Thursday, May 1, 2008
SINGLES VERSUS DOUBLES
Singles
versus
doubles
The Malayalam film industry negates the theory that single stars are more popular with the audience than married ones, writes KK Moidu
Malayalam film industry has the unique distinction of having the maximum number of married leading men and single leading ladies. Ironically the leading men, who faded into oblivion after giving a couple of flops were mostly single. Prithviraj, son of late actor Sukumaran, has been a rare success among single actors.
Most of the current leading men began their careers in a slow climb, invariably zooming to the top only after marriage. This is remarkable because it contrasts with the career graph of actresses playing the leading role. The leading women of the Malayalam screen have traditionally chosen to stay single, while the spotlight was on them, and later opted for matrimony and simultaneous retirement away from the glare of the tinselworld. But for male stars matrimony has often proved to be the turning point of their careers.
Mega star Mammooty’s career is a glaring example. He was a bit player before marriage and had to contend with some side roles but after marriage, lady luck began to shine on him and the wave of hits has not ebbed since. He continues to give mega hits like Rajamanikam and Thuruppu Gulan to this day. Now a grandfather he continues to be on top of the heap and is still considered to be among the best in the Malayalam film industry.
But his closest contender for the top slot and versatile actor, Mohanlal’s good fortune also came after marriage to K. Balaji’s daughter Suchitra. He has also maintained a steady winning spree until now with repeated hit films and award-winning performances, the latest being the 2006 release, Thanmathra, directed by Blessy.
Malayalam cinema’s action hero, Suresh Gopi’s story is also not very different. He began as a small-time screen villain, but after tying the knot he too landed the super action hero roles in films like Commissioner and Ekalavyan. His latest release Chinthamani Kolacase is directed by his favourite director, Shaji Kailas.
Yet another success story is Dilip’s. He made his mark first in mimicry and later graduated to doing mostly insignificant roles but his superstardom came after marriage to Malayalee cine-goer’s favourite actress, Manju Warrier. Post-marriage he starred in hits like Meesha Madhavan, Thiilakkam, Kunjikkoonan, CID Moosa, Pandipada and Kochi Rajavu. He too crowned his winning spree by playing the effeminate Radhakrishnan in Lal Jose’s Chandpottu with great restraint and then followed it up with another superb performance in Joshi’s Lion. His latest performance is in Pachakuthira, directed by Kamal.
Another popular Malayalam star, Jayaram, began his film career by essaying the pivotal role in Padmarajan’s Aparan. But he carved a niche for himself after marriage to then popular Malayalam leading lady Parvathy. Of late, his films had not been doing too well, but Rajasenan’s Madhuchandralekha has proven to be his comeback vehicle.
While the much-married heroes were harvesting hit after hit, Malayalam screen’s single heroines have not been far behind. Kavya Madhavan, who featured in superhit films like Meesha Madhavan directed by Lal Jose, has kept up her string of successes with Lion. The Kavya-Dilip on-screen pair’s magic has always gone down well with the audience and their movies rarely disappoint. Even though movies like Sadanandante Samayam did not rake in big money at the box office its makers didn’t burn their fingers either.
Meera Jasmin, another single and successful leading lady, has also featured in many hit movies. She also masquerades as a boy in the recent Rasathanthram, where Mohanlal is her leading man. Perumazhakkalam, Gramaphone, Kasthuriman and Achuvinte Amma propelled her to the top in Malayalam cinema and now she has also acted in South Indian films like Tamil and Telugu.
Navya Nair began her career in Ishtam opposite Dilip. She caught public attention with the film and followed it up with successes like Mazhathullikilukam, Kunjikoonan, Nandanam and Kalyanaraman. She gave a noteworthy performance in the Bhadran-directed Vellithira opposite Prithviraj, in spite of the movie’s failure at the box office. She won several prizes at the state youth festival and was named “Kala-thilakam” at the youth festival in Aleppey district. Her other movies are Chathikkatha Chandu, Pattanathil Sundaran, Sethurama Iyer CBI. She co-starred Dilip in the hit Paandippada. Now she too has started accepting Tamil movies and has made a name for herself in the Tamil film industry.
Bhavana started her career in the campus-based movie directed by Kamal, Nammal. Her character Parimalam was noticed and after that she has shone in several films, the most notable being the Johny Antony-directed Dilip starrer, C.I.D. Moosa. She was also noticed in the super-hit Udhayananu Tharam. Like her contemporaries she too is foraying into other regional films, mainly Tamil.
Nayanthara first starred opposite Jayaram in Manassinakkare. In addition to her performance the film was noticed because it was yesteryears’ heroine, Sheela’s, comeback film. After that Nayanthara appeared in Thaskaraveeran and Rappakal as Mammooty’s heroine and in the Fazil-directed Vismayathumbathu opposite Mohanlal, which happens to be her only flop movie in Malayalam. Now she is among the top Tamil actresses and also one of the highest paid. Nayanthara has already paired with all top heroes of the Tamil film industry, including Rajanikant in Chandramukhi. The film is the Tamil remake of the Fazil-directed Malayalam super-hit Manichithrathazhu.
Leading actresses of Malayalam cinema, who quit the industry after marriage are Manju Warrier, who gave superb performances in Sallapam, Ee Puzhayum Kadannu and Kudamattam opposite Dilip and opposite Mohanlal in Kanmadam. Her career came to an abrupt halt after marriage to Dilip.
Similarly, Parvathy quit the industry after marrying Jayaram. She too had acted opposite Mammooty and Mohanlal in addition to husband Jayaram. Now, a housewife and mother of two, she is not even considering a comeback.
Urvasi, married to actor Manoj K. Jayan, quit films for a short while but made her comeback, though not as a heroine, in Achuvinte Amma. She plays the heroine’s mother in the film and in Madhuchandralekha she plays Jayaram’s wife and the mother of four children.
Among the heroines, who gave up their careers for domesticity are Samyuktha Varma, who began her career as a heroine in Veendum Chila Veettu Karyangal. At the peak of her career, she married actor Biju Menon and continues to find contentment at home as a housewife.
Another young and successful actress Annie married director Shaji Kailas and is happy being a good mother and housewife. In her debut movie she to masquerades as a boy in Balachandra Menon’s Ammayane Sathyam and subsequently gave several other hits. Her character of Alamelu in Mazhayethum Munpe, opposite Mammooty, was one of the high points of her career.
Divya Unni also quit the industry and opted to settle in the US after marriage. She performs on the stage in the US and also teaches students dance.
CYNOSURE OF ALL EYES-NAYANTHARA
Cynosure of all eyes
South Indian actress Nayanthara is in the news for more reasons than one, reports KK Moidu
Top star of South Indian films Nayanthara's ability to stay in the news is on display again. As always she did not bargain for this one either. Three of the actress's Tamil movies — Vallavan, Thalaimagan and Ee — are lined up for release during Diwali. No other heroine has had three movie releases on the same day.
Her career in South Indian films has been equally trail-blazing. Born Diana Kurian, Nayanthara is the daughter of Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana of Thiruvalla. Before her foray into films she was adjudged Kerala's best model in 2002. She completed her BA in English Literature and was doing her CA, when director Sathyan Anthikkad offered her a role in Manassinakkre . The film, which was released in 2003 also happened to be yesteryears' heroine Sheela's comeback film. Manassinakkare was a big box office success with Jayaram as the hero. Nayanthara gave an outstanding performance and the success of the movie made the industry notice her.
The new actress's versatility and beauty captivated the hearts of Malayalam film buffs. What followed, however, were two flop films with superstar Mohanlal — Vismayathumbathu, directed by Fazil, and Natturajavu., directed by Shaji Kailas.
However, Nayanthara was not destined to stay a flop heroine. Before long lady luck smiled on her and Tamil film director Hari saw her photograph in a magazine. The director offered her a chance to act with senior Tamil actor Sarath Kumar in Ayya under the K. Balachander banner. Initially she was cast mainly opposite senior actors. In her second Tamil film, Chandramukhi, Tamil superstar Rajnikant was her hero. Though hers was not the lead role in Chandramukhi, professionally she learnt a lot from a stalwart like Rajnikant and soon she bacame a name to reckon with in Kollywood.
After the success of Ayya and Chandramukhi she did films with younger heroes like Surya (Ghajini and Sivakasi) , Vijay (Kalvanin Kathalai ) and with actor-director SJ Surya. After her successes in Tamil films, like other Malayalam heroines, Nayanthara too began focussing on Tamil films. However, she managed to find enough time to do two Malayalam films — Thaskaraveeran and Rappkal with superstar Mammooty. Her role in Rappakal was that of a non-glamorous housemaid and in Thaskaraveeran she had a slightly more glamorous role.
