Kerala Talkies

Rafi-Mecartin to direct Hello

2007-03-17T15:44:00.000+05:30

It was on this Monday that the pooja of Rafi-Mecartin's new film was done at Lal studio.
The script of 'Hello' is Rafi-Mecartin's and of course the direction too is done by them.
Alex Paul will do the music. Alex Paul was introduced to the field by Rafi-Mecartin in the film Chathikkaatha Chanthu.
Anyway the duo have enough reasons to be happy. Mayavi, the film they scripted last is running successfully & Mecartin seems to have resurrected from his personal troubles.

How Pridhviraj got the state award

2007-03-12T15:08:00.000+05:30

Pridhviraj is not an actor without talent. But when compared with Mammooty, Mohanlal etc., he of course is too far behind. It is because of this plain simple fact that, this years state film awards surprised/baffled many. Pridhviraj bagged the award that not even Dileep could manage to win.
Jury chairman Rajeev Kumar very well justified the decision by pointing out that they had considered only one film of Pridhviraj- Vasthavam- and were nominating him dumbstruck by the performance.
But what about Mammooty's excellent characters in the three films, Karutha Pakshikal, Kayyoppu & Palunku?
And now meditate this too- Declaring Sai Kumar the second best actor, Rajeevkumar explained the Jury reached the decision after considering Sai's roles in different films like Chakkara Muthu and Ananda Bhairavi.
Considering more than one movie to measure an actors performance- That is nice. But what about the Jury seeing only film of Pridhviraj?
So what actually happened to Rajeevkumar? Or to the Jury, for that matter?
Sources closely related to the field say it is just another simple case of pressurization. Pressure from high places. Mallika Sukumaran, Pridhviraj's mother just found it convenient to invoke the influence she has upon her best friend Betty, who happens to be the wife of MA Baby who in turn happens to be the Cultural Minister of the State.
Sreenivasan, who many expected to bag the award for the stunning performance in Thakara Chenda, too has talked about some highly placed people exerting pressure upon the Jury.

Siddique & Dileep join hands

2007-03-10T15:31:00.000+05:30

Siddique is nowadays busy with a new project. The script for a Malayalam film with Dileep as hero is getting ready. Though the heroine and other actors are not yet decided, unconfirmed reports say Johny Sagariga would be the producer.
A few years back Siddique had wrote script for a Telugu film, Satyam Sivam Sundaram. But something gone wrong between Siddique & the producers and the movie is yet to come out. Actually Siddique had plans to do a Tamil film after the release of Satyam Sivam Sundaram. But the delay in Satyam Sivam Sundaram project upset it all. That is how the veteran script writer decided to go for a Dileep film. Because humor is the forte of both Siddique and Dileep, their first project together is awaited with much expectations.
Let us wait for the most hilarious Malayalam cinema of the decade !

Will Deepa Mehta's water bag Oscar?

2007-02-25T17:52:00.000+05:30

In the academy of motion picture award, Water is not an Indian entry. But the film is already much talked about in India.
The reasons are many- Like the Indian theme; the presence of Bollywood hot property John Abraham; the publicity it got because of the strong protest of Hindutwa brigades even as the shooting was going on in India. And it was because of this opposition that the shooting venue was shifted to Sri Lanka. (Who said Sri Lanka is not safe!). The theme also was popular - Woman empowerment, something very dear to Deepa. And there were enough sentiments, wits & drams- all mixed together in an elegant way.
Deepa always tends to show what the West would like to see in films about India- Uncultured people, the brutal & illiterate villagers, the patriarchal cruelty...Okay, but will these bring in the Oscar?
Not likely, if go by speculations.
And those who watch things closely see much things in favor of the Mexican film 'Pan's Labyrinth'.
The Labyrinth is about a young girl who is so captivated by a fairy tale that she imagine herself to be the lost Princes in the story.
In the wake of her mothers remarriage to a cruel fascist officer, young Ofelia explores a vast stone labyrinth, where she encounters the faun Pan and is given a series of three tasks to perform.
For Water also, the center character is a young girl.
The story of Water takes place in India during the era of struggle for independence, where as Pan's Labyrinth portrays the violent period following the Spanish civil war.
While Water has managed to get nomination for only one category -Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, Pan's Labyrinth has five more nominations: Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography,Achievement in Makeup, Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) and Original Screenplay.

