The Malayalam director is also pleased about the fact that he beat off competition from none other than film legend Adoor Gopalakrishnan, also from Kerala, who won his seventh National Award, the Best Director nod for his film Naalu Penungal. “Adoor is a legend and the fact that I will receive an award in the same ceremony itself is a thrilling thing. And to top it off I also beat him as a competitor, What could be better,” says Priyadarshan who said that the awards came as a surprise. [This award proves all the naysayers wrong: Priyadarshan]

Next, Ousepachan. Finally he won his first national award, apparently after missing it narrowly for Unnikale Oru Katha Parayam and Freaky Chakra. The uniqueness of the music for Ore Kadal was:

that are all composed in one raga – Shuba Panthuvarali. The evocative, poignant numbers sung by singers like Bombay Jayashri, flautist Naveen Nair, Sujatha, G. Venugopal and youngsters Vineeth Sreenivasan and Swetha, and the composer himself, had enhanced the mood of the film and the theme.

The music composer is all praise for the director of the film, Shyamaprasad, who suggested that he compose all the songs in one raga to retain and accentuate the mood of the theme. To ensure that the songs did not sound monotonous, he “decided to vary the shruti and tempo” of the songs.

“It was a challenge for me. It is not a difficult task to compose songs in certain ragas like Mohanam or Kalyani but Shuba Panthuvarali is a difficult raga and so the director wondered if it would prove to be a difficult task. But, surprisingly, I took only three minutes each to compose four of the songs. It was the title track sung by Naveen that I had to work on,” recalls Ouseppachan. [The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Interview : Scoring a winner]

For the same film, Shyama Prasad won the third national award for the best film in Malayalam

“It has been an evolution that has seen me grow as a director and as a filmmaker,” says Shyamaprasad. He adds that although he was disappointed when his film was passed over by the State film awards jury last year, he has no complaints “as awards are elusive and each jury differs and these things happen. However, I did feel bad for Ouseppachan when he did not win an award for his work then. His songs and background score were exceptional and conveyed the story so well. It was an organic part of the film. It was his spontaneity that impressed me.”[The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram : Waves of applause]

Adoor too won the National Award, but that is like saying – the sun rises in the east. Naalu pennungal also won the award for the best editing.

It is a very good feeling [laughs]. I make a film after a long gap. So, every time I make a film, I forget what had happened before. It is a new experience for me every time. So, when I win an award, it makes me very happy. For me, every award is fresh and new. [It's not just another national award for Adoor Gopalakrishnan: Rediff.com movies]

Less mentioned is the fact that Vipin Vijay won the Special Jury Award for a non-feature film for ‘Poomaram’

The award-winning ‘Poomaram,’ is Vipin’s tribute to Judy Grahn’s radical Metaformic theory and is based on several aspects of her book ‘Blood, Bread and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World.’ “It is a ‘mythographic’ audio-visual observation of the interconnection between ancient menstrual rituals and the development of agriculture, mathematics, writing, calendars (the lunar calendar apparently bears similarities to menstrual cycles) and other realms of knowledge, science and arts,” explains the filmmaker. [The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Interview : Accolades for experiments]

Interestingly the best actor award went to Prakash Raj and not Mohanlal for Pardesi. If you look at it, Pardesi handled a sensitive issue and had all those words which would appeal to a jury – alienation, thrisanku swargam, homelessness etc. Also Mohanlal portrayed, with Pattanam Rasheed’s help, three stages in the life of a character. Long time back the finalists for the best actor award as Nedumudi Venu for Minnaminunginte Nuruguvettam and Kamal Haasan for Nayakan. The jury gave the award to Kamal since he portrayed the life span of a character whereas Nedumudi was old throughout the movie. This time that logic did not fly.

He had partially written a novel, which according to the famous novelist CP (Nedumudi Venu in a cameo), could change the Malayalam literary landscape. On hearing this Shivadasan (Mukesh), a small publisher tags along Balachandran, to convince him to finish the novel. He lives in a lodge, surrounded by his books, in a kind of cocoon.

His interactions with the external world are limited. When asked once why he does not own a cell phone, he retorts, “I have no one to call and no one to call me.” He never talks to others in the lodge, except for the boy-cum-caretaker Babu. He sends money to a Muslim girl about whom he had read in the newspaper. He also has a person who takes care of his land.

