against the britishers. He is joined by the tribal chief and his wife along with their armies. The rest of the movie is Pazhassiraja's resistance against Britishers and Chandu's evil plans to defeat him.

While I am not a great fan of period movies, I must say that this movie is quite commendable. Remember Jodha Akbar with super ornate and glamorous sets, melodrama by everyone at the drop of a hat - this movie is exact opposite. Extremely simple and realistic sets depicting the era.And of course Mammoottywith his superb performance. With every movie that I watch, I realize the finesse with which Mammootty acts. Rest of the cast is also good except maybe for the actors playing the Englishmen. They are slightly clueless and abrupt.

Slightly slow, but then it is expected of a period movie. It is M T Vasudevan Nair's script and thus worth watching just for that.

Even if you dont know this part of history, it is worth a watch and I would say that bollywood contemporaries can definitely take a page or two (actually the whole book with a version for dummies) from Hariharan (Director) and the rest of the crew on how to make period movies.

The DVD is available with subtitles with MoserBaer - Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja

Do Watch.

Udayananu Tharam (Udaya is the Star)

Today I saw the movie which was later remade into Vellitherai in Tamil. Since it is an almost exact reproduction, for the story please see the review of Vellitherai - http://manymorewoods.blogspot.com/2010/05/vellitherai-silver-screen.html

Even though I knew the story of the movie I enjoyed watching it. Mohanlal plays Udayan and Sreenivasan plays Rajappan. Mohanlal gives a superbly restrained performance. Where Prithviraj (playing the same character in Vellitherai) comes across as an angry young man, Mohanlal is slightly more sophisticated and mature. Prakash Raj played a much more melodramatic form of Sreenivasan and I must say, I felt that Prakash Raj brought more color to the movie. After all the satire on cinema should be slightly exaggerated...

Again, Good direction, interesting script, superb performances.

(Do Watch)

Nandanam

It’s a simple story. Balamani (Navya Nair) is a hired help in the rich household of Unni Amma who lives with three other old women who supposedly take care of her in the temple town of Guruvayur. Balamani ends up doing all the work but she is very effervescent and good natured and Unni Amma treats her like her own daughter. Balamani believes in Lord Guruvayur strongly and lights a lamp everyday though for some reason she doesn’t get to go to the temple. One night she dreams of her wedding and sees an unknown man as her groom. Next day Manu (Prithviraj), Unni amma’s grandson comes to stay with her for two weeks before leaving for US. Balamani is surprised to see that Manu is the man who came in her dreams.

Balamani and Manu come closer and Manu wants to marry her. Meanwhile Manu’s mother Thangam (Revathi) fixes his marriage with some other girl whose family resides in US. By the time Manu is able to tell his mother the truth it is too late and he is unable to say no to her.

Meanwhile Balamani is heartbroken but she can’t even leave the house as she owes Unni amma some money. One day she is contemplating jumping into a well when a young man stops her. She thinks he is Unni, the son of her neighbor who is visiting her. The two become friends and Unni who is always cheerful gives hope to Balamani. He believes that she will finally end up marrying Manu in spite of all obstacles.

Unni’s words bear fruit. On the eve of the marriage, the bride elopes with someone else. Though the family tries very hard to get Manu married to his cousin, that too doesn’t succeed. Finally in spite of brooding family members Unni Amma gets the two married. Balamani goes to her neighbor’s house to give the good news to Unni but discovers that he is not the guy she met in the woods. Balamani and Manu go to the temple to get the God’s blessings but are unable to enter as it is cordoned off for some VIP’s visit. Outside the temple Balamani catches the glimpse of her friend unni and realizes that Lord Guruvayur himself came to help her.

A simple and old tale with devotional background coupled with a pace which reflects the old times, could have made the movie uninteresting. But it doesn’t - the reason being Navya Nair, she has played this innocent, sweet, full of life, simple girl who steals your heart from the first scene. Prithviraj also plays his role of a young city boy who has fallen in love with a village belle to perfection.

The movie is slow paced but stills keeps you interested and the story moves forward fairly quickly. Renjith has done a brilliant job in capturing the life as it exists in the small towns. Though the scenes with Kumbidi (Jagathy Sreekumar) intended to bring some humor are dead and unnecessary.

Superb acting especially by Navya Nair, Commendable direction.

(Do watch)

Rithu (Seasons)

One of my very first movies which captures the angst and aimlessness of the modern youth…not the rebel, doped out, high on everything kind…not the pseudo intellectual spouting Nietzsche and Kafka at the drop of a hat but the garden variety yuppie working in the IT city, travelling on projects to US, caught between the old and new…

And the director has done a fantastic job with it. A movie with which I can surely say 99% of my colleagues will relate to. And yet it’s not a run of the mill movie. It explores the basic believes and fundamentals of our lives, of parents forcing their children to become software engineers, of an entire generation forgetting how to think, how to feel, of the futility of the rat race we all have become a part of.