Nayanthara is a versatile actress. Although she played homely characters in her Tamil and Malayalam debut films, she subsequently switched over to glamorous roles. Her argument is that when she is playing a modern character she can't place limits on the extent of glamour in her films. She has realised that to succeed in Tamil and Telugu films she will have to do glamorous roles and cannot continue to play the village belle as she did in the Malayalam industry.
Nayanthara has thus transformed herself into a glamour queen and made her debut in Telugu with Lakshmi, in which Venkatesh is her leading man. In Suresh Productions' next film too this pair has been repeated. Nayanthara has many other offers from Telugu filmmakers. Her upcoming projects in Telugu include a movie with Nagarjuna, where she plays a multi-dimensional role with solid scope for histrionics. Another offer from Telugu is with Prabhas for the remake of the Kannada hit Jogi. The movie will be directed by Vinayak.
After the success of her Telugu movies Lakshmi and Gajini she has been flooded with coveted roles. She is very lucky because upcoming actors rarely get such good offers. Like Tamil and Malayalam in Telugu too she has been cast opposite senior heroes, who hold her in high esteem. Because of her good breaks in Tamil and Telugu she has several hits to her credit.
Recently she walked out of veteran Malayalam film director Joshi's Janmam, which has Suresh Gopi and Gopika in the lead roles. While one version has it that Nayanthara found the role too insignificant for her present stature in the industry, another said the actress was piqued by the fact that the director was not present on the sets of Janman despite the fact that she had taken the trouble to take time off from her busy schedule to report for the shooting. An unapologetic Joshi is said to have completed a song sequence with another actress, Sada.
Nayanthara's popularity in Kollywood and Tollywood is giving a tough time to other heroines like Trisha, Asin and Charmy. Her busy schedule leaves her with very little time to even do films with veterans like Kamal Hassan in spite of her ambition to do a film with him. Lack of dates made her turn down Kamal's Dasavatharam. She also turned down an offer to act in Mohanlal starrer Keerthichakra. According to reports the actress is put off by the low remuneration in Malayalam films, whereas even for an item number in Tamil films, Nayanthara earned Rs 1 million at the beginning of her career. Today in Tamil and Telugu films she is paid Rs 4 to 6 million per film as against a paltry Rs 500,000 or 600,000 for a Malayalam film.
In each of her three Diwali Tamil releases, Ee, Thalaimagan and Vallavan, Nayanthara plays a different character. In Ee she plays a bar dancer from Mumbai, who is in love with a gangster,. Eswaran, portrayed by Jeeva.
In Vallavan she is a teacher with Simbu as her leading man. Because of the rumours about a budding romance between Nayantara and Simbu, the audience is eagerly awaitingVallavan..
Thalaimagan will see her portraying a journalist.with Sharath Kumar as the hero. Thalaimagan is Sharath Kumar's 100th film.
Nayanthara doesn't do anything with an eye on publicity but whatever she does ultimately becomes news. Either it is about her rejecting an offer to do an item number in a Chiranjeevi starrer in Telugu, Stalin, or her lip lock with Silambarsan inVallavan. Now the latest is going to be her three movie releases on the same day.
BREAKING A JINX - PADMAPRIYA
Breaking a jinx
KK Moidu traces the career of Malayalam cinema's much-in-demand heroine, Padmapriya
Bangalore-based ex-model Padmapriya has broken a jinx surrounding new non-Malayalee heroines in more ways than once. After a successful debut with Kazhcha, she has gone on to act with almost all the superstars.
Her success becomes even more outstanding because it came at a time when other non-Malayalee new faces were leaving the Malayalam film industry for dearth of opportunities. But lady luck smiled at Padmapriya and within a short span she has acted opposite all the top stars, including Mammooty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Jayaram. Dilip happens to be the only exception.
Armed with a masters in business administration she was working for a multinational as a risk analyst before making her debut in director Blessy's Kazhcha. Mammooty was her leading man.
The actress's role in Kazhcha was that of a typical Malayalee housewife living in Kuttanadu. Though the film had all the trappings of an art film, viewers accepted the movie and its surprise success bolstered both Mammooty's as well as Padmapriya's careers. Though everyone liked Padmapriya in the movie, nobody expected her to become a saleable face in Malayalam cinema.
After playing a housewife and child's mother in Kazhcha , the actress was cast by director Sibi Malayil as a Muslim girl in love with a Hindu youth in Amritham, with Jayaram as her leading man. Amritham's failure at the box office, however, did not affect her career.
She turned lucky with her third release, Rajamanikam, director Anwar Rasheed's debut film, which turned out to be a mega hit. Again it had Mammooty in the lead role. Soon offers began pouring in for Padmapriya, despite the fact that she had very little to do in Rajamanikam. The movie's phenomenal success boosted her popularity.
Vadakkumnathan opposite Mohanlal put a stamp on Padmapriya's popularity in Malayalam cinema. For once along with other artistes she to got an opportunity to showcase her talents.Vadakkumnathan is scripted and directed by Girish Puthancherry. What was evident was her easy onscreen vibes with the much older Mohanlal.
She went on to co-star another frontline actor, Suresh Gopi, in Jayaraj's Aswaroodan, and will be seen opposite Mammooty again in Bhargavacharitham Moonnam Khandam.
She has also acted in other south Indian films. Tamil films Thavamai Thavamirundhu and Pattiyal made her a favourite of the local audience. The former was a romantic comedy, where she was cast opposite actor-writer-director Cheran. In the latter film, Pattiyal, she has been cast opposite Arya. Pattial, which also has Bharath and Pooja, has been directed by Vishnu Vardhan. Padmapriya played a girl employed in a garment factory. The film has been remade in Telugu as Gaayam.
Her upcoming projects in Malayalam are Karutha Pakshikal, directed by Kamal, where Mammooty will play the lead. Padmapriya plays Poonkody, a beggar. After just three movies with Mammooty, she is already being tipped as the actor's lucky mascot. In the last few years none of Mammooty's heroines have been repeated, Padmapriya has enjoyed that unique privilege. Even in the past decade just a handful of heroines like Shobhana, Divya Unni and Vani Vishwantah were cast more than once opposite the actor.
Another upcoming movie Yes, Your Honour, directed by VM Vinu, will see Padmapriya playing Sreenivasan's heroine. In Kuku Surendran's latest film, Anandham, she is playing a much younger Prithviraj's romantic lead.
In addition to her roles in Mammooty starrers, the actress will also be cast opposite her Vadakkumnathan hero, Mohanlal, in the upcoming movie, Kanal, directed by Viji Thampi and Chota Mumbai, directed by Anwar Rasheed, which will be released early next year.
If Kanal and Chota Mumbai are successful, Padmapriya will prove to be as successful a heroine for Mammooty as she is for Mohanlal.
Much of the credit for Padmapriya's Malayalam film career should go to Blessy, the director of Kazhcha. The film was his maiden venture as an independent director. Blessy's special talent for choosing new heroines was noticed while he was still an assistant to director Lohithadas. His other finds include Manya in Joker, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy in Arayannangalude Veedu, Meera Jasmine in Soothradharan.
Very few directors have been able to match his success rate with new heroines, most of whom vanish after the debut film. These include Gayathri Jayaram (Salperu Ramankutty), Bhavana Puri (Vettam), Priya Mani (Sathyam), Mallika Kapoor (Albhuthadweep), Sreya Reddy (Bharath Chandran IPS), Riya Sen (Ananthabhadram).
This failure of other new heroines is in sharp contrast to Blessy's introductions to the local film industry, Padmapriya and Meera Vasudevan (Thanmathra). Though Meera Vasudevan, unlike Padmapriya, has not co-starred any superstars, she continues to get work opposite actors like Kalabhavan Mani in Kali and Manoj K. Jayan in Ekaandam.
Another feather in Blessy's cap is the fact that he introduced both Padmapriya and Meera Vasudevan as mothers. Normally actors or actresses, who make their debuts as a mother or father are later offered only those kind of roles. But Padmapriya and Meera Vasudevan were lucky to have escaped that fate. Blessy's upcoming movie Palunku, starring Mammooty, will have another new face as heroine. Mammooty plays a middle-aged farmer from Idukki's hills. The audience expect the talented director to extract another heart-wrenching performance from the actor. Jagathy Sreekumar too plays an important role in the film. So does Blessy have a hat-trick on hand with this new heroine?
WHEEL TURNS FULL CIRCLE-MOHANLAL
Wheel Turns Full Circle
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is making news again with his pairing opposite his former screen heroine’s daughter,
reports KK Moidu
“Bharat” Mohanlal is making film history by becoming the only actor to have co-starred with both mother and daughter. In the superstar’s upcoming film, Photographer, his leading lady will be Saranaya, daughter of yesteryear South Indian actress, Poornima. Two-and-a-half decades ago Poornima and Mohanlal made their screen debut in the same film, Manjil Virinja Pookkal, which was directed by Fazil.
