During the Mathrubhoomi Kalyan Silks Awards recently, Ashique Abu gave a shoutout to the producer of Salt N Pepper. In a rare gesture which conveyed humility as well as magnanimity, he gifted his cash award to the producer so that the producer can recover his investment. A decade back this statement would not have attracted much attention, but in 2012 it is very important. It showed the attitude of new generation of film makers as well as it pointed out that even a successful movie like Salt N Pepper is struggling to recoup its investment. Over the past few years we have seen a rot in Malayalam cinema and people spent their money watching Tamil movies and wondering why can’t we make movies like that. Now in the past two years we have seen some amazing movies come from new film makers. So what all contributed to this revival?

Before we go there let’s blame a few people. Like the European economy, there was a serial collapse in Malayalam. So let’s blame pretty much everyone including script writers, directors and actors for presenting us with nonsense movies. What was the last best movie written by Srinivasan? Or what was the best movie of Sathyan Anthikkad or Sibi Malayil or Priyadarshan or K Madhu or Fazil in the past few years? Things became so bad that Sibi-Udayan movies looked like classics and Illayaraja’s terrible music became the standard. In a year, out of the 50 odd movies that were released, only half a dozen made money and only one or two were worth remembering.

Malayalam movies were going through a tough transition period. Untimely demise of some of our stalwart writers and directors gave opportunity to a bunch of writers and directors, who made us think that mediocrity is the new standard. Aping out of state movies which had high production standards sans content, infighting among Malayalam movie fraternity, rising super star fees,mindless antics by fans associations took Malayalam movies from the exalted heights to the place where James Cameron went in his new submarine.

At such a period, it would have been easy for any producer to go into other business like starting a resort or betting on real estate. So first we have to thank those producers who invested money in movies like Salt N Pepper, Traffic, Beautiful, Urumi, City of God, Passenger, Chappa Kurishu, Ordinary etc. Those are the people who stand first in our list and we agree with Ashique Abu. They are the brave ones.

Second we have to appreciate the new generation of script writers. Look at Salt N Pepper for example. If it was a Sathyan Anthikkad movie, it would have KPAC Lalitha playing an old woman abandoned by her children and Innocent doing his standard senti act. If it was a Shaji Kailas movie, you could predict next dialogue to be mouthed by the superstar or the next scene to come. All other movies had the hero living in exile in Pollachi. But keeping the melodrama minimal, the script writers [Shyam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair] kept Salt N Pepper going without having much conflict. It was utterly refreshing.

Third, lets meet the new directors. We mentioned Ashique Abu, but there are folks like Sugeet, Rajesh Pillai, Samir Thahir, Lijo Jose etc. They know the new grammar of movie making. Among these Abu and Sugeet are disciples of Kamal and while their guru is making classics like Pachakuthira, the disciples are entertaining us.

Before mentioning the actors, we applaud Malayali audience for supporting movies which did not have superstars in them. It reminds us of a time when people used to watch movies based on who wrote it (Padmarajan, T Damodaran, MT) or who directed it (Bharathan, I V Sasi, Padmarajan, Hariharan). We have almost reached that state now. Having said that, we find a fearless generation of new actors shaping up. Some of them are new ( Fahad Fazil, Asif Ali,Vineeth Srinivasan), some of them re-invented themselves (Baburaj, Kunchako Boban).

Also look at the new generations of actresses like Remya Nambisan, Swetha Menon, Mythili and Rima Kallingal who are bold enough to portray realistic roles representing evolving womanhood. The goody-goody Kavya Madhavan-Navya Nair-Bhavana type roles no longer appeal to people.

Even though he’s delivering flop after flop of late, Mammotty played an important role in bringing up many new talents into Malayalam cinema. This man has a knack in unearthing talented directors.Lal Jose, Blessy, Ashique Abu, Amal Neerad … It’s a huge list. Even though he did not act in some of these new director’s movies, he supported them and helped launch their careers. It shows that he is one intelligent man who knows that his stardom is doomed if there are no good writers or directors.

If you look at Malayalam cinema, the target audience is limited. We don’t have the reach of Tamil or Telugu or Hindi movies. We made it up by writing innovative scripts and creating a mass appeal. The movies were always low budget. In the recent past only superstar movies were making money and the cost of moving making went over the roof. Then we reached a stage where only super stars where making money and most of their movies ended up as super hit in a channel. Now we are back to the basics again with small movies with good script.