Sex, Lies, Color Photos & Money

2006-09-10T18:03:00.000+05:30

And now it is yet another blackmail story unwrapping in Malayalam Movie industry.
The main character (Villain or Hero ? That is yet to be ascertained) is Mecartin, the Director. (Of Rafi-Mecartin duo).
The early episodes of the story was set in the scenic village of Varappuzha on the banks of Kochi backwater.The first female character was a housewife. Name was Treesa. Her husband was away from home at Thiruvananthapuram doing business. Treesa and her daughter's only company at home was her husband's aged parents. To this tranquility of a village housewife's life another woman, Bindu, one day appeared. Bindu was Treesa's old friend and she one day introduced Mecartin and then his friend one 'Devadas' to Treesa.
This much is only background and now Treesa's husband alleges that Mecartin had taken some nude photos of his wife in another man's company and that Mecartin made her pay him nearly Rs 2.5 lakhs threatening to publish the pictures.
Treesa says it was after making her drink some sedative mixed soft drink that Devadas made her co-operate in those acts the pictures of which Meccartin took. After Treesa came in to the knowledge of the existence of the pictures, Bindu had advised her to pay Rs 50,000 to buy back them with negatives and all. The desperate Treesa made the payment. But that was only a beginning. More pictures surfaced and more money demanded and paid. To cut a long thriller short, Treesa had to pay around Rs. 2.5 lakhs in addition to a few silk sarees, jexellary etc. And at last the cornered Treesa had confessed all this to her husband and he lodged a complaint with the police.
And now for Mecartin's version.
Mecartin swears that it was he who was being blackmailed all these months. A failed local business man had approached him to tell that they would make it public that Mecartin was trying to blackmail a woman using some pictures. To not to open the lid of Pandora's box Mecartin should pay handsomely. But Mecartin now says what he said was an outright 'no'. He don't know Treesa, Bindu or that mysterious Devadas, for that matter.
And that Devadas is now turning in to a real intriguing character.
No one seems to know who this Devadas really is.
In the pictures Bindu handed over to Treesa, the face of Devadas is not there. In no photos he is facing the camera.
And there is another curious story too in the complaint Treesa submitted to the police. She says one day Bindu took her to Devadas's place of residence and while she was waiting outside, Bindu came out with hand dripping in blood and she uttered these words: "I killed him, he won't bother you anymore..for you I finished him".
After that scary incident Treesa never could see Devadas again. And all her phone calls went unanswered.
The story this much had already appeared in Dailies by now. But there are enough indications that it is only that proverbial tip.
Let us wait for the rest.

The Million $ (honey trap) Question

2006-09-06T15:29:00.000+05:30

When the Sabarimala Thanthri sex scandal was very much hot in the media, there was a related report in a leading Malayalam Daily that many read eagerly. The report said Becchu Rehman, the alleged brain behind the flat-Shantha-Shobha drama, had similarly trapped a leading Malayalam film actor years back in a Gulf country.
The Daily of course did not divulge the million dollar name. But the inquisitive readers found out many hidden hints in the story and many reached the conclusion (though wrongly) that the actor, or star to be more precise, was Mohan Lal. And some argued it should be Suresh Gopi.
The honey-trap was laid by a Kanhirappally lady with full support of her husband. When the drama reached the eventual climax, Bechu appeared on the scene as if by pure chance and became the negotiator in no time. It is still not known how much money changed hands, but Bechu's profit itself was lakhs of Rupees.
And the innocent (not noun- the 'i' is not capital) actor never realized Bechu was the actual villain..Thus went the report.
Okay. But who really was that actor?
Saikumar.
Yes, Saikumar was the unfortunate victim.
And Sai need not be much too ashamed, though. Mohanlal too had paid money in similar circumstances more than once. Though that was years back. Now who will dare to entrap the Rakshasa Rajavu?
But the real hero of all blackmail events was actor Siddique.
Once in a similar situation, when he was asked to pay money, Siddique simply advised them to telecast the film (the sky colored one, of course) they had just made.
What money if the victim make it clear that he has nothing to loose.

Kalabham: A Curious Case of Music After Death

2006-07-22T17:44:00.000+05:30

A campaign is being run in Kerala now for the new film Kalabham making use of the reputation of late music director Raveendran. His photo is all over there in the posters of the film.
But the fact is that Raveendran might never have even heard of the film during his life time.
What that great man had actually done was doing music for a movie Minnale. But Minnale never reached the theaters.
Realizing the sudden jump in Raveendran's songs market value both because of his untimely departure and the huge success of Vadakkumnadhan's songs, the Kalabham people were deciding, very cleverly, to hijack the Minnale music.
Anyone who see the film can easily realize this. The story and the songs stand poles apart.
Tamil actor Bala is in the lead role. Navya Nair is his heroine. Director Anil (Anil Babu duo ).

The Chemistry of mediocrity

2006-07-18T17:30:00.000+05:30

Let us put it straight: Rasathanthram is a mediocre film & Sathyan Anthikkad has no reason to be proud of it.
If this is where he has reached after all these years of writing & directing, it is better for him to throw the pen away - the earlier, the better.
A weak story line, immature creation of characters, shameless imitation of directors very junior to him and a predictable (and pathetic) ending- all join hands to make the film a total aesthetical failure.
When Sathyan makes the hero (Mohan Lal) to tell the girl (Meera Jasmine) that he could not marry her, viewers really become a puzzled lot. What it could be that unspeakable secret that prevents the hero from marrying the heroine? Could he be an AIDS patient ? ( Gone are the days of blood cancer). Or impotent? or something equally tragic?
No, no, no- Nothing. He had spent some years in jail. That is all.
Is it reason enough? Any way, Sathyan thought so and he tries in vain (and fails miserably) to make us too.
Even when the reason was this flimsy, the director could have saved the story, and thus the film, if the hero was presented as- from the beginning - such a character:someone who is perpetually haunted by the trauma of the jail days.
The pooja sequences in the end reminds us of Priyadarsan's typical running-and-hitting-down climax scenes. Sathyan, the favorite director of the middle class Malayalis in this film imitate the style of yet another director also. See the song scenes, "Aattin kara orathu " (Incidentally, it is the best song in the movie. Sung by Manjari). In Siddique's Vietnam Colony we had seen an identical effort by the heroine to seduce the man with a song "Pathiravayi Neram" (Minminy).
The father-son scenes in which the hero deliver the lengthy I-know-everything lectures, we clould not but think of Blessy. And it is evident that Sathyan too had thought much about Blessy's super hit "Thanmathra" (Molecule), during the making of "Rasathanthram" (Chemistry). Only that Chemistry ended up an average hit.