Mohanlal is respected not just for his trail-blazing 25-year reign on the silver screen but also for having effectively portrayed various screen characters. He handles comedy, serious, romantic and action roles with equal ease and has earned a reputation as one of the most natural actors in India. There are very few actors in Indian cinema, who can handle both comedy and serious roles with the same elan. However, because he is publicity-shy the actor is not as well-known outside Kerala as he should have been. On the silver screen the actor is king, portraying the conflicting emotions of a Kathakali artiste and the innocence of a jobless youth with his extremely expressive face.
Mohanlal was born in Pathanamthitta to Viswanathan Nair and Santhakumari. He won the best actor award while studying in the sixth standard, a rare achievement for a young student. Normally such awards go to high school students.
Lal did not have to struggle much to enter the film industry. His first film was Thiranottam (1978), while still a pre-degree student in college. He portrayed a mentally-challenged servant in the movie. The movie was completed with great financial difficulties but never released. But he soon realised how much he loved acting. Soon he went to Chennai in search of roles. His friend Suresh responded to a film advertisement in a newspaper and mailed Mohanlal’s photograph. Lal demonstrated his histrionic talent in front of an interview panel comprising director Fazil, Sibi Malayil and Jijo. Mohanlal was selected to play the villain in Manjil Virinja Pookkal. The audience took notice of him. At that time viewers never paid much attention to the performances of screen villains.
His career witnessed an upswing with the 1986 super-hit Rajavinte Makan. He made a mark as an underworld don who was not stereotypical. The phenomenal success of the movie saw Lal encouraged directors to cast the actor in similar roles. In fact, there are plans to make a sequel, Rajavinte Makan 2 , which will be released next year. He also won his first Kerala State Film Award in 1986 for his performance in TP Balagopalan MA and a Filmfare Award the same year. He married Suchithra, the daughter of Balaji, the same year.
He made it to the top slot mainly by excelling in comedy roles, particularly with Sreenivasan, setting off a new trend. His friend and director Priyadarsan and Sathyan Anthikkad repeatedly cast Lal and Sreenivasan in their films like Nadodikkattu, Pattanapravesam, Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam, Mazha Peyyunnu Madhalam Kottunnu, Gandhi Nagar IInd Street etc., which are still a favourite with film lovers.
Those films combined fun with a message. Lal was fortunate to have received good scripts, which offered him a chance to exploit his expressive face to give stunning performances. Priyadarsan films like Kilukkam and Chithram saw Lal reach the pinnacle of his career as a comic hero.
He touched the dizzying heights of superstardom with his performance in Kireedam, which cast him as a young man (Sethu) who has a desire to become a police officer but ultimately becomes a murderer. His touching portrayal of Sethu won him a special mention from the National Film Awards jury, though he lost the award to arch screen rival, Mammooty (Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha).
Lal also launched his own production company, Pranavam Arts with the intention of making movies of his choice. Both Kalapaani and Vanaprastham were produced by Lal. He realised that no commercial film producer would dare to produce films like His Highness Abdulla and Bharatham, which offered minimal guarantee of commercial success. Kalapaani released in 1995 won the National and State awards and Vanaprastham released in 1999 won the National Award for the best film. Other movies like Harikrishnans, Kanmadam, Pingami and Mithunam were also produced by Lal. He has also done playback singing though not as a regular. He proved this talent in Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil, Kandu Kandarinju, Aye Auto, Vamanapuram Bus Route, Balettan and his award-winning movie Thanmathra.
One outstanding quality about the actor is that he does not rehearse his performances, but such is his commitment that he learned Kathakali for his role in Vanaprastham and Bharatanatyam for Kamaladhalam. For his most recent film, Keerthichakra, where he plays an army commando, he went through gruelling physical training for a year. This could be one of the reasons for the movie’s success.
In a 25-year career he has acted in films as diverse as Sree Krishnaparunthu, Attakkalasam, Noketha Dhooratha Kannum Nattu, Ivide Thudangunnu, Athirathram, Jeevante Jeevan, Boeing Boeing, Thalavattam, Irupatham Noottandu, Boomiyile Rajakkanmar, Varavelpu, Vandanam, Lal Salaam, Rakthasakshikal Zindabad, Aye Auto, Thenmavin Kombathu, Vietnam Colony, Manichithrathazhu etc., But he got a image makeover with Devasuram in 1993, directed by IV Sasi. His character, Mangalassery Neelakantan, give rejuvenated his screen image. This successful larger-than-life character spawned more such films like Aaram Thampuran, Narasimham and Ravanaprabhu. But there have been flops as well like Ustad, Praja, Onnaman, Thandavam and Udayon. When he was repeatedly cast in roles that were larger than life the films bombed and for some time he career went through a lull. He, however, staged a comeback with Balettan, directed by VM Vinu and released in 2003, which was the only hit that he gave that year. In 2004 too he gave a string of flops like Vamanapuram Bus Route and Visamayathumpathu though their makers were established names. In the beginning of 2005 he gave the super-hit Udhayananu Tharam and another super-hit Naran by the end of the year.
He repeated his success story in 2006 by doing a different character in Thanmathra, which was directed by Blessy and for which he won the state award for best actor. After that he hasn’t looked back. All of Mohanlal’s other movies this year like Kilukkam Kilukilukkam, Rasathanthram, Vadakkumnathan, Keerthichakra and Mahasamudram have turned out to be hits. He also has some very promising projects on hand.
His pairing with Saranya in Photographer has made news, because Lal and Saranya’s mother were a popular romantic pair in yesteryears, a testimony of the actor’s longevity and virility, even if it is only on screen.
WINNING SMILE ON ALL SCREENS - MUKESH
winning smile on all screens
KK Moidu traces actor Mukesh’s career and his foray into television
Mukesh’s foray into showbiz was the natural choice. He was born in Kollam to noted film and stage artistes, late O Madhavan and Vijayakumari. His father was a veteran of the well-known drama troupe Kerala People’s Arts Club and acted in more than 100 of its presentations.
Mukesh, is one of the most talented actors in Malayalam cinema. As a law graduate, he could have become a practicing lawyer, but his artistic genes and destiny have made him cinema’s gain. He has charmed viewers for over two decades with his classic smile. Perhaps no other family has had this kind of links with Malayalam cinema as Mukesh’s. His parents, wife and brother-in-law are all recognised artistes in their own right.
Mukesh began taking an interest in mono act and stage programmes right from his school days. He made stage appearances in the family-owned drama troupe’s productions. As a student of the Thiruvananthapuram Law Academy, Mukesh shot into limelight at the university youth festival. After winning recognition as a mimicry artiste, a foray into the world of cinema was the natural choice. He made his film debut in 1982 in Balloon.
His forte has been romantic roles blended with comedy. He has played the second hero in many films and also handled character roles. Some of his most memorable roles have been as the jobless youth reeling under the burden of an entire family of dependents. In several others he is shown hoodwinking the girl’s father to marry the daughter or playing a poor man who pretends to be rich, only to be embarrassed, when others learn the truth.
Mukesh has been a favourite with family audiences. He played important roles in superhits like Boeing Boeing, Kauthuka Varthakal, Ramji Rao Speaking, Thoovalsparsham, Oru CBI Diarykurippu, In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Mattupatti Machan, Ammayanu Sathyam, Mannar Mathai Speaking, Sundara Purushan, Chronic Bachelor, Udhayananu Tharam etc. He also played a double role in Sahodaran Sahadevan, directed by Sunil. His other notable movies are Ottayal Pattalam, Parallel College, Pravachakan, Parvathi Parinayam, Manthrikumaran, Pakalpooram, Mookkilla Rajyathu etc., His role as police officer Chacko in Oru CBI Diarykurippu brought him much recognition. He portrayed Chacko with perfection in its sequels, Jagratha, Sethurama Iyer CBI and Nerariyan CBI.
Not surprising as acting is in his genes. He was born in Kollam to noted film and stage artistes, late O Madhavan and Vijayakumari. His father was a veteran of the well-known drama troupe Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC) and acted in more than 100 of its dramas. Later Madhavan started his own theatre, Kalidasa Kalakendram, at Kollam. He also won the state award for best actor in the movie Sayahnam. Vijayakumari won the Kerala State Award for best stage actress.
Mukesh’s wife, Saritha, is an acclaimed South Indian actress, who has won of several prestigious awards. She won the Tamil Nadu Government’s Best actress Award three times and the Kalaimamani Award for her role in Agnisakshi. In all Saritha acted in around 150 films and continues to work in television serials and films as a dubbing artiste. Mukesh has two sisters and his brother-in-law has also acted in several films and television serials.
Mukesh too has forayed onto the mini screen. After directors stopped casting him as hero and began offering second hero roles, Mukesh chose the small screen to showcase his talents. He anchored the tele-quiz programme, Kodeeswaran, on Surya TV, along the same lines as the Amitabh Bachchan-anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. Political, financial and technical difficulties halted the airing of Kodeeswaran. Mukesh’s another mini-screen programme, Over A Cup of Tea, is also being telecast on Kairali TV. The programme features political figures in the society, who share their life’s experiences and the struggles they had to put up with to achieve their present status.