Another good thing is the advent of multiplexes. The multiplexes era has opened up niche markets. This would be a boon for small movies as well as there is no need to please entire cine-going crowd. This should draw family audiences who are scared to visit big theatres. We had covered this in detail at Varnachitram few months back.

There are reactions to this. Mohanlal who had kept a distance from Ranjith now met him and patched up things. Mammootty after a string of flops must be going back to the drawing board. It will be better if Suresh Gopi actually joined Kerala Police. One of the consequences of this revival of small movies is that there will be less producers investing in Super Star movies. This is a good thing because we want to see M&M in fewer but better movies. To make their quota of 6 movies a year, they end up acting in Cassanova and Venicile Vyapari. Instead of that we want a Pranayam or a Pranchiyettan. Another positive thing about this revival is the sidelining of the “talents”  of mimicry brigade like Suraj Venjarammoodu and Salim Kumar.

What can go wrong with this revival? There is always the customary infighting with the banning of actors and actresses. Sibi and Udayan, S N Swamy, as well as directors like Shaji Kailas are still in business. These new age directors and writers whom we praised earlier could get sucked up into big budget movies and lose focus on the craft. Or the new directors/writers not able to live up to the hype created by thier initial movies: For example look at the difference between Passenger and Arjunan Sakshi or James Albert’s creations after Classmates. Another huge problem is piracy, which is affecting every movie. As soon as a movie is released, torrents follow and soon it is uploaded on YouTube. For good movies to happen, movie makers have to make money.

Even though all these movies are interesting, it is important to add one historical perspective. We had fallen to such a rut that pretty much any non-template movie looks interesting and refreshing. With that perspective, we have to ask one question. How many of the movies we listed will stand the test of time and be looked on as a classic. Our answer is not a single movie qualifies in that matter.

Few years back when we were busy covering AMMA-MACTA fights at Varnachitram , we never thought this kind of turnaround would happen. We are really charged by this.

Trivia:
Question: What is common in Chappa Kurish, Traffic, Salt n Pepper, 22FK, Ee adutha Kalathu,Second Show, Cocktail
Answer: They don’t have Dappan Koothu
Question: How many Salt N Peppers can be produced with the money wasted on Casanovva
Answer: 16
Question: How many Chappa Kurish can be produced with the money wasted on Casanovva
Answer: 32

Thanks to Kishor Kumar for inputs.

• “Pranchiyettan and the Saint” is, I believe, director Ranjit giving the finger to those who had labeled him a “Hinduvta” director after a series of movies such as Devasuram, Ravanaprabhu, Nandanam, Prajapathy etc.
• There have been several movies based on the Kottayam Christian milieu; however movies set in Thrissur are rare. Other than Padmarajan’s Thoovanathumbikal, I can remember no other movie that has used the town and its slang as an important facet in the movie.
• It is refreshing that the movie has no “villains”. Siddhique is portrayed as Pranchi’s main rival, but Ranjit has resisted the temptation of having either the hero or villain import a dozen ruffians from several different places, and indulge in an outlandish fight sequence.
• The whole bit about hints around the hypocritical lives lead by Siddhique and Khushboo was uncalled for – a cheap shot, really. Could Pranchi not find his happiness even as his childhood sweetheart and her husband lived happily too?
• The whole speech sequence was awesome. It reminded me a bit of the iconic “balatkaar” sequence from “3 Idiots”; but the one in “Pranchiyettan…” was more about the fear of public speaking.
• The whole concept of “Padmashree-chasing” was a riot. Ranjit clearly has a ball here, with digs at all and sundry.
• Jagathy could have been avoided. He added absolutely nothing to the movie, and did nothing new (other than demonstrate a few Yoga poses) either.
• Finally, what does one say of Mammootty? This amazing performance is most un-Mammootty-like; in fact it is almost Mohanlal-esque, except for the spotless Thrissur slang (which I think Mohanlal could not have quite managed). We all know that Mammootty excels in statuesque roles, but to see him excel as the self-deprecating Pranchi reminds us that the veteran still has unexplored depths. More innovative scripts please!

August 1 , which got released in the late eighties was based on 1971 novel, The Day of the Jackal, by English writer Frederick Forsyth. 23 years later, S.N.Swamy and M.Mani(the producer of August 1)have come up with it’s sequel tilted August 15.Mammooty reprises the role of Perumal, (who was the DySP, CB-CID 23 years ago)in this sequel directed by Shaji Kailas.

