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| Sathyan Anthikad, the biggest brand name in Malayalam cinema after the superstars, is certainly in no mood to take chances. If you are Malayalam cinema's "ladies and family specialist" who has his own following among the audiences, you can't afford to move away from your basic formula that has survived for nearly 30 years. Once again in Innathe Chinthavishayam, Sathyan's 2008 Vishukaineetam, he caters to his core audiences. There is nothing new story wise or in presentation and it's the same old Kadumanga (tender mango pickle) in tetra pack, which has its own unique taste. And Mohanlal the greatest entertainer in Malayalam cinema does his "do-gooder" act, along with Meera. Does the Sathyan- Mohanlal combo succeed? "Yes" to a certain extent, as they have come out with another feel-good family entertainer with a topical message. The film's focus is on three women and their families and moves away from the regular pattern of telling the story through the eyes of its larger-than-life hero. In fact the hero plays second fiddle to the three women and acts more as a Suthradhar who takes the story forward. The writer-director's agenda is to examine the problems that seem to plague marital life today and how urbanisation has caused havoc in personal relationships. The film opens with a voice-over from the director about three couples who are facing martial discord and are on the verge of splitting up. Meet Dr Murali Krishnan (Mukesh) a successful dentist who married Tressa (Sukanya), and has a 10 year-old daughter Lakshmi who is the apple of their eyes. However Murali has a roving eye and is a skirt chaser and his mobile has male names for all his female friends, and soon is cornered by his wife which leads to the dentist walking out on his family. Pitambaran (Vijayraghavan) who was doing well in the gulf throws up his job to live with his wife Premila (Mohini) and their two lovely children, as he has an inferiority complex stemming from the fact that she is beautiful. Pitambaran is always suspicious of his wife's movements, which leads to a showdown between the two. Premila in disgust moves out of her home and goes to live with her rich father, while Pitambaran is an egoist who believes he is right. Similarly the well educated Rehna (Muthumani) married into an orthodox Muslim family consisting of her husband Nassar (Asokhan), his parents and relatives feel suffocated as they are not allowing her the freedom to work as an advocate. She rebels against her husband and his family and starts working independently. Meanwhile our hero Gopa Kumar (Mohanlal) or GK, a garment exporter buys Dr Murali Krishnan's house and when he and the broker Imanuel (Innocent) along with the cook Shajahan (Mammookoya) tries to move into the house they find it still occupied by Tressa. GK does not want to resort to police help because he is "caring and has a large heart that tries to reach across to everybody he meets" including taking care of women in distress! Soon Gopan wins over Tressa her daughter, and the two other women Premila and Rehna who are her 'soul buddies' from college days. Gopan along with his new fashion designer Kamla (Meera Jasmine) plays the good Samaritan and solves all their problems and bring the three feuding couples together. The first half of the film is a rollicking and funny, while the second half drags as Sathyan repeats the gags he has already shown in the first half. The film has no story, as it is string together by a series of incidents. All the women characters are strong, while the men are all weak in comparison. Mohanlal oozes sincerity and he is the pivot around which the film revolves, and his ability to bring his character vibrantly to life with all the nuances of tenderness and humour at his disposal, is reason enough to see this film. Meera repeats her Rasathantram act, as the cute girl with a sad past, while Sukanya, Muthumani and Mohini are a treat to watch as the three women with problems in their marriage while the men who play their husbands Mukesh, Vijayaraghavan and Asokhan are adequate. Ilayaraja's music is melodious, though picturisation is a carbon copy of Sathyan's earlier films. Innathe Chinthavishayam has its flaws but it must be watched because it is able to recreate the Sathyan magic which our families love. | ||||||||||||
Innathe Chinthavishayam
De Ingottu Nokiye