The latest gauntlet picked up by this actor on the mini-screen, is that of anchoring the Super Hit Challenge programme on Asianet Channel. This programme promotes newly-released Malayalam movies. The programme began with Chess, starring Dilip and Bhavana, which marks Dilip’s switch of image from comical to action hero. Superhit Challenge played a crucial role in the success of the movie. Every week the programme comes up with a new release.
TV channels have numerous cinema related programmes and it begins before the movies’ release. Telecast of the movie’s songs, behind the camera happenings, interviews with the film’s director, major stars, musicians and script writer etc were the initial ploys employed by film-makers, but it never really worked. People realised that the promos never highlighted the film’s negative points. Superhit Challenge is a first-of-its-kind programme on Malayalam television. It is very different from other film-based programmes. The lure of attractive prizes encourages viewers to see the movies concerned repeatedly so that they can answer questions about the correctly.
Die-hard fans of Malayalam superstars are watching their idol’s superhit movie several times, something which is common for other South Indian films. For example Telugu and Tamil cinegoers watch Chiranjeevi’s, Rajnikant’s films several times, thereby enabling producers to make big budget movies with these popular actors.
There is no dearth of opportunities on television for an artiste of Mukesh’s calibre. Over ten Malayalam channels are already airing programmes and this number is expected to touch 20. With more and more organisations and political parties planning entertainment and news channels soon “God’s Own Country” will become the state with the highest number of TV channels.
But it is too early to put a full-stop to Mukesh’s film career, though many mimicry artistes with a similar background have already attained superstardom, whereas he himself has neither won awards nor has the backing of fans’ associations. His co-star from Ramji Rao Speaking, Sai Kumar, is today a leading villain in Malayalam cinema.
But Mukesh has his own pluses. In addition to his flair for comedy and acting talent he has evergreen looks, which directors like Vinayan hope to tap. The actor plays a youngster in his latest movie, Athisayan. So long as the actor convincingly chases skirts on screen no one can write him off.
BEFRIENDING CONTROVERSY - DIRECTOR VINAYAN
Befriending controversy
Controversy has always dogged Malayalam film director Vinayan’s path, writes KK Moidu
Throughout his career Malayalam film director Vinayan has thrown conventions to the winds, earning him the reputation of a rebel. But success has often silenced the critics of this talented director with original ideas.
Controversy and Vinayan have gone hand in hand right from the beginning of his film career. While still a Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) employee he approached frontline directors, including Bharathan and Padmarajan, in the 1980s seeking a job as an assistant. He was, however, denied an opening because every established director had his own team. The spirited Vinayan did not give up his ambitions and decided to build his career on his own terms.
He joined Udayakala theatre company, which was then run by a political party. All the company members with the exception of Vinayan relied on the troupe for their livelihood. However, the troupe had to be disbanded after a party leader and the company’s top artiste got embroiled in a dispute. Vinayan stepped in and took over the company, renaming it Swadeshabhimani.
Later, when he entered the film industry he had no guidance and ended up losing Rs 800,000 on his first film, which never saw light of day. However, unlike other newcomers to the field he good-humouredly wrote of this colossal loss as a “capitation fee” for joining his choice vocation.
Around this time his first released film began to take shape. Swadesabhimani theatre had an actor, Madanlal, who was a Mohanlal lookalike. Taking advantage of this similarity Vinayan made Superstar in 1992, which showed Madanlal playing a barber. Mohanlal’s fans didn’t take kindly to this apparent affront to their idol and Madanlal has not been seen on the screen since.
The next film Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha was also not completed and he had to wait for some time for lady luck to smile on him. Sipayi Lahala, his next, was a major step on the road to success, though this film did only average business Vinayan got noticed by the industry. After some average films he gave the industry a superhit horror film, Akashaganga. This film brought him recognition as a brilliant director. But he was accused of plagiarism, when script writer Benny P. Nayarambalam declared that the director plagiarised his story. But Vinayan said that the story was told to him by his grandmother when he was a teenager.
His Oomappeninu Uriyadappayyan starring newcomer Jayasurya and Kavya Madhavan was also not free of accusations. Satyanath, a TV producer/scriptwriter of Mahilasamajam (Surya TV programme) fame claimed that it was he who bought the story rights of the Tamil original, Sollamale.
Even the super-hit Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, which fetched Kalabhavan Mani the National Special Jury Award for his portrayal of the blind man, was no exception. The film was remade in Tamil as Kasi with Vikram playing Mani’s role.
Writer Sarath Chandran alleged that he had given the story idea to Kalabhavan Mani, who allegedly passed it to Vinayan. The director and writer reached an out-of-court settlement but Sarath Chandran donated the money to an orphanage for the blind and deaf.
Another Vinayan film made around that time, Karumadikkuttan starring Kalabhavan Mani and Nandini, also became a hit despite the absence of superstars. This proved Vinayan’s credentials as a director with original ideas and talents. He continued to give a series of hits even when the Malayalam industry was in doldrums because cinema houses were flooded with soft-porn actress Shakeela’s films.
Vinayan has also been successful with established actors like Mammooty, with whom he made such superhits as Rakshasa Rajavu and Dadasaheb. In Dadasaheb Mammooty appeared in a double role and the audience loved the film. Again he made Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum with upcoming actor Prithviraj and TV soap favourite, Ambili Devi. Renuka Menon was the heroine in the film. He also made Vellinakshatram, a film about a ghost, again casting Prithviraj in the lead role. In the big-budget film War & Love, about the lives of soldiers, he cast Dilip and Prabhu. However, as luck would have it the movie flopped.
His entry on the small screen was also mired in controversy. He acquired directorial rights for a story from a TV producer with the intention of making a serial for Doordarshan, however, he later sold the story to another producer for a tidy sum. After 10 episodes were shot, with another director, a TV producer claimed the rights for the serial. When they produced proof of payment to Vinayan. The producer had to part with huge sums to settle the issue. Vinayan’s reasoning was that he didn’t want unnecessary controversies.
The director’s 25th film Albhuthadweep (Wonder Island), has been his bravest effort thus far. He selected dwarf actor Ajay Kumar (Undapakru) to play hero in the movie, though Undapakru had never played hero before. Vinayan thus rewrote the concept of hero in Malayalam cinema.
Prior to Albhuthadweep, Undapakru was seen only in bit roles and on television in comedy programmes. The film’s storyline was as different as its cast. It was about an island full of dwarfish men and normal women. Vinayan arranged for 300 dwarves from various parts of Kerala, Gujarat and even Bihar. Albhuthadeep didn’t click at the box office but a Hollywood film maker has shown keen interest in the film. Ajay Kumar is likely to play the lead in the English version as well. One of the main reasons for Vinayan’s extraordinary success could be the fact that he goes for variety while selecting topics.
As has become a practice even the director’s latest movie, Boyy Friennd, inspired by a Tamil film and borrowing ideas from another Tamil super-hit, M. Kumaran S/o. of Mahalakshmi, also got embroiled in controversy. This time around it was about using computer wizardry to show superstars Mammooty and Mohanlal in a song sequence in the film, though they have not acted in the movie nor granted their permission. This visual feat was achieved by the technicians by using masks on the actors. Both Mammooty and Mohanlal complained to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) about Vinayan capitalising on their popularity to promote his own film.
In his defence, Vinayan said that after the song it was clearly shown in the film that the actors were wearing masks.
The director was also planning to make a film using a similar technique to show yesteryear stalwarts, Sathyan and Prem Nazir, with today’s superstars but, however, he has now decided to rethink the idea.
Vinayan’s latest offering will be a sci-fi thriller, Athisayan, where Bollywood star Jackie Shroff will make his first appearance in a Malayalam film. Kavya Madhavan will play Maya a TV journalist, who adopts 10 orphans, including six-year-old child prodigy, Devadas. Actor Ramu’s son will play Devadas, the central character in the film.
Now Vinayan fans will have to wait until the release of Athisayan to find out what fresh accusations his rivals will come up with. One major difference this time will be that if there is a controversy the reverberations will be felt outside Kerala.
STAR FADES AWAY-PADMINI
Star fades away
The late Padmini was an acclaimed actress, accomplished dancer and a multifaceted personality, says KK Moidu
Popular actress and Bharathanatyam dancer Padmini, the second of the Travancore Sisters, died at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai recently at the age of 74, following a cardiac arrest. The demise of this multifaceted personality marks the end of a glorious career on the dance stage as well as silver screen.
She is survived by her son, Prem Anand, an official of Warner Brothers, who has settled in the United States. The actress's sisters, Lalitha and Ragini, died years ago. Her last public appearance was at a function, organised by Kollywood to felicitate Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, the day before her death.