Some Girls in Some Dresses

2006-07-17T15:13:00.000+05:30

Navya is at it again.
Her never ending obsession with dress (or absence of it) has landed her in yet another controversy. It was with amusement (though not with much surprise) that everyone at the set of Kalabham watched Navya Nair giving costume designer S.B. Satheeshan a piece of her mind.
Navya was sure that the dress designed for her character would be terrible for her image. And she flatly refused to adorn that pieces of cloths, designed by some one got a National award (Film: Daya; Director: Venu) for doing his job well. Satheeshan remained nonchalant. He simply told the state award winner to go to the director if she got any complaint.
He said he designed the dress to match the descriptions of the character (a poor Brahmin girl) as elaborated by Director Anil and Script Writer Biju Vattapara.
It is not clear how the crisis got defused at last. And it is not going to be the last one either. Though she is not that particular about the length or breadth of dresses if the film is Tamil, for Malayalam movies she could be very aggressive when it comes to dresses not covering the body well. That was how she fumed at Bhadran for making her to wear skimpy clothes in Vellithira.

Tail piece: Meera Jasmin too had once confronted SB Satheeshan. It was over her costume in Swapnakoodu. But she in the end had to tender an apology.

Suesh Gopi, the Terrorist?

2006-07-16T15:50:00.000+05:30

We, Keralites at last got our own terrorist, it seems.
The Intelligence people believe Muhammod Bashir alias Abu Hassan, hailing from Kaprassey, a small village near Aluva, Kerala, was one of the brains behind the 7/11 Mumbai blasts. A former active member of SIMI, Abu Hassan is now believed to be a top commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Yes- The time is ripe to pen a film script with terrorism as the main theme. And the terrorist must be a Malayali with typical Aluva accent.
In yester years the terrorists in Malayalam movies always looked like Kashmiris and as a rule they all spoke Hindi. The Producers had a tough time those days adding Malayalam sub-title for those lengthy dialogous in the Rashtra Bhasha.
But one Abu Hassan from Kaprassery is to change it all.
Suresh Gopi, who recently found out that negative characters were not that terrible for the career (Chinthamani Kolakkese), should all too willing to weild RDX and AK-47, spewing fiery (if not venomous) dialogues in Aluva dialect.

Balance Sheet 2005

2006-01-07T18:17:00.000+05:30

A total of fifty eight movies; five or six hits; 15 break evens; the rest flops-
This is the balance sheet of the Malayalam film industry for the year 2005.
Movie making is a business after all and for a business it is not at all an optimistic scenario.But the figures are still somewhat encouraging when they are compared with that of previous years.

And for now for a close look-
The Hits
_______
Rajamanikyam, Udayananu Tharam, Bharathchandran IPS, Chanthupottu, Thommanum Makkalum & Achuvinte Amma.
(Of these Rajamanikyam of course is number one. None in the list could collect anything near what 'Raja' made. A rough figure is Rs 70 millions).
Among the six, only Achuvinte Amma could make it without a superstar. Udayanaanu Thaaram (Mohanlal), Rajamanikyam & Thommanum Makkalum (Mammootty), Chanthupottu (Dileep), Bharathchandran IPS (SureshGopi)....
The message is loud and clear: No star (the super variety), no success.
A superstar oriented script has better chances of making it in box office. Rajamaanikyam itself is the typical example. Except for Mammooty, Mohan lal, Suresh Gopi and Dileep only Kalabhavan Mani could assert his clout as a hero. All others viz Jayaram, Pridhwi Raj , Kunchako Boban and Jayasoorya simply failed to reach the mark last year.
Kalabhavan Mani's Ben Johnson managed to become a hit of sorts (Just like Mohanlal's Naran).

Music
____
In 2005, only four films could conquer Malayali viewers armed with the music:
Udayananu tharam(Deepak Dev ) Chanthupottu (Vidyasagar ) Achuvinte Amma ( Ilayaraja ) and Anantha Bhadram ( M G Radha krishnan ).

Films 2005
_______
Complete list of flms released in 2005:
1 Immini Nalloral
2 Kalyana Kurimanam
3 Udayananu Tharam
4 Iruvattam Manavatti
5 Achuvinte Amma
6 Moksham
7 Finger Print
8 Annorikkal
9 Makalkku
10 Hridayathil Sookshikkan
11 Isra
12 Hai
13 Junior Senior
14 Ponmudipuzhayorathu
15 Kanne Madanukka
16 Thommanum Makkalum
17 Oridam
18 Ullam
19 Adbhuda Deweep
20 Kochi Rajaav
21 Chandrolsavam
22 Alice in Wonderland
23 Maid in USA
24 Krithyam
25 Benjohnson
26 Benglavil Ouwda
27 Daiva Namathil
28 Five Fingers
29 Thaskaraveeran
30 Chithariyavar
31 Powran
32 Ottananayam
33 Police
34 Rappakal
35 Vaccation
36 Pandippada
37 Udayon
38 Campus
39 By the People
40 Manikyan
41 Bharathchandran IPS
42 Chanthupottu
43 Manjupeyyom Munpe
44 Deepangal Saakshi
45 Aran
46 Nerariyan CBI
47 Lokanathan IAS
48 Oraal
49 Rajav Manikyam
50 Sarkar Dada
51 Anathabhadram
52 Boy Friend
53 Seelabhathi
54 December
55 Tiger
56 Thanmathra
57 Bus Conductor
58 Maniyara Kallan

Why Thanmathra Failed?