This small world changes when he gets a phone call from an  college mate Padma (Khushboo) and  some old memories are triggered. This plus Shivadasan’s prodding results in Balachandran taking up his pen. As the novel progresses, he gets more out of his shell, expresses human emotions explicitly and makes progress on his relationship.

As the movie moves to the climax, with Balachandran selling his land and carrying Rs. 3 lakhs, and going to Calicut with the money and his finished novel, terrorists strike. At this point we were shocked because there was such an impedance mismatch between the story so far and the climax.

This brings up the dilemma. The writer’s block, overcoming the writer’s block, the life of a writer – all those have been done perfectly. Though not novelists, but as people who read a lot and try to write something, these are dilemmas we identify with. So Balachandran’s predicament resonated with us.

The terrorism angle –  we have friends who survived Mumbai blasts and train bombs  – too resonated with us. The problem was with the connection between the two. In fact Ranjith, tries to make the connection – somewhere Shivadasan tells his wife that Balachandran’s novel is a great work of black humor on communalism. But in fact there is nothing in the movie which shows why Balachandran is affected by it – he never mentions any communal incident, he is never seen reading about it or discussing anything communal with anyone. When the policemen make fun of a Balachandran helping a Muslim girl, he seems clueless, unable to understand the situation. When such a person claims to be writing a novel about communal problems, it seems hollow.

Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también , is an example of one movie with multiple layers of narration  - there is a road trip, and there is a commentary on the economic situation in Mexico. To Cuarón’s credit, he blends them well, right from the beginning. This makes the movie memorable, though some might argue that it is the sex scenes that make the movie memorable. The point we are tying to make is that in such movies you don’t spring up a surprise, like in the climax of a CBI movie. In fact in Kathavaseshan , T K Chandran did a better job in justifying Dileep’s behavior, to the point of making it contrived.

Ratheesh seems to be the only one who has  has seen through this:

Renjith has made the script as a series of patchworks with all good intentions to emphasize his “message” again and again, like some programs in school youth festivals. So, a kind-hearted Hindu helps a poor Muslim, an honest Muslim takes care of the property of a Hindu, and so on. The effort to add a “feel-good” factor related to “Love”, “Bridging between Religions” etc. pops up every now and then in the film. Mammootty tries hard to look truly like a sensitive and introvert writer, and adds a touch of uniqueness in the character, at least externally, by attaching certain mannerisms to Balachandran.

That said, we have to note that Ranjith has not fallen for the 80s standard of art movie making, where if there is a shot of one man walking 1km, the camera is turned on for the entire duration. He has dispensed with that level of pretentiousness and made the movie reasonably well paced.

Still when we see movies like Kaiyoppu, it just fails to connect in a memorable way like the Hindi movie A Wednesday which tackled the issue of terrorism in a brilliant, honest, non-boring way.

(Image via IndiaGlitz)

Nivedyam seems to be better than Lohitha Das’s previous movie Chakkaramuthu. But then that’s not exactly a compliment. The new hero and heroine have apparently given good performance, hopefully a good addition to the new generation of actors in Malayalam cinema. One of the songs, Odakuzhal, is already on top of the charts.

Nowrunning.com says:

Vinu Mohan, who makes his debut as Mohanakrishnan is good and suits his role. The new girl Bhama as Satyabhama doesn’t impress much. Bharath Gopi as Rama Varma Thampuran and Nedumudi Venu as the temple priest excel in their roles. None of the others in the cast impress us in any way. All the songs have come out very well and have been well visualized too, especially the “Chittatinkaavil…” and “Odakuzhal viliketto…” which are in true Lohithadas style. Cinematography, editing and art-work are among the high points of the film.

The sad thing about the movie is that, the writer (Lohithadas himself) couldn’t come up with a good story line. He deserves to be applauded for having moulded the lead character as someone very akin to the mythical Krishna and finding an apt hero for the character. But the story seems to have gone out of control and just peters out. The second half of the film tries our patience beyond all limits. We expected something better from Lohithadas!

IndiaGlitz comments:

Lohithadas has been in his best in the past, contributing fresh story lines to films that always captured the heart of the Malayalam viewer’s. But recently this industry’s most dependable writer-director has been keeping away from business for quite a time and even his comeback in Chakkaramuthu couldn’t make any impressive watch. So for Naivedhyam, he has attempted a rehash of the best tried and tested formula in Malayalam, taking bits and pieces from many hit films like Sallapam, Ee Puzhayam Kadannu, Nandhanam and Kasthooriman. Any way the result is a film which comes with his own brand of narration, giving us an endearing watch, this Onam.