She was born to Thankappan Pillai and Saraswathi Amma of Malayinkeezhu near Poojapura, Thiruvananthapuram, on June 12, 1932 and did her schooling at Sea Shell convent in Thiruvananthapuram. She received training in classical dance from the age of four and gave her dance debut at the age of 10. Lalitha was her older sister and Ragini the younger. Together they came to be known as the Travancore Sisters. Padmini, nicknamed Natiyaperoli was the most successful of the three. Guru Gopinath was her mentor in classical dancing and by the time she was 14, Padmini was part of a dance troupe and had performed in most parts of India.
Padmini acted in over 250 films in various languages in her decades-long career starting from 1949. Right from her teens she began co-starring all the leading men of the Indian cinema like Tamil cinema's MG Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, Malayalam's Prem Nazir and Sathyan and Bollywood's Raj Kapoor, Raj Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Dev Anand. She was in the top bracket in all languages.
As a talented artiste and polyglot, Padmini dubbing for her movies in all languages and her acting gained acceptance from Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu cinema fans alike.
Unlike today's heroines, who mainly rely on dubbing artistes without understanding the language of their films, Padmini believed that no dubbing artistes could do complete justice to her onscreen character. Her command over Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi also made this unnecessary.
Despite her success, Padmini’s entry into filmdom was unplanned. After seeing her dance performance, it was veteran dancer Uday Shankar, who invited her to act in a film. Thus Padmini made her debut in Uday Shankar's Hindi film, Kalpana, when she was 17. She was among the first few actresses from the south to act in Bollywood films. Her performance in Kalpana along with her style and dance movements won appreciation and she bagged many more movie offers.
She was part of Bollywood showman Raj Kapoor's all-time hits like Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hain and Mera Naam Joker. Her other prominent Bollywood films were Vasana, Kajal, Chanda Aur Bijli, Nanha Farishta (remake of Tamil Kuzhanthaikaga) Madhavi (Hindi version of Vanjikottai Valibhan), Payal, Mahabharat etc.
In Tamil, her debut film was Manamagal, directed by the legendary N.S. Krishnan and released in 1950. It became a big hit and the same year she was paired with Sivaji Ganesan in Panam. That marked the beginning of a partnership and the duo acted in over 50 films. In one of her early Tamil films, Thooku Thooki, she and the other Travancore Sisters danced for the song Sundari Soundari’.
In the 1950s and 60s, when the Gemini Ganesan-Savitri and MGR-Saroja Devi pairs were formdable, the Sivaji-Padmini pair gave such hits as Uttamaputhran and Thillana Moganambal. Fans still remember Padmini’s powerful dialogue delivery in Theiva Piravi. Though she was Sivaji's lucky heroine, Padmini also gave hits with other heroes like MGR. Padmini–MGR starrers Mannadhi Mannan, Rani Samyuktha and Madurai Veeran were all big grossers.
She also acted in memorable Tamil films like Ethirparadhadu, Raani Samyuktha, Rajarajan, Rikshakkaran, Arasilankumari, Punarjanmam, Amara Deepam, Vanjikottai Valibhan, Chitti, Kuzhandaikkaga, Pesum Deivam, Erumalargal etc.
Padmini had a distinct style of acting. In Malayalam her hits were Snehaseema, Umminithanga, Adhyapika, Vivahitha and Kumarasambavam.
Padmini immersed herself into her onscreen character whether it was that of a middle-class Brahmin woman as in Vietanam Veedu or that of a dancer in Thillana Mohanambal. Her role as the latter won the actress critical acclaim.
In 1961 at the height of her career Padmini opted for marriage with Dr KT Ramachandran and settled in the US. She started the famous Padmini School of Fine Arts at New Jersey in 1977. The school has grown into one of the largest classical dance institutions in that country. It teaches Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchippudi and folk dances.
Padmini's husband passed away in 1981, after which she returned to India and picked up the threads of her acting career. She re-entered the Tamil film industry and also acted in Malayalam films like Nokkethadoorathu Kannumnattu (starring Mohanlal and Nadia Moidu) Vaasthuhara (starring Mohanlal and Shobhana; directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan) and Dollar (starring Mukesh and Lalu Alex). Her return to the industry made her popular among the present generation of moviegoers. She also tried her luck in Malayalam television serials and produced documentaries.
As a dancer Padmini gave recitals at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan in New Delhi and before famous personalities like Queen Elizabeth, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, former presidents Dr Rajendra Prasad and Dr Radhakrishnan.
She won awards like Kalai Mamany Award from the Tamil Nadu government in 1958, Filmfare Award in 1985. The erstwhile Soviet Union released a postal stamp in her honour. During the Indo-Pak War she performed at an army camp for wounded Indian soldiers.
Padmini also performed dances based on Christian themes. Of these the dance drama Mary Magdelene was very successful. She also taught children at the Kerala Culture Forum in New Jersey.
She performed at the Madras Music Academy, Shanmukhananda Sabha, Indian Fine Art Society and Tamil Sangam, Madras.
Famous South Indian actress and dancer Shobhana is her niece. Shobhana has also won the National Award for best actress twice, first for Manichithrathazhu and second for Mitr My Friend. Recently Shobhana also won the Etisalat-Everest Best actress Award. Popular actress Sukumari and yesteryear's actress, Ambika, were Padmini's cousin's.
MASTER LEAVES A VOID-BHARATHAN
Master
leaves a void
Malayalam film industry still misses the presence of celebrated director Bharathan eight years after his demise, writes KK Moidu
Had famed Malayalam film director Bharathan not died on July 29, 1998, he would have been in his 60s. The industry still remembers this renowned South Indian film-maker, who received the National Award for the best regional film that year for his directorial debut Prayanam.
Bharathan’s talents were not restricted to just film-making. He was also a painter, sculptor, music composer and songwriter. He proved his skills with music in Chilambu, also directed by him. He was born at Enkakkadu near Vadakkanchery, Thrissur district of Kerala in 1946. After completing a diploma course from the School of Drama he entered films as an art director in legendary director Vincent’s team. Bharathan’s work was inspired by his uncle and veteran director PN Menon, who made memorable movies like Olavum Theeravum, Kuttiyedathi, Odakkuzhal, Midukki Ponnamma and Padippura. When he entered the film industry he had to operate on a shoe-string budget. His film’s artistes used to stay in his house and his own village served as his location.
He played an important role in deviating from the then existent drama like style of Malayalam film-making and gave the craft a fillip. His first movie Prayanam was a trendsetter. Prayanam, starred the late Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, as an elderly Brahmin priest, married to a girl young enough to be his daughter. The film was based on late director Padmarajan’s script, In Prayanam he showed an exceptional talent for depicting intimate scenes without vulgarity, a trademark which came to be known as Bharathan touch. The movie became a hot topic of discussion because Bharathan had probed into the realities that existed within the Brahmin community of the day.
Bharathan along with contemporaries, Padmarajan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and John changed the way Malayalam film-makers of the 70’s thought, through meaningful cinema.
Though Bharathan remade Prayanam as Savithri in Tamil, he could not repeat the success. Years later Aavaram Poo got him recognition in Tamil. His greatest achievement in Tamil was Thevarmakan, starring veterans Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Hassan. Thevarmakan bagged several awards and was remade into other languages as well. Bharathan also tried his luck in Telugu by directing Devaragam and Manjeeradhwani, but failed.
The veteran film-maker shunned the gloss of commercial cinema and preferred to make films that looked natural and touched the life of real people. Some critics have accused Bharathan of according too much importance to sex and violence in his films but at the same time they agree that he was one director who made films on subjects, which others didn’t even consider. He had a special ability to select a subject, which existed only in people’s minds. Bharathan had directed over 50 films in Malayalam.
By directing art movies like Vaishali, Thazhvaram, Churam, Chaatah, Venkalam, Sandhya Mayangum Neram, Kattathe Kilikoodu and Keli he gave cinema a new dimension. He also directed romantic movies in the early 80’s. These included films like Chaamaram, Marmaram, Paalangal and Ente Upsaana, which was based on a novel of the same name by Mallika Younis. Though these films were not very good but they did well in theatres. Bharathan’s romantic movies too set off a new trend in Malayalam films. Other directors began emulating him thus marking the dawn of a new era of romantic films. Malayalees repeatedly viewed Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvattom because it triggered nostalgia. Everything about the movie, including its title and the characters played by Nedumudi Venu and Sharada of retired teachers, who are childless, made people sentimental. One day a girl comes into the couple’s lives and they experience the joy of parenthood as the girl showers on them a daughter’s love and care. The movie also had some memorable music.
Bharathan had a special talent to spot the latent abilities of his actors. He proved this with Mammooty in Amaram, Padheyam, Kathodu Kathoram, Ithiripoove Chuvannapoove. He also showed a different face of Mohanlal with Thazhvaram and Kattathe Kilikoodu.