2006-01-04T15:43:00.000+05:30

Thanmatra (means molecule) was the second film of Blessy, one of the talented young directors in Malayalam movie industry.
It was an eagerly awaited one too.
The phenomenal success of Kazhcha, the film with a difference made all expect something even better from this newcomer.
Mohanlal has done his best and heroine Meera Vasudev and the boy Arjun Lal have acted nicely.Then what went wrong?
The answer is Blessy.
His screenplay is not at all good and the direction is pathetic.
When the character Ramesan slips in to the realm of Alzheimer's disease , the film reach a dead end. It is very difficult for an average director to sustain the tempo of a hero-oriented-film after the hero become inactive or absent, that too for a long time.
It is true that Padmarajan had done it brilliantly in Moonnampakkam and Adoor Gopalakrishnan in Mukamukham. Like in Mukhamukam, Blessy's hero too become absent- mentally. But no major happenings occur after that stage, except the hero's death. The incidents portrayed in between miserably fail to catch the attention of the viewers.
Nothing is there that make the audience wait eagerly for the coming scenes. And there is no shortage for cliches too- The death scene of Ramesan and the torture by his cousin...A serious flaw that was not noted in kazhcha become all too evident here- Here too the style of narration is naive and plain. (It is heard, that was why kazhcha got no awards. To tell the story, Blessy adopts no different patterns. Craft has much importance as far as todays academic film scenario is concerned).
In short, Blessy's attempt to portray a decease that rarely featured in Indian Cinema ends up as a miserable failure.(The theme was not that fresh too, to set the records straight. In Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Bharathan has done it before and had succeeded).

Rest for One and for the Rest it is Tests

2005-12-13T14:06:00.000+05:30

After the mega success of Chanthu Pottu, Christmas season comes as a lull period for Dileep.
But the other stars, that is the rest of the super variety, are very much present at the big screen.

Mammootty in Bus Conductor, Mohanlal in Thanmaathra and Suresh Gopi in Tiger are all casting spells- or at least trying to cast- on their fans. And this season, all these films are much important for the respective stars.
As for Mammootty, he could afford anything but a poor performance of the Conductor. The reasons are not difficult to figure out. Mammootty is still considered to be a sure bet in Malayalam cinema. There need not be any doubt regarding that.
And the latest film Rajamaanikyam was a sure hit. But that was not the case with a handful of films post Rajamanikyam. Vesham and Rappakal were flops- to put it straight. Black only just managed to be a break-even.
But these realities were systematically being kept hidden from the public- Mammooty still has enough clout to make media paint him only in nice colors.
But the industry is not the public. The people who invest the money know- or should know- things like these much too well. And Swargachitra Appachan was forced to reveal the truth in public- at least on one occasion.
However, the success of Rajamanikyam did change the situation for good.
And that made things a little more difficult for mamootty- ironically.
After Rajamanikyam and the regained confidence of the industry, he could not afford the luxury of sliding down again. That is why Mammootty cannot even imagine a failed Bus Conductor.

The situation Thanmatra's director Blessy and Mohanlal find themselves in is somewhat similar. After many flops the successful Kazhcha came and Blessy could even manage to gain some stardom too.
After a series of flops, Mohanlal must be praying in all earnest to get things right again with Thanmathra. And here we should remember one thing- Even when the star's films turn out to be failures, Malayali viewers never write Mohanlal off. He always is the super one.
But the crucial thing now for him is proving to be equal to Mammootty. And if Thanmatra manage it, Blessy becomes the Super Director who does it right with both Super stars!

Bharathchandran IPS was was a rebirth for Suresh Gopi, the superstar who began to fade out. The film set the stage for a splendid coming back for the action hero.
But to stay on, Suresh Gopi has to see to it that Tiger too is a tremendous hit. A weak Tiger could implicate that what Bharatchandran was riding on were sympathy waves.

And it still a surprise of the sort that, Dileep has no films this season. Fast Track and Lion are only in pipeline.

The Loss of November- And December

2005-12-13T14:04:00.000+05:30

November and December are being proved to be unlucky for December.
The award winning director Asok R Nath's (Asok's previous film Saphalam got national award) new movie December got only one week life span in Kerala theaters.
Even Jassie Gift's music could not save the film from the premature death.
Jassies soft melody did appeal some but that never become hits. And it was Jassi himself who did music for Asok's runaway success 4 The People.

Fast Track, Kilukkam Kilukilukkam and Vadakkumnathan- On Rough Track

2005-12-13T14:00:00.000+05:30

Now all these movies in the making have one problem in common- Shortage of
money.
Subair is the producer of Fast Track and distributor of Kilukkam Kilukilukkam.
The previous film Udayan was a disaster for Subair and it landed him in a very tight
financial situation. So the fate of Fast Track and Kilukkam Kilukilukkam is shrouded in uncertainty.
Vadakkumnathan's reels are still in the lab- it is heard. The reason is the same- funds.
So 2005 will not see the release of these three.

Ramazan Films: The First Show Report

2005-11-09T18:22:00.000+05:30

Of the movies that released this Ramazan, Only three stand any chance- that is what early reports from theaters indicate.
Ananda Bhadram, Rajamanikyam and Mayookham already got a good start.
Ananda Bhadram has many advantages in its favor.
A technically-well-produced film; good songs; an almost fresh theme; nice performance of Kalabhavan Mani and Manoj K Jayan.But hadicaps too are there.
The movie holds little for those who are not particularly attracted to supernatural stories.Though Pridhvi Raj is there, for Pridhvi's fans it can turn out to be a disappointment- no heroism for the young actor here.
The saving factor for Rajamanikyam is of course the humor.The colorful settings too is an attraction.But if you are not a Mammooty fan, better not to expect much. People out side that mob may not be able to digest many things presented in this movie. And the script is weak in second half.
It is mostly the young people who turn in for Mayookham. The romance and the thread of a revenge do the trick. And a song has already become a hit.
What is wrong with Sarkar Dada is its timing. Should have reached us many years back.
However, it is doomed to become a flop.