Naivedhyam is a simple film, revolving around simple characters. Yet, it works, partly because the story defies the regular stereotype, due to its super-efficient performances and partly due to the well-crafted screenplay and convincing storytelling.The film’s opening hastily sketches the life of Mohana Krishnan, an outspoken Brahmin guy who is presently into carpentry work to keep his family comprising of his widowed mother and sister. He is the son of C .K, a famous dramatist, who fought for the rights of writers. Even after his father’s death, Mohana Krishnan managed to study all arts and crafts till his plus two, but as his family’s prospects fell on his shoulders, he left his traditions to find better jobs to maintain his family intact. Forwarded by one of his father’s friend lyricist Kaithapram, who happens to meet him in a composing session, Mohana Krishnan arrives at the Kovilakom, headed by Ramavarma Thampuram, a pious aged man who was a dear student of Chembai Vaidhya Natha Bhagavathar.

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 himself”.

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?

There are parallels between Ranjith, the script writer and the hero of his new movie Balachandran. Both of them lost their creativity – Ranjith with movies like Chandrolsavam and Prajapathi and Balachandran just unable to finish his novel. Some reviewers think it is a path breaking film and are impressed with the way the movie has turned out.

Velu Nair says

The film marks the reentry of a writer who had been on a digression mode for the last few years. It almost seems implausible that this sublime creation arises out of the same pen that cooked up a warped specimen as Prajapathi, that was clearly symptomatic of cerebral diarrhea. However, this time around, Renjith grabs the fake Malayali machismo by the neck, and slams it against the wall resolutely with a caricature that finds life in Lalitha (Neena Kurup) who drives around with her hubby behind her on the scooter, or curtly asks why she couldn’t have a quick drink with her male companions.

Kaiyoppu cannot be denied the status of a path breaking film, in that it callously shreds apart the traditional milieu that has been choking Malayalam cinema almost to death. And in doing so, it never takes upon itself the role of the preacher, and rests content with the curt deliverance of a few messages that never ever insolently poke the viewer on the chest; yet slightly nudge to remind him as to what had gone amiss in his life and the world, while he was fast asleep. And as such, Kaiyoppu remains one of the most momentous cinematic signatures in recent times.

Paresh Palicha in Rediff

It is also to Ranjith’s credit that he makes a film which looks intensely personal in the first half relatively universal as it goes on. The pacing of the film is slow and might be criticised for appearing pretentious, but the peppy dialogues keep the momentum going.

Mammootty on his part looks the introverted struggling author. The way he carries himself brings out the feeling of him being both a spent force as well as a resurgent genius.

Mukesh plays a perfect foil to Mammootty’s character, with his enthusiasm and exuberance never going overboard. Kushboo too should be commended, as most of the time she is alone in the frame talking on the phone.

Kayyoppu, being a marked departure from the typical Ranjith style of filmmaking, deserves at least a watch.

Nowrunning.com comments:

Kayyoppu (Signature), directed by Ranjith, is a film that has the maker’s signature all over it. Though it may not be a crowd puller, the film impresses you, shocks you, disturbs you and awakens you to grim realities that are mostly overlooked. In spite of some flaws the film stands apart, and is worth seeing more than once.

Mammootty as the central character Balachandran is very impressive. Occasionally though, the star in him comes to the fore making his performance seem a bit artificial to keen observers. Khushboo as Padma, Mukesh as Sivadasan, Nedumudi Venu as C.P. Vasudevan, Narayanan Nair as Balachandran’s estate-manager and father-figure Kammaran, Jaffer as Babu who looks after things in the lodge etc have done their respective roles very convincingly

It is the sensitive approach of the director that makes the film stand apart. The very touching and disturbing climax remains etched in our minds for a long time. Though one gets the feeling that Ranjith occasionally tries to be a little arty, the director ought to be appreciated for a film that is definitely not to be missed by those who love good cinema.