Bharathan also introduced some new artistes in Malayalam cinema like Achan Kunju in Lorry, actresses Nithya and Surya in Parankimala, Shanti Krishna and Vijay Menon in Nidra, Prathap Pothan and KG Menon in Thakara by narrating the story of a mentally-challenged youth and his relationship with society. Krishna Chandran in Rathinirvedam telling a teenage boy’s love affair with a much older girl. Rathi was well-played by Jayabharathi. Revathi in Kaattathe Kilikoodu, Babu Anotny in Chilambu, Sanjay and Suparna in Vaishali, Ramu in Oomakkuyil, Salim in Thazhvaram, Tamil actress Latha in Parvathi, Girish Karnad in Neelakurunji Poothappol and Chippi in Padheyam. He also introduced Baby Shyamilee in Malootty and his daughter Sreekutty in Ozhivukalam.
His last movie was Churam, starring Manoj K. Jayan and Divya Unni but it was a flop at the box office.
Directors Jayaraj, Kamal, Perunthachan’s director and Thoppil Basi’s son, Ajayan, Adharam’s director, George Kithu, have all served as his assistants. Award-winning actress, KPAC Lalitha, is his wife. His son Sidharth debuted in a campus-based superhit movie, Nammal, directed by Kamal. Sidharth later acted in Kakkakarumban and Rasikan in Malayalam and some Tamil films.
A foundation has been established in Vadakkanchery in memory of this genius, with the objective of promoting good cinema. Bharathan Foundation is conducting film festivals, appreciation courses and screening quality cinema as a tribute to this accomplished director’s ingenuity.
AN EXCELLENT 'BAD MAN' SAI KUMAR
An excellent ‘bad man’
Sai Kumar’s forte is villainy, though he portrays the central character in socially relevant films like Avastha, writes KK Moidu
Sai Kumar entered the film industry as a child artiste years ago and years later made his debut as a screen hero in Ramji Rao Speaking, the debut film of famous directorial duo Siddique-Lal. Now years later he is again portraying the central character in Avastha, the directorial debut venture of N. Sasidharan.
Sai Kumar’s role in this film is similar to the character played by Salim Kumar in the Lal Jose-directed Achanurangatha Veedu. Avastha contains a strong message for a society, witnessing the sexual abuse of children and murder of elders on a daily basis.
Even though Sai Kumar was cast in the lead role in Ramji Rao Speaking he did not receive many lead roles later. Ramji Rao Speaking was not appreciated by the people initially, but after a few days run the movie gained in popularity to become a rage and to this day is considered one of Malayalam cinema’s sensational box office hits.
The Siddique-Lal duo followed up the success of Ramji Rao Speaking with hits like In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Vietnam Colony, Kabuliwallah and Hitler. The stupendous success of Ramji Rao Speaking saw the birth of a sequel, Mannar Mathai Speaking. However, Sai Kumar was not flooded with offers from other directors as one would have expected. He had to continue in supporting roles and many from the industry even wrote him off. But he bounced back from his initial failure and found his niche in portraying villainous characters first in Malayalam films and later on in Tamil as well.
Thus the actor proved his critics wrong and showed that he had acting in his genes. Sai Kumar was born into a family of artistes from Kottarakkara in Kollam district to Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, a veteran film actor, who died two decades ago. Lovers of Malayalam cinema remember Kottarakkara mostly for his portrayal of Chempankunhu, a greedy fisherman in Chemmeen. Chemmeen was based on a novel by the same name written by famous writer and Jnanpeeth award winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The veteran actor’s other sterling performances were in movies like Chembarathy, Veluthampi Dalawa and Aranazhika Neram. Sai Kumar’s sister too was an actress in the KPAC drama troupe. Sai Kumar always had the opportunity to meet the troupe’s artistes, many of whom made their mark in Malayalam films. The troupe’s contribution to cinema then was just like Kalabhavan Mimics troupe’s contribution today. Entry into the latter is considered a passport to the Malayalam film industry. Actors like Jayaram, Kalabhavan Mani, Jayasurya and superstar Dilip, all took the Kalabhavan route to the film industry.
Like many others before him Sai Kumar first appeared on stage before facing arclights. It was Thoppil Basi, a noted writer and dramatist, who gave Sai Kumar a role in a Sanskrit play, despite the actor’s inadequate knowledge of Sanskrit. As acting was in his genes and he had grown up in a world of drama and cinema, the actor faced no difficulty. He acted in many KPAC dramas and had the opportunity to act in the second run of Thoppil Basi’s well-known dramas, Thulabharam and Aswamedham.
The turning point in the actor’s film career came with Vallyettan, a Shaji Kailas-directed movie, released in 2000. The audience appreciated his portrayal of the villain, Patteri Sivaraman, in the movie. Though his performance did not overshadow that of the movie’s hero, Mammootty, he got public recognition. In the film Patteri Sivaraman’s sole purpose is to vanquish Arackal Madhavanunni, played by Mammooty.
This success was followed by another villainous character in Dadasaheb, directed by Vinayan, the same year. His portrayal of the screen villain, made him a favourite among viewers. Even his roles in commercial flops like Daivathinte Makan, Life Is Beautiful, Surya Chakram, Thandavam and Shivam did not slow down his career. Viewers appreciated the fact that he was different from the stereotypical screen villain characterised by guffaws, pipe smoking and menacing twitters.
Though he is recognised more for his perfection in villainous roles, he has also played the second hero and other characters. As a villain, he is remembered for his role in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, where Kalabhavan Mani played the lead role of a blind man. Another villainous role played to perfection was in Kunhikoonan and then Bharath Chandran IPS, a movie directed by Renjith.
The theme of Bharath Chandran IPS was based on contemporary politics, where leaders play up communal tensions to reap political dividends. Sai Kumar portrayed Hyder Ali Hassan Haji, a politician with underworld connections and business ambitions. Another significance of the movie was that it was the comeback vehicle for Suresh Gopi. Bharathchandran IPS’s success brought Suresh Gopi back into circulation in films and also confirmed the fact that Sai Kumar was a villain par excellence. In 2005 he got a respite from villainy and was offered the role of a kind-hearted father in Rajamanikam, a full-fledged comedy.
Recently he appeared in another Shaji Kailas movie, Chinthamani Kolacase, where Renjith wrote the script and Suresh Gopi played the title role of an advocate, Lal Krishna Veeradiyar. Sai Kumar played a corrupt public prosecutor, who instead of upholding the law, tries to hide the truth to fulfill his selfish motives. He plays the villain again in Prajapathi, directed by Renjith where Mammooty essays the title role. As the crafty MLA Kuttikrishnan in Prajapathi, he does what he does best. Another politician-criminal portrayed by him is Manikoth Marthandan of Aswaroodan, again starring Suresh Gopi and Padmapriya and directed by Jayaraj. Sai Kumar did his part well, the silver lining to an otherwise disappointing film. The actor also plays an important role in Mahasamudram, a Mohanlal starrer, which also has Laila of Tamil films.
Sai Kumar has also played the villain in Tamil films. In Aathi, starring the very successful Vijay-Trisha pair, he is the main villain. The same lead pair was seen in Gilli and Thirupatchi. Aathi was a remake of a superhit Telugu movie Athanokkade, where Kalyan Ram, Sindu and Ashish Vidhyarthi played key roles. That movie was noticed for its special effects as well.
Sai Kumar also tried his luck with TV serials and did important roles but soon realised that there were very few roles in the tear-jerker TV serials for an actor of his calibre. He did the title role in Verpadinte Viralpadukal, a serial telecast in Kairali TV. The serial was based on a novel written by C. Radhakrishnan. Another serial Pazhassi Raja, aired on Asianet TV was not completed. It saw Sai Kumar playing a historical figure, Pazhassi Raja, the Lion of Kerala.
In one of his latest ventures on the silver screen, Avastha, Sai Kumar plays a sincere and honest Police Head Constable Sudhakaran, who lives with his grandmother and only daughter Sreekutty, a 10th standard student. He dreams of a bright future for his daughter.
After a girl of Sreekutty’s age, from the same village, is raped and murdered, Sudhakaran’s anxiety increases. Daily reports of rapes and murders add to his worries. When the police constable is on night duty, his daughter is left in the grandmother’s care, heightening the anxieties. Sudhakaran goes over the brink after the girl’s grandmother dies. The other artistes in the film are Dhanya Nair, Augustine, Machan Varghese, Harisree Asokan, Ottappalam Pappan, Raju Thottam, Ameen, Sruthi Nair, Meena Ganesh, Valsala Menon, Neethu, Gayathri and Ambika Mohan.
But the success of Avastha is unlikely to change Sai Kumar’s predicament. He will be continue to be cast in more “anti-hero” roles because it is these roles that he has given a new meaning.