The movie begins with Sarat coming back from US after a stint of three years to his hometown in Kerala. He calls his two childhood friends Sunny and Varsha, both working in Bangalore, to come and join him to work for a start up. Together they form the core team of the company. Sarat is the team leader and popular for his stay in Silicon Valley. Sarat who still considers Sunny and Varsha as his closest friend thinks that the camaraderie between them is same as before. But Sunny and Varsha have moved on with their lives of which Sarat is no longer a part of.

Sarat is also a son of a famous writer who used to translate Bengali novels. Sarat too wanted to pursue literature but under pressure from his father had to do engineering and move to USA. You still feel the lingering tension when he interacts with his father.

Overtime Sarat realizes that though he and Varsha were seeing each other before he left, she is now with someone else. Also Sunny harbors a lot of ill will against Sarat for not helping him with his visa. A colleague, tips of Sarat that Sunny is trying to steal the software code they are working on and sell it.

Meanwhile Sarat’s dad passes away and the circumstances especially his disillusion with the rat race and the futility of his life, force him to do a lot of introspection. He ultimately leaves his job to pursue a career in writing. How his friendship with Varsha and Sunny morphs like changing seasons is the highlight of the film.

Shyamaprasad’s direction and Joshua Newton’s screenplay have come together beautifully to make the movie extremely realistic yet entertaining. There are melancholic undertones to the movie but what amazed me most is the cast. The three newcomers Nishan, Rima and Asif Ali have played their characters to perfection. The director has kept true to each of the three characters till the end.

A movie that will resonate with many in urban India.

(Do watch)

Kerala Cafe

There are two parts to the story of Kerala Café. One the individual stories and secondly the thread or the background that ties the stories together so that in spite of being ten different stories they look like a montage.

Let me first talk about the stories individually. (To give a perspective on stories relative to each other, I have tried scoring them on a scale of 5)

First story “Nostalgia” starring Dileep. The concept reminded me of a book “Ignorance” by Milan Kundera where he explores the whole idea of nostalgia. He says – “The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return…nostalgia seems something like the pain of ignorance, of not knowing.” The problem is that when you return to a place after a long time your memories no longer match. It’s just your attempt to recapture your experience of the past. The movie tried to explore the same concept through a Keralite living in Dubai. While in Dubai he fondly remembers his village, the cool breeze and the green fields and sings the songs he heard as a child. But when he returns the same things irritate him and he misses his structured and comfortable life in Dubai. Interesting rendition with excellent acting by Dileep. I only wish the director had only explored this feeling and not confused it with the usual story of a petty rich guy exploiting a poor friend. (4/5)

The second story starring Prithviraj is called “Island Express” and is in itself a montage on lives of people who died in a train accident. From narration and story perspective I found it very weak. The director tried exploring too many facets in a very limited time frame and thus was not able to do any justice to any of it. The story follows a writer (Prithviraj) who survived the train wreck as a boy and goes on to write a book about the survivors and those who died. The interesting bit was how the driver who survived, lived on with his guilt and acceptance. (2/5)

“Lalitham Hiranmayam” stars Suresh Gopi has a conventional story but what makes it interesting is the ending. A man can’t decide between mistress and wife, loves both and wants to do justice to both. (Why I scoff at the story is a different discussion all together). Well directed. (3/5)

Next is the story of a haunted house “Mrityunjayam”. There is no reason why this story should have been included. A team of reporters who investigate the paranormal want to spend a night in the haunted house in a small village. One of them stays there and what happens to him is the story. Bad acting, bad direction and very uninteresting story. Horror is yet to come of age in India. (0/5)

“Happy Journey” directed by Anjali Menon is one of the jewels in the collection. A middle aged man sits next to a young girl in a bus. He tries to strike conversation and gets uncomfortably close to the girl. Initially the girl is very cornered and seems helpless. But at one point the conversation takes a turn and the girl confesses that she has kept bomb in the bus and can activate it with the press of a key on her cell phone. The rest of the journey the man experiences abject fear. The story has both serious and humorous undertones. The performances by both the girl and the man are excellent. An ideal short film with an interesting story with a twist and crisp direction. Reminds me of Roald Dahl’s short stories. (5/5)

“Aviraman” starring Shwetha Menon and Siddique is the story of an IT entrepreneur who is seeing some bad times during the recession. A subject which will resonate with a lot of people these days. This short film is warm and the subject has been treated very well without melodrama. Simple story but makes for a wonderful watch due to wonderful chemistry between the couple and thought out direction. (3/5)