Quality or Luck?

2005-11-04T13:43:00.000+05:30

A couple of rumors that can turn in to two 'nice' controversies are doing rounds in Malayalam film circles these days.
One involves a veteran actor and the other a late female singer.
When it comes to devotional songs P. Leela was Kerala's favorite choice of all times.
Though Samayamaam Radhathil Njaan of Aranaazhikaneram added additional glitters to her fame, most of Leela's celebrated devotional songs were Hindu.
For Keralites, Melpathoor Narayana Bhattathiri's Narayaneeyam and P. Leela's golden voice were synonymous. The playing of Leela's Narayaneeyam at Guruvayoor temple has created sort of history. For the last 45 years, it is this heavenly tune that waking the temple town up each morning.
And then a spokes man for Guruvayoor Devaswom made a curious revelation some days back.The Devaswom had considered at least three persons to sing Narayaneeyam, he said.
And when a final selection seemed to be difficult, a lot was taken and it was Leela who got the favor of luck.
But V. Dakshinamoorthy, the very music director of Narayaneeyam, rejects this claim altogether. He says when Devaswom people came to his residence on that unforgettable day 45 years back, Leela too was with him.
She was his student and was taking the usual music lessons at his home. When the Devaswom representatives requested him to suggest a singer he didn't had to ponder much. He asked Leela to sing a few lines of the lyrics on-the-spot and assured the Devaswom people that Leela was the best choice.
Which could be the correct version?
Or could it be that the Devaswom authorities had already taken the decision (in favor of Leela) before paying Dakshinamoorthy the visit?

It was only a few days back that actor Madhu told some of his close friends that he was but a second choice for the memorable role in Swayamvaram, Adoor Gopalakrishnan's debut movie. Adoor had made the offer first to Prem Nazeer.
But for some reasons, Nazeer was not in a position to accept it and it was then that Adoor approached him, Madhu explains. But Adoor Gopalakrishnan says he never had approached Prem Nazeer for Swayamvaram project. Adoor wonders from where Madhu got this weird idea.
Had some one from Chitralekha approached Nazeer before Adoor making the move? No one seems to know.

Aravindan and Shaji N Karun

2005-11-04T13:36:00.000+05:30

A recent article in Cinema Mangalam provides us with some curious insights about the relationship between Shaji N. Karun and late Aravindan.
In the interview Shaji says Aravindan never contacted him after Piravi, his master piece. Shaji, the former cinematographer and ardent disciple of Aravindan tellsabout the coccus that used to surround Aravindan in his later days.
Aravindan was always among that gang of drunkards, Shaji says. That gang had never ceased to try to break Shaji's relationship with Aravindan.And they did manage it, at the end.
Shaji says there was not a single person with any spark of creativity in that circle.
And Aravindan never realized that they were all actually killing his talent.
And now it is this very same vicious group is behind the present gossip that he too was responsible for Aravindan's sudden demise- Shaji alleges.

Manasarovar or Machu Pichu

2005-10-30T18:27:00.000+05:30

Anoop Kurian's Manasarovar has won both: money and fame.
The 2.2 million movie was a big success money wise, and at various film festivals it got international recognition too.
Anoop says the backdrop he had in mind for the film was Machu Pichu and not Manasarovar.(Machu Pichu is in Andes mountains in modern Peru. The name of the religious retreat at an elevation of 8000 ft means "manly peak").
But even as the project was progressing a nagging thought remained in some corner of his mind. For his pet project, why should he go after a name that reflect little of his national or cultural perspective? That was how Manasarovar replaced Machu Pichu in the end.

Anoop says he had no idea how to end the film.
Even after the crew landed in Himalayan slops to do the concluding scenes, the director had no idea what those scenes were!
It was then that he saw a Buddhist monk near the location. The monk was very carefully placing a stone on another stone. Anoop enquired the monk what he was doing. The monk explained it was a belief of his people.
If the second stone (or both stones) do not roll down, a wish of the person who had placed the stone would be fulfilled.
That was it.
The mythical and yet charming belief of the monks provided the movie with a poetic ending.

Two Claims for Oraal

2005-10-30T18:21:00.000+05:30

It is normal for art films in Kerala to make controversy if directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan or T V Chandran.
But the film by a new comer, Kukku Sreedahr, "Oraal" is in the news now.
One Vinod Narayanan claims it was his story. But Kukku denies it altogether.
Vinod had submitted his story to the weekly Manoraajyam and it did got published in it.Manoraajyam is owned by none other than film producer goodnight Mohan.Uchaveyilil Vanasthali- was the title of the story.
It was about a couple who went to a forest for honeymoon. But in the forest the woman's lover kills the husband . The devastated woman turns against the lover and the disappointed lover tells she may kill him too. And she does exactly that. Then she runs into the deep forest.
And what about the story of Oraal?It tells the story of a psychopath writer ( he is a film maker too ) who think one of the characters of his novel is the secret lover of his fiance. Finally he ends up in a mental asylum chained up.
There is only thing in common in these two stories:
The backdrop is a forest.
It was in last year that writer Babu Bharadwaj claimed that Rajeevnath lifted a story written by him to make the film Moksham in which Seenath Aman was the heroine.
The film failed to get any award but the controversy did not burn out.