IndiaGlitz says:

The sensitive approach of the director makes way to the characters which are built worthwhile. The way Ranjith has presented Balachandran and the world around him is just awesome! Mammootty as the introverted struggling author Balachandran is very impressive. The peppy dialogues keeps us engaged over the snailish pace in which story unfolds. Mukesh comes out with a brilliant performance. But Khushbu as Padma steals the show and she has done it with a bang. Narayanan Nair as Balachandran’s estate-manager, Nedumudi Venu as C.P. Vasudevan and Jaffer as Babu who looks after things in the lodge, Mamukoya etc have done their respective roles very commendably.

One of the best actors in India, Mammotty was seen last in Karutha Pakshikal doing what he does best – enacting serious heart felt roles. Now he is back again with Palunku with another exceptional performance. This movie also gives a hat trick for Blessy who made a great entry with Kazcha and followed it with Thanmatra.

NowRunning.com writes:

Mammootty gives a stellar performance as Monichan and he proves that he is just irreplaceable as far as such roles are concerned. New girl Lakshmi Sharma as Susamma is a good choice. The children Nazrin (as Geethu) and Niveditha (as Neethu) have done full justice to their roles. Jagathy Sreekumar as Soman Pillai and Nedumudi Venu as the teacher are quite impressive. All the others in the cast too have done well.

Technically the film is superb without the cinematographer (Santhosh Thundiyil of Krish fame) or the editor (Raja Muhammed) having to indulge in any gimmicks. The songs too jell with the theme and the situations. The star of the film however, is the director himself. Blessy has done an excellent job with the script as well as the direction.

Every element finds its way into the film – irony, allegory, sentiment, and humour – all in good measure without ever tending to be melodramatic or overtly sentimental. Palunku is a slice of contemporary life and has universal appeal. It is rarely that such films happen in mainstream Malayalam cinema. Hats off to Blessy for coming up with such a bold initiative without falling prey to the demands of the box office!

Sify says

Mammootty has slipped into the role of Monichan effortlessly proving that he is one of India’s best actors. In the first half he shows his gift for comedy and dramatic subtlety. The school scenes when he walks without making sound and his expression after he speaks his first word in English or the last scene when he has to convey the extremes of intensity and emotional fragility as he sees the body of his daughter, he is first class.

Blessy has scored a hat trick with Palunku (Crystal). He has once again asserted that he is a path breaking writer-director, one to be admired and applauded. Undoubtedly, he is the best director in Malayalam cinema who understands the social fabric and milieu of an average Malayalee.Blessy has also been able to derive top-class performance from not only his lead pair but also child artists and supporting cast. Mammootty as Monichan an illiterate middle class farmer with a sharp acumen who comes to the city and falls for its temptations is outstanding. And the new girl Lakshmi Sharma a model from Hyderabad looks fresh and steals the show with her outstanding performance as Susamma.

India Glitz and Sify seems to have got similar lines about Mammotty in the review

We live in a world of cynicism. But even in such times, sometimes a person or a film comes along and shows you a tiny crack in the fully lighted wall behind which you live, suddenly you get shocked on your late acknowledgement. One such film that makes you laugh, cry, and also makes you feel like a good human being is ‘Palunku’, the new film from Blessy. It gives a slice of contemporary life for people of all ages. With a narrative and theme, which are timeless and universal in appeal, it aims straight for the inherent hope and goodness in all of us. It shows things we have chosen to ignore in the run for greener pastures of life and makes you feel good about what you have. Told in an uncomplicated, sensible manner minus melodrama, cliches and glamour overkill, it is amusing enough to keep you in splits throughout, as the complex but simplified tale of life in two very diverse worlds collides.

Ratheesh writes

I have always felt that director Blessy is highly overrated. Immediately after his first film, Kazhcha, he was compared with Padmarajan. Kazhcha was a good-intentioned and well-made film with a lot of freshness, and I liked it very much when I watched it first time. However, when I watched this film second time, when it was shown on television, many of its shortcomings became obvious, and now I feel that it is just an “above-average” film. Blessy’s second film, Thanmathra, was a mediocre work. And now, Palunku is just barely watchable. There is five-second long scene in the film where they show a group of birds flying in the sky in background when Monichen talks about few things dreamingly. Except for this short clip, there is absolutely nothing in the film that is thematically new or fresh in its presentation style. Many a times, Blessy seems to be confused regarding what he has to say – Does he want to say that City Life is bad and villages are better? Does he want to portray the effects of greed on human beings? The sentences displayed during the climax scene indicate that Blessy’s main intention was probably to make a statement on the attacks on women in Kerala society. Haven’t there been far more better films like Kadavu and Bhoothakkannadi which have handled these themes in an artistically superior way? Blessy’s film doesn’t even entertain, and many times it stoops to the standards of a boring television serial.