Next story is a very humorous take on recession and the global nature of recession at that. Suraj does odd jobs at beaches of Goa and acts as guide for tourists. Due to off season there are not many travelers. By sheer luck he ends up meeting a Portuguese couple. Hoping to make some money from them, he takes them to a lodge for stay where the story takes a brilliant twist. It actually had me in splits. (4/5)

"Bridge" is easily the best story of the series. T. R. Unni (writer) has managed to stitch two separate lives in a wonderful mosaic so that you can’t take your eyes of it. The story follows two separate lives, one of a cat adopted by a little boy and later thrown out by his father and that of an old woman who has become a burden on her family. Anwar Rasheed has done full justice to the concept through his superb direction. Nice background score, this one had me riveted. (5/5)

Revathy directs “Makal”, a typical story of exploitation of mine workers where the parents give up a girl for adoption but she ends up in prostitution. You just expect the ending from the first scene. The children are endearing though. Stale is the word that describes the movie. (1/5)

“Puramkazchakal” is directed by Lal Jose and stars Mammotty. The story narrated by Sreenivasan is of a man who gets into a state bus and is constantly asking the driver to hurry constantly annoying the passengers on board. All of them curse and abuse him till he finally gets down at his stop. The ending tears your heart and will bring tears to your eyes. The movie makes you realize that you can never know the reasons behind a person’s actions. No matter what you guess, it’s not enough. A beautiful story, well directed with brilliant performance by Mammotty. (5/5)

Now coming to the direction of Renjith of “Kerala Café”, which he explains in a prologue to the movie. I can understand Renjith wanting to make sure that people sit through the movie and understand the motivation, but seriously it was a wee bit annoying. Also I think it is Renjith who fails in this movie. The individual stories had a lot of potential but they needed to be painted together on a canvas. The concept of a café is good where all these people spend some part of their lives but it’s not enough. It needed a little more depth and interaction. He just scrapes though it. (2/5)

Overall a movie worth watching with some brilliant moments.

(Do watch)

Thirakkatha… (Screenplay)

Another one of those movies which rekindles my love for cinema. It’s actually my love for stories. Over time I have learnt to appreciate other aspects of a movie but quintessentially for me it is the script closely linked to performances.

Thirakkatha which literally means “screenplay” has an interesting script and an engaging narration. The movie follows a young director Akbar aka Akki (Prithviraj) who highly appreciated for his first movie is looking for a script. He finally decides to make a movie on the life of a celebrated actress of yester years, Malavika (Priyamani) who has completely disappeared from public life. What follows is essentially the journey of Akki discovering the life of Malavika for his script.


Malavika was at some point married to a now famous star Ajay Chandran (Anoop Menon) who was just a struggling actor back in the old days. In his quest Akki meets the son of an old friend of Malavika and Ajay, the late director Abby (Renjith). Abby’s son gives him the diary of his father and some letters in which he had chronicled the story of Malavika and Ajay.

From this point the narration moves from present to the past seamlessly as Akki reads through the diary.

Malavika and Ajay Chandran met at a time when she was a successful actress and he a struggling artist. They fall in love in spite of the opposition by Malavika’s truant mother and eventually get married for which Malavika had to leave her entire fortune. Ajay is struggling to revive his career after a series of flops when Abby decides to direct a film casting Malavika and Ajay as the lead pair. Just then Malavika realizes that she is pregnant but Ajay forces her to abort the child. Soon after that she has to undergo another operation for minor growth in ovaries. Her close friend later confesses that her fallopian tubes were cut during that operation and she will never get pregnant again. Distraught and feeling betrayed Malavika thinks that Ajay did this purposefully and leaves him. She falls on tough times and ends up doing cameo roles before completely disapeering.

As Akki is trying to put this story together, he gets a call telling him the whereabouts of Malavika who was untraceable till now. He rushes there and realizes that she is terminally ill with cancer and looks really frail and wasted. He and his friends take her with them to take care of her.

Towards the end her dying wish is to meet Ajay and Akki persuades him to come. When the two meet we learn the mystery and the secrecy behind their separation. Malavika asks Ajay to take her to Cloud’s End, a bungalow in the hills where they first met. Ajay agrees.


Beautifully written with excellent direction and editing. Priyamani has done wonders and her transition through various stages of Malavika’s life is very touching. Anoop Menon is just another prop and fails to make any impact. Prithviraj, though not outstanding has carried off the role of the young director well. Overall, Priyamani shines out.

Beautifully told story. It won the national film award for best feature film in Malyalam in 2008.

(Do Watch)

Chocolate

A total masala entertainer which is a romantic comedy has emotions and drama and rebellion against tyrant dads.