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| Balachandra Menon’s De Ingottu Nokiye is one of the most insufferable movies of the millennium! Where is the script Mr. Menon? The film’s tag line says it is “A political striptease by Balachandra Menon”, but by interval you feel like saying De Angottu Nokalle! It’s badly conceived, there is no plot or structure and shot in a haphazard manner. The story has resemblance to half a dozen earlier films. The director wanted to make a political satire but ends up making an “idiotic” film. The story in a nutshell is about Vettikadu Sadasivan (Jagathy Sreekumar) a corrupt and inefficient Chief Minister. His elder brother Vettikadu Suganan (Janardanan) has an old grudge against Sadasivan. Sugunan gets the help of his nephew Vettikadu Sivan (Jayasurya), who is in love with his daughter Chakara (Sara) to settle scores with the younger brother. Sivan kidnaps the Chief Minister and brings in his identical twin brother Sambasivan (Jagathy) who was presumed lost in an accident as the replacement. Sambasivan has a personal agenda to find his long lost love Ammu! What do you do when good actors like Jagathy, Thilakan and Nedumudi Venu ham? Balachandra Menon as usual makes an appearance in the second half just like in his earlier Ammayanu Sathyam as a police officer. Time to escape! | ||||||||||||
Pachamarathanalil
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| In the summer heat, actor Sreenivasan and new boy Leo written and directed Pachamarathanalil was supposed to provide some relief to the audiences. But it turns out to be a bit boring film with a very weak climax. The trouble is that Leo is not able to mix the flow of a comedy and family sentiments into a suspense thriller. Sachinanandan (Sreenivasan) is a cartoonist living happily with his wife Anu (Padmapriya) and seven-year old daughter Sneha (Ahina), a smart kid and a child model. One day the father accompanies the daughter for an ad shoot to Chennai and for a location change they have to go from there to Pollachi. It is night journey by bus and when Sachi wakes up he finds his daughter missing! The police led by the local Circle Inspector Subramaniyan (Nassar) do not believe that Sneha could disappear into thin air. His investigation leads to startling truths – Sachi and Anu were lying, Sneha is not their child! She is the daughter of Mohammed Ali (Lal) a lorry driver and Minu (Meera Vasudev), who got separated from her during the Coimbatore bomb blast. Ali who was in jail has now taken her back, leading to a long drawn out sentimental climax. Leo does not know the art of writing an interesting script. Actually the first half is interesting with great comedy by Sooraj Venjaranmoodu and Biju Kuttan, Padmapriya has hardly anything to do, Sreenivasan is just ok as he tries to do his usual one-liners and is typecast. Baby Ahina acts smart and may become the new kid on the block. The music of Alphonse is a major plus and Manoj Pillai camera is eyecatching. At best, Pachamarathanalil is slow moving and leaves you with mixed feelings. | ||||||||||
Annan Thambi
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| A sense of déjà vu hits you while watching Annan Thambi. The director Anwar Rasheed is trying to make another Rajamanickam with Mammootty doing a dual role as twin brothers. But Rasheed and his team is just not able to whip up the fun and frolic of their earlier comedy. There is not even an iota of originality in the script which has been etched from various "twin brother twin trouble" themes popular in crass commercial cinema of the 60's and 70's. Annan Thambi is nothing but a reworked modern version of MGR's old commercial classic Enga Veetu Pillai and so many other films in the similar vein. As the title implies 'Annan Thambi' is the story of twin brothers, Appu (Mammootty) and Achu (Mammootty). Appu is a non stop chatter box and a con man who is always in trouble. While Achu, the nice guy is a mute, but daggers drawn at his brother due to misunderstandings created by the villain masquerading as a friend Govindan (Siddique). Their father Ravunni (Janardanan), a ballet artist separates them due to sibling rivalry and Appu is sent to live with relatives in Pollachi. He grows up to be a lovable thug who falls for Chembakam (Lakshmi Rai), while Achu marries Lakshmi (Gopika). But soon major misunderstanding created by enemies crop up and the brothers are baying for each others blood. Just before climax, they understand others were behind their enemity, so they patch up and take on the baddies! A very predictable and banal story from story writer Benny .P Nairambalam, and the director has tried to infuse all commercial elements like songs, item number, fights galore, sentiments and lots of slapstick comedy. It is a typical mass movie. The highlight of the film is the comedy trio of Salim Kumar, Suraj Venjaranmoodu and Harisri Asokhan, which raises a few laughs. Mammootty does his over-the-top twins role quite efficiently. However if you are the type who likes mindless movies that will make you laugh, cry and be entertained, then Annan Thambi is a pleasant diversion. | ||||||||||
Shakespeare M.A