The plot and the characters:V.G(Nedumudi Venu) is the C.M. of the state of Kerala. He is in loggerheads with the secretary of the party(Saikumar). The lottery,Sand mafias want the C.M. to be killed. So they hire an Assassin(Siddique)to get their job done. What happens next is what August 15 is all about.

Mammootty as Perumal: Mammootty is Perumal,the CBCID . Perumal looks good, rides a Royal Enfield, attends calls in his mobile,walks in slo-mo with a peculiar gait and a loud BGM playing behind, teases his superior officer Peter Zachariah(played brilliantly by Lalu Alex)to kill his time, plays with Photoshop and even cracks funny dialogues like this through his mobile phone(which rings with a ‘Nokia tune’ all the time!)

Perumal: (to someone called Ammini George)-Hello, Ormayundo ee mukham?.
Ammini: Pinnillathe,Engane marakkananu!

Siddique as the killer: Siddique,who is a really talented actor is wasted in this poorly written role . A cat and mouse game between the assassin and Perumal was what we had expected from this movie, but sadly there is nothing of that sort here. Siddique repeats his ‘Bada Dhosth’ act here also.

Loop Holes galore:  Siddique,the assassin gives an anonymous call to all the leading newspapers and the visual media.Alas,the content of what he told them is the headline of all the newspapers,the next day!  The doctors who are treating the C.M, the private secretary to the C.M and a couple of other insignificant people are always a part of the super confidential meetings called by Perumal and co to find out the killer!  The super intelligent Perumal browses the poison page in our good old wiki and finds out the toxic substance that the killer has supposedly used to harm the C.M.!

The Best Scene:  The confrontation scene between Perumal and the ADGP Peter Zachariah (at Peter’s office) . This one is a pretty hilarious scene, thanks to the brilliant actor Lalu Alex. As Peter Zachariah,he is a real treat to watch and is unarguably the only saving grace in this otherwise dumb movie. The scene at the Party secretary’s house involving Perumal, Peter and the secretary(Saikumar dressed up like the CPI(M) secretary,Pinarayi Vijayan)is also a cracker.

Meghna Raj and Swetha Menon– The 2 main female characters in the movie have less than ten minutes of screen time in the whole movie. They blabber something and fade into the oblivion.

Background score – The re recording is competent. It serves the purpose of waking up the few who have already gone into deep slumber.

Good Acting:  Lalu alex as the ADGP is the only good thing about this movie. With his impeccable comic timing,he steals the show.

Shaji Kailas’ direction:  Nothing worth writing about. There are a lot of weird shots in the movie. Multiple extreme close up shots of tea being poured into the tumbler are included in this movie, the reasons for their inclusion is known only to the director, I guess.

What went wrong: S.N.Swamy repeats the same mistakes which he made in Sagar Alias Jackey, Baba Kaliyani, Positive, Rahasya Police. The Perumal in August 15 is only an extension of the character played by Mohanlal in Baba Kaliyani. The styling, body language et al are repetitive and even reminded the iconic ‘Sethuramayyar’ at places. The story is exactly the same as that of August 1.To spice up the proceedings a bit,the recent clash within the CPI(M) is also dealt with topically but the treatment and the writing is so bland that it fails to become even remotely interesting. Nothing much happens in the first half. But the most terrible thing with the script is that the mission, the assassin, the motive, the conspirators, the method and almost everything else get revealed way too early(within the first fifteen minutes to be exact)leaving behind Perumal nothing much to do for the next 2 hours or so. So we can’t really blame him for walking in slo-mo and mouthing silly dialogues, right?

The climax: Some 25 minutes before the climax we are made to believe that the assassin(Siddique) has a deadly plan to carry out on the 15 th of August, the Independence day. But even after the end credits started rolling, neither Perumal nor I had any clue about what S.N.Swamy was talking about. A badly choreographed action sequence shot in some C class theatre followed by the mandatory S.N.Swamy twist (which is the end result of the ‘inky -pinky-ponky’ game between the script writer and his characters)were what we had in store instead!

Verdict: Drona 2010, the Shaji Kailas directed M.Mani production with Mammootty in the lead role was a disaster .The gentleman he is, Mammootty gave dates to the producer M.Mani again so that he can make up for the losses incurred in his previous film, thus August 15 was born. We wish Drona 2010 had never happened.