School Bells For Jerry Amal Dev

2005-10-29T18:33:00.000+05:30

Twenty five years back, we had a Jassi Gift of that time, named Jerry Amaldev.
By the melodies songs in the film Manjil Virinja Pookkal he swept the minds of audience. His all the songs were hits.
And he of course got the state award for best music director . After that he was flooded with numerous offers.The soft spoken ,naive gentleman accepted all the offers without thinking twice.But many of the films never released.But he could repeat the success in Nokkethaa Doorathu Kannum Nattu, Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal,Ente Mamaattikkuttiyammakku etc .
Even when the films were not released, his songs began to make waves. Kattupothu is only one example. But today he is outcasted from Malayalam film scenario.
Why?
The million Doller question has only one answer:
Yesudas.
In an interview he dared to tell straight that the voice of Yesudas was not male according to Europian standards.
Except for some music experts, the readers as a whole surprised and taken aback by this comment. It is altogether another matter that, the magazine being of tiny circulation, the interview was not read by many, and never become a popular talk.
But the damage was done.
Yesudas had got embarrassed by the comment. And he pledged to never sing again with Jerry's tune.And for Jerry, that decision proved to be much more than disastrous. During those days it was impossible for Malayalam film industry to do away with Yesudas.But the industry could very well afford to avoid Jerry.
Thus the scene was set for the downslide of Jerry Amaldev. Jerry, who was a music tutor at an American University at that time, suffered much. He got little offers.Could do only some background scores, and some of them got some awards too.(His his score in Kazhakam defeated Ilayaraja's tune for Kalapani in the running for state award.).
But Jerry was eventually getting limited to the status of a devotional music director.
And were Jeery is today?
He is at Choice School, Kochi.
Teaching school students music.

Will his students repeat his success ?

(Picture: The Hindu)

Timber Thunder

2005-10-26T12:08:00.000+05:30

A Timber merchant becomes a crusader, pledged to cleanse the Kerala politics of all evils- that is the story of Suresh Gopi's new film Rashtram. Direction is done by Anil C Menon (Ben Johnson's director). After the runaway success of Udayanaanu Tharam, Carton films produces Rashtram. Story is Sajeevan's. (His previous film was Pauran).
After a long break, Thilakan is doing a major role. The character is the opposition leader of the state and has much in common with the person in real life, Sri VS Achuthanandan.
Madhu, Nedumudi Venu etc are the other actors. Heroine is Laya (Thommanum Makkalum, Alice in Wonderland).
Music is done by Deepak Dev Kaithapram.

Mimicry Singer in Mammooty Film

2005-10-26T12:04:00.000+05:30

The well known artist of mimicry stages, Pradeep Palluruthy is singing a fast number in Rajamanikyam, the new film with Mammoooty in lead role.
The music director Alex Paul initially has asked to sing for the tracks.

But the quality of the voice made him to make it the final one.
Cassettes of Rajamanikyam are to be released soon.
The music given by Alex Paul for Thanthra is expected to get noticed for its off beat tune.

Mani, the Money Saver

2005-10-26T12:00:00.000+05:30

A silent revolution is taking place in Malayalam film industry.
Or it can be termed the ' Mani magic'.
Recently a series of low budget films made it in the box office only because of Kalabhavan Mani.
Anil C.Menon's Ben Johnson, Anil's Loknathan IAS, Akbar Jose's Andavan and Ravanan were all 'economy' films with the total budget less than 70 lakhs.That means, a mere two weeks in theaters would've made the films break even.
That was why veterans like Milan Jaleel (Ben Johnson), M Mani ( Lokanathan IAS, Ravanan ) and Siyad Kokker ( Andavan ) agreed to do the production.

When even super stars' films with budget above 1. 5 crores are enveloped by uncertainty, these low cost Mani films are good business sense too, to be sure.

Changing Times & Suresh Gopi

2005-10-05T17:14:00.000+05:30

There is nothing time can't change: this eternal truth is the basic thread of the film, Paranju Theeraatha Viseshangal, directed by Harikumar.
Suesh Gopi is the lead character and Lakshmi Gopalaswami is the heroin.
Though the works of the film had started three years back, it won't reach the theaters for months. Shortage of funds is the main hurdle.
It was unusual for a serious film that was made mainly to suit the Panorama including a super star among the cast. But then Suresh Gopi was almost a retired star at the time the film production started. He gave the call sheet for just Rs 10 lakhs. And got an advance of 2 lakhs.
Though the shooting somehow progressed through months, no one willing to do the distribution could be found.
So the heroes remuneration was reduced to 8 lakhs. But even that amount was beyond the means of producers at that time. Anyway, Suresh Gopi did complete the schedule.
But refused to do the dubbing.
Then the producers paid, though reluctantly, half the remuneration. But that too failed to persuade the 'super star'.He made it pretty clear that nothing short of the full amount would do. But the producers were not in a position to raise that much amount.
So the film had no option but to go deep freezers.
It was then the miracle happened. As Bharatchandran IPS, Suresh Gopi staged a marvellous comeback. Thanks to the euphoria the success of Bharatchandran brought in, Suresh Gopi agreed to do away with the other half of the 'princely sum'.
Now who would say Suresh Gopi is not generous?!!

Nalini, Neelan and Boyfriend

2005-10-05T17:12:00.000+05:30

A minister molests one of his staff. The woman's son is studying in a college in the city. Then on the annual day of the college she too goes. But the Minister was the chief guest and he harass her there too. The son reacts violently and that changes the lives of all- thus goes the story line of Vinayan's new film, Boyfriend.
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is the govt secretary and Manikkuttan (Kayamkulam Kochunni of Surya TV) is the son.
Sreenivasan, Mukesh, Jagadeesh, hani, Mathumitha etc are the the other actors.
Script: Pallaserry, Music: M Jayachandran.