NOT DESTINED TO RULE-PRAJAPATHI
Not destined
to rule
Mammootty starrer, Prajapathi, lacks the sparkle of Renjith films, writes KK Moidu
Starring: Mammooty, Aditi Rao, Siddique, Nedumudi Venu, Sai Kumar, Thilakan, Srinivasan, Seema, Sandhya, Bheeman Raghu, Manian Pilla Raju, TG Ravi and Abu Salim.
Music: Tej Mervin
Story, Screenplay, Dialogue and Direction: Renjith
Producer: Siraj Valiyaveettil
Cinematography: Azhagappan
Last year Mammootty gave a series of hits like Kazhcha, Rappakal, Vesham, Thommanum Makkalum and to top it all the biggest hit of the megastar’s career, Rajamanikam, was also released in 2005. But that same magic is missing from the actor’s films released this year. Thuruppugulan only satisfied Mammootty fans and the much-awaited Balram v/s Tharadas also did not rise to audience expectations. With more than half the year over fans were looking forward to a hit from, at least, Renjith the creator of previous Mammootty hit, Black. However, the director-actor duo’s latest offering, Prajapathi, is also a major disappointment.
The story unfolds in Perumalpuram village, which has practices that make it distinct from other villages in Kerala. Devarmadom Narayanan aka Prajapathi (Mammooty) is the village’s protector, who along with the Nattukoottam exiles wrong-doers from the village. After serving the exile period, depending on the crime, wrong-doers who have reformed are allowed to return to the village.
Kaliyar Madom is another feudal family headed by Narayanan’s paternal uncle Moopil Kunjampu Nair (Nedumudi Venu). The other members of that family are Nair’s wife Indrani (Seema) and their four sons and a daughter (Sandhya). Nair and his older son Giri (Siddique) are Narayanan’s greatest enemies in the village.
However, Nair’s daughter and Narayanan’s paternal aunt’s daughter (Aditi Rao) support the Prajapathi. The latter is also Narayanan’s love interest.
In one of the opening scenes of the movie an injured Narayanan lands in the ICU of a hospital following an attempt on his life by Giri. The rest of the story unfolds in a flashback. Narayanan, though rich, is accused of murdering his father as an adolescent. He serves his term in a juvenile prison and returns a reformed man. With the help of his mentor Vellody (Thilakan), Narayanan establishes a new law in Perumalpuram.
When Giri tries to sell his land in Perumalpuram to some outsiders, Narayanan resists the move arguing that it will destroy the harmony of the village. This increases the enmity between their families. A local legislator (Sai Kumar) tries to broker peace, but the peacemaker has a secret motive. His father was a victim of the rivalry between the two families. He wants to throw Narayanan out of the village and establish his party’s supremacy over Perumalpuram.
Nair and Giri never miss an opportunity to accuse Narayanan of killing his father. Later, Narayanan learns that it was Nair, who killed his father to usurp his wealth. Another truth, which emerges is that Nair has an illegitimate son, Ali Raghavan (Srinivasan). Narayanan helps Ali Raghavan win his birthright after Nair admits in court that Ali Raghavan is indeed his son.
When Giri questions Nair about his relation to Ali Raghavan he learns yet another truth that Nair is not his father.
In his youth Nair commits a murder and then to escape punishment he marries Giri’s mother (Indrani), who was already pregnant with Giri. Fearing that his foster father will spill the beans about his parentage and deprive him of his share of the Kaliyar Madom wealth, Giri murders Nair.
The rest of the film tries to answer questions like who will prove that Giri eliminated his foster father? Will Narayanan avenge the atrocities committed by Giri? Will Giri’s family learn that he is Nair’s adopted son and that it is he who mercilessly eliminated Nair? Will the legislator’s dream of taking over the village be realised? The script, however, lacks the punch, normally associated with Renjith’s films.
Two highlights of the movie are Siddique’s portrayal of Giri and Azhagappan’s cinematography. Sandhya comes up with a balanced performance, while veterans Nedumudi Venu and Thilakan have done justice to their roles. Abu Salim appears in a different role in this movie and there is hope that he may get a respite from villainy.
Last year everybody thought Mammooty was invincible because of his continuous string of hits, which included even some crass movies. Unfortunately all these expectations have proven to be hollow, judging by his performance in Prajapathi.
Renjith should take the rap for choosing such a run-of-the-mill subject, which had succeeded way back in the 90’s. Another significant drawback of the film is that many artistes have been used as mere props in the movie. Daisy Boppana’s tepid appearance in a dance sequence, leaves much to be desired. Aditi Rao too has to be content with few scenes and little to do. The film’s dialogues are lengthy and tacky.
In short Prajapathi definitely has every ingredient of a potboiler, but the hackneyed script and unnecessary and complex twists and turns are sure to sound the film’s death-knell at the box office.
Showing at:
Sharjah: Metro Cinema, Al Hamra and Concorde
Dubai: Galleria and Plaza
Abu Dhabi: Eldorado
Rating: HHHHH
READY TO KIYAO AGAIN - BABU ANTONY
Ready to kiyao again
Actor Babu Antony has exploited his unique status as Malayalam film industry’s only martial arts exponent to the hilt but his career is at a low and he is on a comeback path with Highway Police, writes KK Moidu
Malayalam cinema has just one leading man who is well-versed in martial arts, Babu Antony. His expertise with the kicks and punches has seen him act in over 150 movies — Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. Bollywood knows this six-foot plus actor as Bob Antony.
But even after several years in the industry Malayalam cinema has been Babu Antony’s mainstay because of the near monopoly that he enjoys on his home turf. Other language films have many leading men, who are also martial arts exponents capable of delivering racy fight scenes, a reason why Babu has not been able to garner the same kind of fan following in other languages.
Since most leading actors in the industry are not proficient in enacting fast action scenes, Babu Antony became something of a novelty. The actor holds a fifth degree black belt in Karate, which was his greatest asset. Babu Antony utilised this factor to his benefit and made a couple of box office hits in the early 90’s.
Even as a boy, Babu Antony was very different from his older brothers. He was more adventure-oriented and preferred climbing trees, swimming etc to other activities.
Even though his native place abounded in rubber plantations the family had huge trees in its compound. The young school-going Babu practised his risky activities on these huge trees, an indication of what he would do in future as an adult.
The actor earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English literature and a master’s in Human Resources Management from the University of Pune. He was also captain of the university volleyball and athletic teams.
Soon he embarked on journey through the celluloid world by first working with late renowned director Bharathan, in his movie Chilambu. Babu played the villian in this movie. He soon conquered the hearts of youngsters with his action sequences and stunts. Movies like Bharanakoodam, Gandhari, Chantha, Dada, The Street, Kadal, Kambolam, Boxer, Nadody, Special Squad, Attahasam increased his popularity.
He built a huge fan following among the frontbenchers. Babu’s movies, Vaishali, directed by Bharathan and scripted by well-known writer MT Vasudevan Nair and Sayahnam were recently shown in the film festival to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Malayalam films.
In Vaisali, he played the role of a king, whose kingdom is affected by severe draught. The movie Sayahnam, saw him play the role of a pauper who disobeyed all religious laws. Another feather in this actor’s cap was his role in the movie, Aparahnam. The word “aparahnam” basically refers to that time between afternoon and evening, considered the most undefinable part of the day. The actor portrayed the role of an ex-terrorist who finds it difficult to re-adjust with the society. Aprahnam and Sayahnam were directed by MP Sukumaran Nair, an assistant of famous director Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
At present, the actor has lost touch with the Malayalam film industry, as he lived for several years in the United States as an expatriate. Moreover, his reported affair with actress Charmila, made him an outcast in the local film industry.
Babu Antony did try hard to make a comeback but had to be content with villainous roles. Mafia, Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal and Carnival saw him convincingly portray characters with a negative shade. Even though the viewers rooted for this actor, the directors were wary to offer him lead roles. But the actor has the confidence that he can once again prove his calibre as the leading man.
Babu Antony hopes his latest movie, Highway Police, would be able to boost his sagging career. This debut venture by director Prasad, has a theme which had become common in the 70’s as its secret formula. As an action hero, Babu Antony is sure to excel in this film and this could become a major contributor to the film’s success.
The actor plays a lorry driver, Mammad, in Highway Police. His father is murdered by the mafia gang and his sole mission in life, is to avenge his father’s death. If this movie becomes a success, it will be a second comeback for this actor.
The movie Highway Police, as said earlier, is a tribute to the 70’s era. Now-a-days, it is common to hear heroes spouting liberal doses of English mingled with Malayalam dialogues. But most movies in the 70’s had late veteran actor Prem Nazir as a police or customs officer and Jose Prakash as a smuggler using limited English words like “Get Out”, “Well Done My Boy” “By the By” etc. This movie will have the old style of dialogues like the hero himself telling the villain “you are under arrest,” to add spice. Highway Police will also see the return of car chases, street fights, night club dances and heroes avenging their father’s death at the hands of underworld dons.