Rating- 3/10(Stay away from this dud)

Reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com,nikhimenon.blogspot.com

We are telling this story because it depresses us when someone takes a beautiful song and does not visualize it beautifully. The amount of care directors like Lal Jose, Priyadarshan etc take in filming songs have to be appreciated. So it depressed us a lot to see the visuals of the song “Enthadee Enthadee Panamkiliye” from the film Shikkar.

Now having a two star system is a problem for an award committee. If it is the state which is giving the award, then it can get away by giving it to Prithviraj or any non-M&M actor. But when a entertainment conglomerate like Asianet gives awards, they cannot do that. They have to give it to both of them. But then only one person can be the best actor. So what to do about the other one.

Asianet-Ujala solved this E=mc2 problem is a novel way. While Mohanlal was the best actor, Mammotty was the actor of the Millennium. Millennium as you know is 1000 years and so Asianet in its infinite wisdom realized that Mammotty is the best actor in the past 1000 years. I am sure Asianet would have compared his performance with other legends like Muthu Pattar (Best Actor in 1025 AD), Veera Pandi (Best Actor from 1200 – 1255 AD) and Kaimal Kaimal, who won the best actor award from none other than Emperor Akbar.

How will next years award look like? Mohanlal is the best actor in Milky Way? Mammotty is the best actor since Big Bang?

Looks like the story  of Chattambinadu didn’t stray away too much from the usual formulaic potboilers we have seen in the near past.  But looks like the main protagonist, done by Mammootty, holds up the movie.

Berly comments:

RainMaker says the movie is Strictly Average:

The saving grace of the whole affair is Mammotty who is once again superb in using diction and dialect to perfection. Even though the ‘RajaManikyam’ hangover is obvious, Mammotty lifts an ordinary role to a notable one with his use of the diction and flexibility in presentation. The rest of the cast is ho-hum except for Suraj and Salim Kumar. Suraj’s antics are worth a few chuckles and Salim Kumar though looks jaded, manages to hold on with some one liners.

Direction is below par except for the handling of Mammootty’s character. Lekshmi Rai and Maithili are wasted while Vinu Mohan tries hard to replace Rehman in the RajaManikyam format. Music doesn’t have much to write about either.

NowRunning is not impressed:

Shafi has been a lucky director all this while. He has had it all, Megastar dates, rollicking scripts, and mostly super duper hits, except a sour Lollypop perhaps. But this time I would say he has stretched his chances beyond limits and blown it up into bits. For his latest Chattambinaadu, is nothing more than witless banter, cashing in on star power and little caring for anything else.

A Chattambi from Karnataka, Veerendra Mallayya (Mammootty) lands up in Chattambinaadu to buy a mansion, caring two hoots for the threats issued by Kattupalli Nagendran (Siddiq). The scuffle that ensues between the two is no ordinary one, since both of them have been the uncrowned kings of their respective provinces for long.

The winter entertainment needs you to keep your eyes far off the story though. The source material that it banks on cannot be attributed to any one particular film of the past. Rather, it’s a thorough mishmash of several potboilers that have had their day long back.

IndiaGlitz reviews:

For this Christmas, once again you have a movie plotted at a remote Tamil Nadu border, with all that colorful camera friendly costume worn dumb village people, two strong families at war for more than two decades, the entry of the hero to settle the war with some mysterious personal interests, the loud mouthed villain with that big moustache and another hundreds of regular features that you come across in almost all the hits of decade. Yes, this is an overall idea of ‘Chattambinaadu’- the new Mammootty movie in theatres, strictly made on the formula stuff with that very old wine story in another new bottle. What really makes a difference is the megastar adorning another sharply different look and slang for his protagonist character, who amuse, confuse and impress the viewers with dialogues that are more Kannada than Malayalam.

n a potpourri of recent hits from Rajamanickayam, to Madambi and Mayavi, the racy narratives and fast cuts has managed to hold the movie without any big harm atleast till interval. But the final hour becomes increasingly predictable, with not much fresh surprises in store. But it is the one-man show of Mammootty, the megastar who really shows how he can hold a movie with a regular lame storyline with his charismatic performances. Even with a regular singular white pajama- kurtha dress code, he is eminently handsome throughout, with his acting credentials once again coming to the fore. Watch out for the two sentimental scenes where he manages to impress everyone, even with heavy Kannada dialogues. Vinu Mohan as his trusted aide Murugan, is in another role that the youngster can treasure. Lakshmi Rai and Mythili manages through the characters they are in while others from Vijayaraghavan, Manoj K Jayan, Siddhique, Janardhanan and Co are all in their regular roles.