Lal Jose's New Film

2005-10-05T17:11:00.000+05:30

Shooting of Achhanurangaatha Veedu starts on seventh October at Peerumedu.
Salim Kumar is the Achchan in this Lal Jose film. Samvrutha Sunil, Indrajith are also acting. After a long interval, Babu Janardanan is writing script. (Thachiledathu Chundan, Dreams were his scripts). The story is something connected to the Kiliroor Sex scandal. True to his reputation as a disciple of Kamal, what Lal Jose aiming at is an award, at least this time around. Music is Alex Jose's and Manoj, a former assistant of Santhosh Sivan is doing the cinematography.

Mohan Lal has Two Ramazan Films

2005-10-05T17:08:00.000+05:30

Four films are busy getting ready for Ramazan release: Anantha Bhadram with Pridhvi Raj in lead role; Raja Manikkyam (Mammootty); Vadakkum Nathan (Mohan Lal); Kilukkam kilukilukkam (Kunchakko Boban).
In Kilukkam Kilukilukkam, Mohan Lal too cooperating, though his appearance is just a guest one.
Of these, the most hopeless project is Vadakkumnathan. Even the songs (such as GaNGe...by Yesudas) are impressive, the film might not go well with the audience. Story is Girish Puthanchery's and the director is Shajoon Karyal.
Hariharan was the initial choice for the job of director, and he even had some discussions with the crew. He was not much impressed by the script and had suggested some changes. But the script write refused to make the changes and eventually, Shajoon replaced Hariharan. Johny Sagariga is the distributor.
Vadakkumnathan was the last film for which late Ravindarn did music direction.

Fazil Vs Appachan

2005-09-23T17:57:00.000+05:30

Swargachithra Appachan, the well known Malayalam film producer now shifts to Tamil, where Mr. Fazil, his one-time friend and now a foe tries to get the turf smooth.

Not long years ago, Appachan was a mere planter at Kozhikode.Then on one fine day he went to Alapuzha to make fazil direct a film for him. But Fazil was not at all willing.But it was not easy to turn Appachan away that quickly. Fazil had to accept the offer at the end, though reluctantly.
He was almost sure that the film would be a flop. But Appachan was more than willing to take the risk and the film came out . And it was an instant hit.That marked the birth of a new producer in Malayalam. - Swargachithra Appachan.
And that was the beginning of a long term tie too .From then on, Fazil was the sole director of all Appachan films.The association flourished through box office success. But happy days were never lo last forever.
Setbacks began to occur. A handful of films failed at the box office. Hard earned money lost. Waking up to the gravity of the situation, typical of a businessman, Appachan began withdraw gradually from the projects.
The long-time associates and close friends began to rift apart.The relationship strained most when Fazil came to know that Appachan had sold the rights of Manichithrathaazhu to Tamil producers.
To add insult to injury, Fazil was not invited to the marriage of Appachans son.
During these period, Fazil was facing more and more misfortunes.So, after a series of box office failures in malayalam, Fazil has finally decided to switch over to tamil. But misfortune is following him to Tamil too, it seems.
The recent film Orunal Oru Kanavu didn't perform well.At this point that Appachan enters the Tamil arena to try his luck. like Fazil, he too doing this this switch over after suffering some continuous defeats in Malaylam. At Kollywood, S J Soorya is his director and Vijay is the hero.
Who will strike gold first at Thamizhakom?The film prince of Alappuzha or the businessman from Kozhikode?

Manasarovar Hit Headlines Again

2005-09-23T17:48:00.000+05:30

US based Keralite Anoop Kurien's debut film Manasarovar is well appreciated in Fukuvoka film festival.The film already is released in UK and in India and screened at various film festivals allover the world.
Manasarovar never fails to catch the vivid attention of the audience by its unusual style of presentation of a usual story. If audience know little and characters know everything in ordinary films, in manasarvar things turned tipsy turvy. Though we, the audience know the relationship between the characters very well, they began to grow to the level of our knowledge. It is a love story that ends before it starts.
Manasarovar portrays the relationship between a young woman director of a firm and a consultant who is in search of his brother. The women and the consultants brother were actually known to each other.
And that man actually had made proposal to her.But because of naiveness she answered no.But now that the brother came in search of him, she know where he is - At Manasarovar.In the film, the Manasarovar is not a lake in Himalayas but it something deep and mysterious within ourselves, or between us. At that Manasarovar, we feel more comfortable and more virtuous.That is a realm where we are really sincere to ourselves.
The film succeeds to convey this abstract idea rather vividly and forcefully.

Seven Arts Returns- This Time With Kanal & Lal

2005-09-21T01:50:00.000+05:30

SEVEN Arts was once synonymous with box office success in Kerala.The production company that presented Malayalam film industry with some unforgettable films is now all set to stage a comeback. The movie in the making is, or Kanal , theburning embers.
Hero is none other than Mohan Lal, the company's once lucky star. It was with Panjaangni that Lal's association with Seven Arts began. The film was a runaway success and trend setter. Viji Thampi is directing Kanal. After the unexpected failure of his last film, Krithyam, Thampi hopes this Lal-Seven Arts combine will prove lucky for him too.
The script of Kanal is Suresh babu's, the journalist turned script writer. For Babu too Kanal's success is so essential. Thandavam, his another film with Mohan Lal was a big flop.
Mohan lal too was so keen to make Kanal a big hit, that he personally had followed up with the making of the screen play and had pointed out many defects.
The story line itself is very interesting. Set in the backdrop of a remote and exotic forest, it potrays the lives of a bunch of men engaged in bamboo cutting.

Venturing in to the deep forests they cut the bamboo down and takes back to the villages. The bamboo cutting period is moderately long and they all stay in the forest till the collection is fairly large. Cut away from the civilisation and sorrunded by thick forest and constant dangers, the bamboo cutters stay inside the woods provide ample scope for an exotic and thrilling cinema experience.