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| Debutant directors, Shyju-Shaji's Shakespeare M.A has a great first half as it makes you laugh and is thoroughly enjoyable. But post interval, it starts lagging and ends as a steamy tearjerker. The trouble is that the director duo loses focus on the story and is not able to string together the film as a wholesome comedy. The first half is a rollicking comedy as all the humour elements and characters gel well. Kottayam 'Jayabharatham Theatres' star writer is Pavithran (Jayasurya) better known as 'Shakespeare Pavithran'. The owner of the troupe Kottayam Gopalan finds that Pavithran is going through a writers block, and finds a rustic location for him to pen his next drama. Keeping him company is actor Sugunan (Salim Kumar), lyrist "Thoothukudi" Thulasidharan (Jagathy), Sarasan (Anoopchandran). They have a ball, but our writer gets distracted by Alli (Roma) a village lass, whom he slowly falls like a ton of bricks. For Pavithran Alli is Prakasham Parathuna Penkutty (the girl who spreads happiness) and also becomes the title of his new play However one day she goes to Bangalore and strikes it rich and is able to settle her parent's debts. One day when there is no news from Alli, Pavithran goes to Bangalore in search of her and finds the bitter truth behind her rags to riches story! If the writer-directors had expanded the second half keeping the drama troupe and its surroundings as the basic thread it would have been a rollicking comedy. Instead why deviate to serious issues like heroine playing surrogate mother and bring in unwanted sentiments? The only silver lining is the comedy in the first half of Jayasurya, Jagathi, Mani, Anoop and the indispensable Sooraj Venjaranmoodu. Roma as a village girl is pretty good. On the whole in these hard times just for the comedy Shakespeare M.A is worth seeing up to the interval. | ||||||||||
One way Ticket
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| What can Pritviraj do without a script? Debutant director Bipin Prabhakar’s and writer Babu Janardanan's One way Ticket is virtually a ticket to nowhere. The mix of comedy, sentiments, star frenzy and football does not gel. Kunjappu (Pritviraj) is the Mammootty Fans Association General Secretary for Malappuram, district. He ekes out a living driving an auto, but is a crazy fan of the star. Kunjappu drives a jeep for a living, and just for the heck of it pretends to be in love with his uncle (Jagathy) daughter Sajira (Radhika), to create some comedy scenes with his men Salim Kumar and Jaffer Idukki! Soon our hero falls in love with a Hindu girl Sunanda (Bhama) at a "Oppana" dance at a friends wedding. The villains are her uncle (Thilakan) and his good for nothing son (Nishanth Sagar). And in the climax the superstar Mammootty comes to the rescue of his fan! It is a half baked story. The first half is comedy while the second half is heavy sentiments, romance and the climax clash. The film leaves you cold as the director loses focus and does not know how to end the film. He thought the Mammootty character can be used to enlarge the star's image at the same time make him heroic and get the audience sympathy. But the whole thing backfires as the characterization of Pritvi's role is shallow. This is the films biggest weak point. The others in the cast just walk through their roles, and the music is also bad. The film fails to connect to today's youth. And it drags big time in the second half. |
Mammootty starts work on Kutty Sranku
The film is set in the early 60's and is about a boat driver who runs a parcel service between Kodungaloor and Kollam, through the back waters of Kerala. He has three concubines in three different islands enroute, and the story is about his relationship with them. Kamalini Mukerjee, Padmapriya and Srilankan actress Meenakumari play the three women in Kutty Sranku's life. The others in the cast are Sai Kumar, Siddique and Suresh Krishna. The film has a camerawoman in Anjali Shukla, a Pune film institute graduate, and a former assistant of the wizard cameraman Santosh Sivan. The film is produced by Reliance Entertainments.
Mammootty dubs for Parinthu
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The entire shoot of Mammootty’s Padma Kumar directed Parunthu is over. Mammootty and other artists are now dubbing for this film in Ernakulam. Mohanlal, Jackie Chan to come together?
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It seems Mohanlal is going to do a film titled Nair San, in which he is going to be featured with Jackie Chan! Mammootty not to play Guru
Last Updated: June 25, 2008 01:29:04
Actor Mammootty is reportedly backing off from Yugapurushan by director R. Sukumaran. The film is based on the life of Sri Narayana Guru, the famous social reformer in Kerala. The actor was supposed to play the title role. But Mammootty, who had initially agreed to act in this movie is said to be quite apprehensive about enacting the role, mainly because of his looks.