Sify.com reviews:

If your idea of a movie is some mindless entertainment at the cinemas and your favourite hero is Mammootty, then chances are that you may like this film.
Director Shafi has narrated a story which is a potpourri of films like Rajamanikyam, Prajapathi, Thommanum Makkalum and a few others of the similar kind, but certainly without much of the charm of any of these films, in the absence of a credible storyline!

How many times have we been taken to some curious land in the Tamil Nadu border, where the hero is the God for the rather dumb natives and he has a past that will be revealed only during the second half? Amidst confusions galore, the hero will have the whole village ready to die for him, except for the villain and his cronies who will pose some problems until the climax, some minutes before the end credits start rolling.

Mammootty looks eminently handsome in his trimmed moustache and neatly cut stubble. He wears a white kurta- pyjama, white shoes, dark sunglasses and a red tilak on his forehead that makes him quite an imposing figure. He talks in a peculiar accent and the actor has taken some nice efforts to give the character some real difference.

Renjith is on a roll, and 2009 seems to be good year for Malayalam cinema.  As per the reviews, what makes Palery Manikyam: Oru Pathirakkolapathakathinte Katha a winner is Mammootty, screenplay and direction. Movie got released in just 40 centers, which is half the number of usual super star guerrilla attack releases. We’ll have to wait for some more time to see if good cinema translates to good collections.

Vibe Talkies reviews:

On the whole, Palery Manikyam: Oru Pathirakkolapathakathinte Katha is a very intriguing watch. It might not be liked by the common mass audience. But for people who like watching interesting stories and ideas and good cinema, without the trappings of usual commercial cinema, this film would be very interesting. Ranjith is slowly turning into a new-age Padmarajan of sorts. He is trying bold, mature and interesting themes (Thirakkatha, Kaiyyoppu) and daring experiments (Kerala Cafe) and his storytelling skill is intact in this new movie also. The movie is not suitable for children as it handles an adult theme and has certain scenes which may not be suitable for children to watch, even though they are done very aesthetically and effectively. Mammootty gives some neat performances in his different roles. It is great to have the actor in him back through movies like Loudspeaker, Pazhassiraja and this one now after a series of duds. Ranjith has delivered a fine film with a minor hiccup in the climax (not that it was bad, just that it didnt come up to the standard set by the whole movie). The movie has taken a good opening and it was great to see all kinds of people, including a lot of ladies, watching the movie on second day.  With the help of some good marketing, this movie should end up being a success.

Berlytharangal says:

NowRunning.com reviews:

Palery Manickyam could easily boast of its remarkable cast that has none of the big names in business, barring a few. The film brings to the forefront a bevy of real talented actors from theatre, and resourcefully draws out astonishing performances from all of them. Leading this cast is none other than Mammootty himself who puts in a hypnotic act as Ahmed Haji, yet another pitch perfect feat from the actor this year. Equally proficient is the incomparable Shwetha Menon who is gradually carving a niche for herself with daring performances in markedly different films.

Ranjith’s Manickyam is a rarity of a film that exceeds expectations and offers a psychedelic high for the viewer. There would be no surprise if it ignites some sort of a controversy for the boldness that it displays. For the discerning viewer though, this might perhaps be one of the best films to have come out this year.

I would refuse to attribute the art house flavour to it. Rather, it’s an uncompromising film that grabs you by your throat and simply refuses to let go.

Sify.com comments:

It is with absolute awe that one would come out of the theatres, especially for Ranjith, who has made perhaps one of the finest films in Malayalam history, based on Rajeevan’s brilliant novel. There are flaws and scope for further improvement for sure, but the writer-director’s ability to handle such an intricate tale needs to be appreciated wholeheartedly.

With a spectacular performance that can leave you spellbound, Mammootty underlines why he is easily regarded among the best actors in the country. His charisma, screen presence and style give an altogether different meaning to the characters and his portrayal of Ahmed Haji will remain as one of the best to have happened in Malayalam films, ever.

Rediff.com

Very rarely does a film satisfy our expectations. But director Ranjith’s latest Malayalam film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha does.

The film is near perfect with minor ignorable blemishes. It is based on T P Rajeevan’s novel of the same name. It tells the story of a private detective, who returns to his birthplace to solve a murder mystery that occurred on the same night he was born.

Dectective Haridas (Mammootty) takes up a case just to satisfy his curiosity, not to find or punish the culprit, as all the suspects in the case are dead. His purpose, which seems vague in the beginning, achieves clarity only halfway through the story.

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