Towards the end of the film, Sunny Joseph (Mohanlal) asks Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) to tell his wife Ganga (Shobhana) not to go shopping. She might question him, but Sunny asks Nakulan to be firm. The camera follows Nakulan as he walks into the room where Ganga is getting ready. He asks where she was going and she replies, “I told you, for shopping”. Nakulan tells her strongly not to go that day.

First Ganga asks why not and Nakulan keeps on saying that she should not go.Suddenly Ganga’s voice turns angry, her face turns menacing with the eyes rolled up and her whole body language changes. She points her finger at Nakulan and shouts in Tamil, and with the other hand lifts a wooden bed. Nakulan is terrified, but he shouts her name at the top of his voice. Ganga pauses and returns back to normal. Then she realizes that the mental patient of Madambally is herself and not Sridevi (Vinaya Prasad).

This is one of the powerful scenes in this movie which starts when Nakulan and Ganga come from Calcutta to Kerala for a project. Ignoring the warnings by their uncle Thampi (Nedumudi Venu), they decide to stay in an ancestral home which is considered to be haunted. The story is that a Tamil dancer Nagavalli was bought by the local king and she fell in love with another dancer. The king did not like this and had her killed. Her ghost was loitering around looking for revenge. and so they perform some pooja and lock the ghost in a room.

Ganga does not believe this and opens the room and various incidents start taking place. Sometimes vessels and stones are flung around, sometimes saris catch fire and the suspicion falls on Sridevi. Nakulan asks his uncle to show her to a psychiatrist, but he does not. Irritated, Nakulan calls his friend Sunny Jospeh to come and help him. How Sunny Joseph cures Ganga is the climax of the movie.

The story of this movie is very unique and has not been told before. First we thought it is a supernatural story, but as we understood the dual personality of Shobhana we got very interested in this character and how she would be able to get out of her predicament. The characters in the movie, Sunny Joseph, Nakulan, Ganga, Ammavan are all memorable and have been portrayed with realism.

Even though this is a ghost movie, there are no special effects. Director Fazil uses simple tricks like shadows on the wall and sounds to heighten the tension. In one scene, the whole family goes to watch a Kathakali performance. Sunny sits in the front and occasionally turns back to see if Ganga is alright. The sound of the drums heighten in the background. Then, once when Sunny turns back, there is silence and Ganga is not there. The intensity of the scene is heightened by the lack of any background sound, which we thought was a very innovative but subtle technique.

In this movie, the script by Madhu Mattom is the hero and Shobhana is the heroine. Shobhana had two roles, one as the mild mannered Ganga and the other as the revenge seeking Nagavalli. It during the Nagavalli phase that you see her transformation, in her voice and in her mannerism. Shobhana won a truly deserved National Award for this role.

Mohanlal makes his entry just before the interval, which is unconventional. From that point onwards, it is his show and the character he portrays is that of a fun loving psychiatrist. He is unconventional in his treatment style also. Mohanlal does not have much histrionics in this movie and plays a very subdued role.

For a movie which is a psycho-thriller, it has excellent comedy provided by Innocent, Lalitha and Mohanlal himself. There is a scene where Mohanlal goes to take bath and takes the clothes of Lalitha who was bathing in the next stall. Their conversation across the wall had us in splits.

There is only one scene which irritated us. There is a scene where an angry Sunny, takes Sridevi to a room and locks her up in front of the whole family. While everyone is stunned, Sunny Joseph breaks into a song, which was very odd. Mohanlal thinks that only Fazil could have pulled it off.

The story, screenplay and dialogue is by Madhu Mattom and we liked all three of them. There are no unnecessary scenes in this movie and each scene in the screenplay sustains our interest in the story. We also are impressed by the craft of director Fazil for making this movie very interesting. The movie also had a second unit by directors Sathyan Antikkad and Priyadarshan. M.G.Radhakrishnan has provided some memorable music for this movie. All the songs are nice to hear, but our favourite is Palavattom Pookalam

This movie is one of our favourites and is a must watch.

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