The movie begins in a girl’s college in Kerala which is completing its 50 years and contemplating converting to a co-ed. Trio Anne Mathews (Roma), Nandana (Samvrutha) and Susan (Remya Nabeeshan) along with their friends plan on protesting against that move and sneak out in the middle of the night to put posters all over the college. Due to vociferous protests by the parents, finally management has to give in and maintain status quo. But there is one seat in post graduate course reserved for a boy. The dean decides to admit the son of one of the teachers. Shyam Balagopal (Prithviraj) is a troublesome good for nothing rogue who has been kicked out of nine colleges in three years for his rowdiness. After a lot of cajoling by his mother and friends who are excited by the thought of his attending a girl’s college, Shyam agrees to attend.

What follows is nothing short of war of the worlds between Anne and Shyam where they try to outsmart each other at every instance to some hilarious consequences like an incident with pads, Shyam using ladies restroom and Anne ragging him by making him wear a petticoat. Shyam is then approached by a young fashion designer, Renjith (Jayasurya) who wants Nandana to model for him but is rebuked by both Nandana and Anne. Shyam agrees to help him get closer to Nandana. Things between Anne and Shyam become better when Shyam helps Anne to defeat her arch rival Preetha in the college elections and becomes the first chairman of the student’s council. Soon they become close friends and start preparing for the youth festival.


Meanwhile Anne’s father is looking for a suitable groom and asks her to meet a guy. Anne brings Shyam along and they individually realize that they are in love but are unable to say to each other. During the rehearsals someone take pictures of Shyam and Nandana and sends to Nandana’s father who is a tyrant and disapproves of her talking to any guy. He then tries to beat up Shyam to disastrous end. Meanwhile everyone thinks that it’s Anne who sent the photographs to Nandana’s father. What follows is a fast paced roller coaster where all misunderstandings are cleared up and Nandana and Renjith get together. Finally in a dramatic ending during the play, Shyam professes his love for Anne and carries her off.


Fast paced, youthful, chirpy songs, crisp direction (directed by Shafi), good acting, total masala entertainment.

(Do watch)

Vellitherai (Silver Screen)

The first thing you feel on watching the movie is that of subtlety and subdued emotions. Nothing over the top. Even the satire on Indian Cinema is more realistic than the actual cinema.

Prithviraj and Prakash Raj again come together with superb movie about the movies. Prithviraj is an assistant director doing the rounds with his script to get a break as director while Prakash Raj is an aspiring actor. And the similarity ends in their struggle. While Prithviraj is a serious student of cinema and has studied the renowned actors and directors across the world, Prakash raj is nothing more than a street rogue all out for over the top performance and melodrama who is conniving and manipulative. He tricks Prithviraj and registers his script as his own and goes on to become a megastar. While Prithviraj dejected never really makes it after that.

Finally he also gets a script but every producer insists that Prakash Raj must star in it. What follows is a brilliant satire on cinema, what goes for talent and how stars become larger than life. Inspired by the legendary Eddie Murphy movie Bowfinger though.

I really like Prithviraj for restrained performance. Prakash Raj though has outdone himself yet again. Superb performance. And while he transforms from almost a street urchin to a superstar, you can see the subtleties in his character remain throughout.
Gopika who plays an actress and love interest of Prithviraj fills in for the character but doesn’t really deserve a special mention. Music leaves much to be desired.

Good direction, interesting script, superb performances.

(Do watch)

Mozhi (Language)…

Every person who has lived has a tale to tell. From shocking to amusing to melancholic to macabre. Many times in movies we blank out on all characters and their stories except the protagonist and the antagonist. Not in Mozhi though. The director has tastefully and beautifully woven the tales of people living in an apartment complex and while the story is about a girl learning to let go of the past and accepting life, others characters add life to the drama and take the story forward.

It’s a simple love story of a guy (Prithviraj as Karthik) who admires a girl (Jyothika as Archana) and falls in love with her. He then moves heaven and earth (no pun intended) to woo her and win her affection. The girl though happy to be friends is unable to look past her disappointments and fears and rejects him at every instance. Kitsch, I know. But what makes this story extraordinary is the treatment of the movie and the characters woven into the movie. Be it Viji (Prakash Raj) whose wit is unmatched playing the best friend of Karthik or the heart wrenching portrayal of Professor (MS Bhaskar) who is stuck in 1984.

The best bit is that the movie is made on a light hearted note and kudos to Prakash Raj for that. Jyothika portrays her character with finesse and no melodrama. In a particularly moving sequence you see her struggle, her anger and realize no words in any language can complete that emotion.

Cheers to the director (Radha Mohan) and the editor (M.Kasivishwanathan).

A little too many songs but I liked Kannal Pesum Penne, Katrin Mozhiye and Sevvanam Selaikatti.

Effervescent, delightful and memorable.

(Do watch)