The movie’s plot tries to delve into the roots of smuggling business based in Cochin Port and Nedumbassery Airport, run with the help of corrupt authorities. Both Babu Antony and actor Riyaz Khan are doing equally important roles in the movie. This is for the first time Riyaz Khan will be seen in an hero’s role.
The plot of Highway Police is complicated and many characters appear and disappear at will. The story is as follows. Two young men Mammad (Babu Antony) and Circle Inspector Jayachandran (Riyaz Khan) are forced to swallow their anger at not being able to hunt down their fathers’ killers.
The cop’s father was an scrupulously honest customs officer, who was killed by smugglers. The culprits go scotfree. Jayachandran joins the police force to track down his father’s killers.
Khan Bhai, an underworld don who is behind the nefarious activities in Cochin, was responsible for the two murders. The Bhai mainly uses the highways for his illegal activities. CI Jayachandran is assigned the task of patrolling these highways. He sees his new posting as a golden opportunity to hunt down his father’s killers. When he begins his clean-up the villains go after him.
A club dancer Ranjini (Indraja) helps the heroes in their mission because her husband, Danny (Prakash Paul) too was murdered by Bhai’s goons. Actually Danny used to work for the don and Rajini, who belongs to a well-to-do family, falls in love with him without checking his background. After their marriage, Khan Bhai forces Rajini to dance in his club, when the couple refuse to relent, Danny is bumped off.
Mammad rescues the distressed widow from Khan Bhai’s clutches and gives her shelter. When Jayachandran investigates Ranjini’s antecedents the two friends fight bitterly but again join hands after the misunderstanding is cleared. In the climax Khan Bhai’s evil empire crumbles under their combined might.
Other artistes in the movie are Devan, Rajan P. Dev, Riza Bawa, Spadikam George, Baburaj, Jagathy, Janardhanan, Captain Raju, Bheeman Raghu, Jagannatha Varma, Mohan Raj, Paravoor Bharathan, Anju Aravind, Suja, Sruthi and Prakash Paul, well-known for his title role in the Asianet TV serial Kadamattathu Kathanar.
The cinematography is by Marimuthu, who is an expert at shooting action scenes. Dalapathi Dinesh is the stunt director of this movie. The score for the movie is by Sreekumaran Thampi and MK Arjunan. This team has come together after a hiatus of 25 years.
Highway Police will decide the future of Babu Antony’s film career. If it is a rip-roaring success, it would mean the audience has accepted this lanky actor and wouldn’t mind watching the old style movies with a new formula. Or else, it would mean a final blow to an already sinking career.
SEEKING GREENER PASTURES
Seeking greener pastures
Malayalam actresses are slowly shifting their interests to Tamil
and Telugu films, writes KK Moidu
Malaylam film industry is facing an identity crisis. Directors are becoming keen to experiment with actresses from other languages with top heroines from the industry having moved to the more lucrative and financially rewarding Tamil and Telugu films.
The recent spate of box office hits with “other language” heroines has only spurred this trend. These “other language” heroines, who have recently made their debut in Malayalam include actress Katrina Kaif, Sneha, Padmapriya, Nikhita, Shreya Reddy, Aditi Rao, Sandhya, Meera Vasudevan and Laila.
Model-turned-actress Katrina Kaif made her foray into Malayalam film industry with veteran director IV Sasi’s movie Balram v Tharadas. The actress plays the romantic interest of superstar Mammooty, who plays an underworld don, Tharadas. The movie is a sequel to the director’s earlier hits Athirathram, Aavanazhi and Inspector Balram.
Gulf-returnee Sneha had made her debut opposite actor Kunjacko Boban in the movie Ingane Oru Nilapakshi. The movie bombed at the box office. But the actress managed to catch the attention of many directors. She soon became the flavour of both Tamil and Telugu industry. Being a dedicated actress, she was ready to do offbeat roles. Thus after a gap of six years, the actress has come back to the Malayalam film industry with Johny Antony’s movie Thuruppugulan, where she was paired against Mammooty. Though the movie was a big hit at the box office, her song sequence in Thuruppugulan received a lukewarm response. But the audience has acknowledged her contribution to the movie’s success. Sneha’s hit Tamil movies include Ennavale, Anandam, Virumbigiren, Pammal K. Sambandham, Parthale Paravesam and Punngai Desam.
Upcoming actress Padmapriya made her debut with director Blessy’s maiden venture Kazhcha, essaying the role of Mammoty’s wife. The movie was a resounding success and Padmapriya was soon flooded with offers. In the movie Amrutham, the actress played the romantic interest of actor Jayram. Director Anvar Rasheed’s smash hit Rajamanikam, cast the actress once again opposite her debut hero, Mammoty. The actress also played the heroine in Vadakkunnathan, alongside superstar Mohanlal. In her recent release Aswaroodan, she plays the romantic interest of superstar Suresh Gopi. This talented actress has been very lucky to be paired with superstars in such a short span of time. Though most characters played by her in Malayalam are family-oriented, the actress has also been getting offers for glamorous roles from other languages. The actress has also forayed into the Kannada film industry. She will soon be seen in a glamorous role in director Bala’s remake of the hit movie Pithamagan.
Hindi film actress Meera Vasudevan had made her debut in director Blessy’s second film Thanmathra. The actress had esssayed the role of Mohanlal’s wife. The movie saw Mohanlal play a brilliant government employee, Ramesan Nair, who becomes a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. However, his wife (Meera) fulfils his dream of making their son, an IAS officer, fighting against all odds. After her role in Thanmathra, the actress has signed another offer as Kalabhavan Mani’s heroine. Meera is keen on portraying glamorous characters even after marriage. The actress is totally against the Malayalee concept of giving up glamorous roles after marriage. In an industry which has a prejudice against married heroines, it is yet to be seen how the audience will respond to the actress’s decision.
Tamil actress Laila had made her debut in Malayalam in director Vinayan’s movie War and Love. She played the love interest of popular actor Dilip. In her next movie Mahasamudram, directed by Dr S. Janardhanan, the actress is paired opposite Mohanlal. This movie will be noticed for a couple of reasons. For the first time in his career, Mohanlal will portray the role of a fisherman. This movie will also be Laila’s last film. The actress plans to quit the industry to enjoy domestic bliss. Laila had also tried her luck in Telugu movies with Mrs and Mr Shailaja Krishnamurthy and Kannada movies with Ramakrishna.
Another “other language” heroine, who has made her debut in Malayalam is Adithi Rao. She will be seen in director Renjith’s movie Prajapathy, where she will play the romantic interest of Mammooty. The actress also made her debut in Tamil with the movie Sringaaram. The movie Prajapathy will also have upcoming actress Sandhya, to add some flavour.
There has always been a constant complaint about a dearth of stories and good heroines in the Malayalam film industry. There has been an improvement in the situation in recent years with the arrival of talented youngsters like Meera Jasmine, Bhavana and Kavya Madhavan. But the industry graph shows a gradual slide to the former scenario. Successful heroines in Malayalam are slowly shifting focus to Tamil and Telugu films. Some of the leading actresses, who have successfully entered other South Indian language movies include Nayanthara, Meera Jasmine, Navya Nair, Bhavana, Gopika and Mamta Mohandas.
These actresses who once played non-glamorous roles like village belles, servants and housewives in Malayalam, have completely changed in their attitude after stepping into Tamil and Telugu movies.
Though Mamta Mohandas had made her entry into Malayalam with her glamorous role in Lanka, the movie made only a slight impact at the box office. The actress justified her role saying that these scenes were integral for the building up of the movie’s pace and provided it a turning point. The movie’s failure made directors shy of experimenting with similar subjects. But this failure did not affect Mamta’s career graph. In fact, her role as Lanka Lakshmi only boosted her career. The actress will next be seen in the Tamil venture Sivappadhikaram, directed by Karu Palaniappan.
The only Malayalam actress, who has proven that glamour is not necessary to make a name in the Tamil and Telugu industry, is Bhavana. Without doing any glamourous roles, so far the actress has made a name for herself in Tamil movies. Maybe after a period of time, she too may join the bandwagon and do glamorous roles.
Whatever be the reason for the leading ladies of the industry to select other language films, the fact remains that these artistes are talented. The present day Malayalam movies are more hero-oriented, with heroines have little to do other than playing the romantic interest. The key components of the movie are a few song sequences, sentimental scenarios and a grand family reunion. This has made more Malayalam actresses rethink before accepting a project.
“Other language” heroines add to the glamour quotient and the movie’s much-needed publicity. The ageing superstars are paired with the twenty something actresses, to look younger and still retain their fan base.
For the Malayalam film industry, heroine-oriented roles are not a top priority. The directors still prefer to stick to the tried and tested “macho” hero-oriented films. Experimenting with “other language” heroines cannot be a permanent solution. Sooner or later most of these artistes will find it difficult to adjust to the highly disciplined and not so lucrative Malayalam industry.
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