One of the problems in Malayalam cinema is that we don’t have any bankable second level actors. This lack of young actors restricts the number of stories that can be told and so we are forced to watch blockbuster superstar movies which are indistinguishable from their previous movies. It is not like film makers are not aware of this problem. Ranjith made a small movie called Nandanam few years back with some new comers and both Prithviraj and Navya Nair went on to become stars. Director Kamal tried Goal and Roshan Andrews tried Notebook and except Roma no one really survived.
Now Lohithadas who introduced Manju Warrier and Meera Jasmine, two very fine actresses, is introducing two new comers. The actress is Bhama and the hero Vinu Mohan is the grandson of Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair.
Mohan Krishnan was looking fir a job at Kovilakom, but the financial position of the Tharavadu was not so bright that they can offer any job for him. But Mohana Krishnan had bigger personal problems that won’t allow him to go back. And in these circumstances Ramavarma Thampuran debuts him to assist the priest at the temple owned by the Kovilakam. Nedumudi, who is a regular in Lohithadas films, says “In this film, I enact the role of an old priest in a temple owned by a Kovilakam that is in dire straits. Although the elderly priest’s health is declining, he wants to continue. That is when a young Namboothiri youth is appointed. He doesn’t know anything about mantras and rituals. The old priest gives him necessary training and entrusts him with the rituals of the temple while keeping a supervisory role for himselfâ€.
Once the Keezh Santhi comes, the prospects of the temple brighten as he works day and night to keep the rituals of the temple. The young priest attracts the attention of many young women, including the heroine Bhama, who is an orphan, the daughter of lady who committed suicide for his misdeeds. Eventually the youngsters fall in love.[ Naivedhyam - The Onam offering from Lohithadas ]
Music by M Jayachandran plays an important part in this film and after listening to it, we can say, it is definitely not Sargam. Lohithadas as a writer has had more success than Lohithadas the director and recently the audience has not taken kindly to his creations like Chakkrapottan. The success of new comer or minor star movies depends strongly on story and screenplay as is seen from movies like Sargam or Aniyathipravu and unless this movie has something which will bring people to theater through word of mouth, it may not not be profitable.
Then last Onam, a movie with a bunch of youngsters called Classmates turned out to be the biggest hit in Malayalam cinema. The question is, will that repeat again?
August 20th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Hoping to see the Lohi magic recreated once again, this time around…
August 21st, 2007 at 9:32 am
Velu, However bad movies Lohithadas makes, there is always the hope that the next one will show his brilliance. I am also eagerly awaiting this movie.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Exactly the point, Jibs!
Having been fed on a host of awesome films that had scripts by Lohi penned to perfection, we just cant help hoping, can we??
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Lohi’s direction is a classic case of what EGO can do to people. He was a master when combined with directors like Satyan, Sibi Malayil etc. Its no coincidence that his exit from these associations resulted in flops for himself and Sibi as well as sub-standard movies from Satyan.
Having said that his movies were not that bad – be it Bhoothakannadi, Arayannangalde veedu, Kanmadam, Joker etc.
Except for Joker the others were not profitable.
I woulndt be suprised if Nivdeyam also faces the same fate at the Box Office.
Looking forward to 2008 when the Sibi-Lohi-Lal trio are combining again.
September 4th, 2007 at 3:59 am
wow..one of the best films i have seen..vinu and bhama have done their roles excellently well!! hope they get more roles in future!!
September 5th, 2007 at 5:47 am
Kasthooriman was a big hit…Joker ,Karunyam and Arayannangalude veedu were semi hits.Kanamadham was average.Lohi is getting confused because of the present Malayali audience and their choices.It is better for him to make a Bhoothakannadi (very good) compared to Chakkaramuthu(very bad) .Both movies were flops but atleast he got some recognition through Bhoothakannadi.
October 13th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
who is Swetha (Malayalam Singer)
October 15th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Nivedyam lacks a solid storyline and the direction is mediocre. The temple set looks very authentic though nedumudi venu seems to be wasted in a vaguely defined role as the temple priest. There is no
continuity in how he suddenly oscillates from contempt for the lovers to full scale support.
Bhama overacts too much, but i think plenty of offers will come her way since she looks terrific. Vinu is The Find of the movie, he has a great future in Malayalam filmdom if he applies himself. He has great screen presence, dashing smile and good enough acting potential. He could have done subtler acting for the angry scenes but then he is only started. Vinu if you are reading this comment, watch a few movies of mohan lal (80s and 90s movies- lal also overacted in many of his movies after the 90s era, like thaandavam etc.). No actor in India has mastered the art of subtle acting so well.