While the story of the film is interesting enough, the story behind is equally intriguing. Lal Jose was the director designate of Kanal and he had even visited Thattekkad bird sanctury near Kothamangalam to check the suitability of the location. Script writer Suresh Babu too was also with him during these trekking. But that was all before the historical setback Lal Jose's Rasikan suffered.
However, when the all dust of the collapse of Rasikan, began to settle down, Lal Jose found himself outside the Kanal team.Was it the fear of another failure that made Mohan Lal take this decision? No prize for guessing.

Salim Kumar, The Hero

2005-09-21T01:49:00.000+05:30

YES, it is true. Salim Kumar himself is the hero of Lal Jose's upcoming film. The pooja of Urangaatha Achchan (The Father who won't sleep) is over at Lal Studio, Kochi. It is the pathetic story of the father of a sexually assaulted girl.
Set aganist the backdrop of the alarming increse in the violence aganist women in the state, the film sure to resemble many incidents still vivid in Kerala's recent memories.Casting of the rest of the actors is not finalized, yet.
Lal Jose can afford to sit on it as long as he wishes. His new work, Chaanhu Pottu is fast climbing the hit chart. The songs of Chaanthu Pottu have outdone all the songs of all the other Onam movies. Theaters enjoyed the jokes too.

Which Is The Onam Hit ?

2005-09-21T01:44:00.000+05:30

AMONG the films released during Onam days, which become number one? That is the million doller question in the industry now. Nerariyaan CBI, Naran, Chanthupottu, Lokanathan IAS are in the run.
The Mammootty-K Madhu film has failed to rise to the expectation level of the audience. Being the fourth in the CBI series, the expectations were high too. But the heaviness of the story and the pseudo advertisements that accompanied made many viewers disappointed. The only relief was Mammootty, whose charisma still at high levels.
After a series of flops, Naran turned out to be a pleasant relief for Mohan Lal. The the story was not at all unique, but the way it was made in to a movie has made all the difference for this Joshy film. Joshy is the master craft man in the present Malayalam film industry.
Chaanthupottu couldn't have afforded to become a non-hit. The success of the film was so essential for the survival of Lal Jose. And Dileep too was in need of a big success. Dileep's previous film Paandippada was just a break-even one. The fresh story, good visuals, pleasent songs and the mimicry jokes.. the combination saved the film in the box office.
Loknathan IAS turned out to be a favorite of front row seaters. The film tells the story of an IAS officer (Kalabhavan Mony) who joins politics after being forced to resign.
Sept 19, 2005

Lal's Foul Play

2005-09-21T01:40:00.000+05:30

NO, not Mohan Lal- The Lal in Siddique-Lal combine.
To understand the story, have to go back some years in time. The drafts man turned mimicry artist (or was it the other way round?), had happened to assist Fazil with Siddiq in some films. Then the duo directed Ramji rao Speaking.
The film become a super hit and changed Lal's fate for ever. The films of Siddique-Lal began to redefine the commercial victory trend of Malayalam film industry. God Father had run 404 days a stretch- an all time record. But they parted ways not long after. The reasons are not clear, though. Lal began to concentrate on production, acting and distribution.
After some utter flops and some break-even ones, he produced Thenkaasippattanam. To raise enough money for the film, he had to pledge even his house and plot. To make things more difficult both Mohanlal's Devadoothan and Mammootty's Dada Saheb reached the theaters along with it.
But Thenkassippattanam starring Dileep, Sureshgopi and Lal himself become a tremendous success. Lal's transformation in to a business magnet of the industry had started there. a palacious house was built at Kakkanadu.
But he never really gave up the simplicity- have to give him credit for that. The charm of his friendly and intelligent approach had earned him many friends too. They all looked upon him as a straight forwarded and very humorous guy, just like a brother, a good one, at that!But some big-and-nasty surprises were in store for
them all. It was Lal creation's that distributed 'Bharat Chandran IPS', the Ranji Panikkar film that resurrected Sureshgopi. But then stories beagn to spread. It was kaavyachandrika Releases that actually won the distribution rights of the film.But Lal threatened theater owners and warned them of dire consequences if they advance money to Kaavyachandrika. Being a big
producer and distributer Lals threatening payed well.
Fearing Lal won't give them his future films, they all just ignored Kaavyachandrika. Kaavyachandrika had to give their right up. Ramji Rao's distributor Swargachitra appachan too was in the race. But Lal was the winner. He did manage to snatch Bharatchandran away.The winner take all, thus goes the cliche. This time
around it seems he took away the trust and belief too - of friends.

Costumers Beaten Up- By Jayasoorya and Salim

2005-09-21T01:27:00.000+05:30

Seems it is beating season in Malayalam film industry.Or why should two young men on the race to secure
some slot in the industry manhandle the costumers?It was after a long gap that Jayasoorya got a film. The shooting of Kilukkam Kilukilukkam, part-II of Kilukkam was prgressing smoothly at Ootty. Then quarrel errupted between Jayasoorya and a costume boy and the actor hit him.It was in Kochi that Salim Kumar showed off his muscle power. Here again the victim was a costumer.
The location was that of a Jayasoorya film(not the actor- the famous director and son of late SL Puram Sadanandan). Frustration of not getting much chances could well be the outburst of Jayasoorya. But what was wrong with Salim Kumar, who has become an essential ingradient
of current Malayalam films? An inside man from the industry who happened to witness one of these incidents has an explanation. It is the box office success of Malayalam films that make people arrogant. If income from films was not this assured actors would have become more tolerant.