The picture of Sri Narayana Guru is very famous in Kerala and Mammootty, who is known to be very dedicated and committed to his roles, is unsure whether he can transform himself into the role of the Guru. Remember how much pain he took to look like Ambedkar in the movie Babasaheb Ambedkar by Jabbar Patel? So, as the actor himself was not too confident about doing justice to the role, he decided to gracefully withdraw from the movie. But as a gentleman, Mammootty offered to play the role of a contemporary Guru in the movie so as to make up for not doing the title role.
Sukumaran has already started his hunt for a fresh face to play Guru. The film also features Mohanlal in the role of Swami Vivekanda; the movie makers plan to rope in some artists from other languages too. The movie is to start shooting in October around the locales of Mangalapuram.
Gopika to marry
Last Updated: June 04, 2008 03:54:03
Gopika, the beautiful girl who danced to the tunes of Lajjavathiye and stole the movie lovers hearts is bidding adieu to the film world. She is going marry Dr.Ajilesh, who is settled in London. their engagement took place on May 22.
The wedding will be on July 17 at Kothamangalam, Kerala. Gopika leaves the industry at a time when her career is at its peak. She was perfect for homely and bubbly girls roles. She started her career with Pranayamanithooval which did not do too well in the box office. But her second film, For the People, was a huge hit and Gopika was noticed.
Later, she moved on to other South Indian films and found a place of her own. Cheran introduced her to Tamil thorugh Autograph. Her latest Malayalam hit, Annan Thampi, which released on Vishu, is till running in theatres, breaking all collection records.
Her last release in Tamil was Vellithirai; she has completed two films in Malayalam, Veruthe Oru Bharya with Jayaram and Twenty:20.
Superstars in cameo roles
Last Updated: June 11, 2008 05:11:04
It seems that Malayalam films cannot be successful without the presence of two of its biggest stars: Mammmootty and Mohanlal.
So, a new trend of these stars appearing in films as guests has embraced Malayalam films. Both Mammootty and Mohanlal are having a good time at the box office. Mammootty, basking in the success of Annan Thampi, is waiting for the release of his Parunthu, while Mohanlal, after the good run of Innathe Chinthavishayam, is getting ready with Maadambi.
Now, another two films which are going to be released soon feature these two stars in cameo roles. Mohanlal plays the son of Sukumari, the lead character in Mizhikal Saakshi; Mammootty plays himself in the Prithviraj-starrer One Way Ticket.
One Way Ticket, termed a thorough commercial entertainer, is set to release on June 19. Mizhikal Saakshi is a heart-warming story of a mothers love towards her long-lost son and will be released on June 20. Lets wait and see if the presence of superstars in guest roles will boost the collections of these films.
Pazhassi Raja: Onam release?
Last Updated: June 26, 2008
Pazhassi Raja, produced by Gokulam Gopalan with a budget of eight crores and a big star cast, is said to be preparing for release during Onam. The film still needs another 25 days of shooting for completion. Pazhassi Raja is a period film based on the life of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Padinjare Kovilakam, a ruler who started a revolt against the British and led a battle against the revenue policy of the East India Company.
The film has a big star cast including Mammootty, Sarathkumar, Suman, Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Captain Raju, Lalu Alex, Manoj K. Jayan, Biju Menon, Kalabhavan Mani, Hary Richards, Suresh Krishna, Subair, Siddique, Roshan, Manikuttan, Kanika, Padmapriya, Urmila Unni and Valsala Menon. The story and screenplay is by noted script-writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair and direction is by Hariharan. The M.T.-Hariharan team has produced hits like Ennu Swantham Janakikkutty, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Panchagni, Amritam Gamaya, Nakhakshathangal and Parinayam.
Madambi will be a success: Mohanlal
Last Updated: June 26, 2008
Mohanlal is happy with the way Madambi has come out. He has just wrapped up the shooting and is very confident about the films success. His last release, Innathe Chinthavishayam, has been termed a hit which came as a relief to the superstar, who has gone through one of the worse patches in his career last year.
Madambi features Mohanlal as a moneylender and Kavya Madhavan is paired opposite him for the first time. Also in the cast are Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique, Ajmal Ameer, and M.R. Gopakumar. Script and direction is by B.Unnikrishnan, music is by M. Jayachandran and the songs are penned by Gireesh Puthencheri. Venu handles the camera and Joseph Nellickal is the art director.