Jun 07, 2006 11:18 AM
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(Updated Jul 04, 2006 05:26 PM)
Two years in making, controversy over the director, financial crises, unexpected release …and a tremendous success at the box office! , ‘Vadakkunnathan’ the movie, its making and its source, all constitute a paradox!
‘ Vadakkunnaathan’
Language : Malayalam
Writer : Gireesh Puthenchery
Director : Shajoon Karyal
Music : Late. Raveendran
Producer : Govindankutty
Cast : Mohan Lal, Padmapriya, Biju Menon, Murali, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Babu Namboodiri, Shammy Tilakan, Kavya Madhavan , Riza Bava ,Vineet etc.
Story
The basic idea is lifted (or inspired?!) from the Ron Howard classic ‘The Beautiful Mind ’. The movie starts with a pilgrimage to the banks of Ganga. An old woman (Kaviyoor Ponnamma) comes there for doing the rituals of her long lost son. Surprisingly she finds him living there as a saint! Her immense affection brings him back to his home in Kerala. Now we can see the flash back.
Eminent Sanskrit scholar and Professor Bharata Pisharody (Mohan Lal) is enjoying all fortunes including fame, honour, a caring mother and a loving beautiful fiancé (Padmapriya) (she is also his student).But he starts suffering from schizophrenia and runs away on the day of his marriage. His soul searching guides him to Prayag.
The rest of the film is about how the returned professor regains his lover and profession.
Acting Performances
Once again, Mohan Lal proves that nobody is there to challenge him in such sensitive roles. He is really the best actor that Indian cinema has produced. No one else can do such roles without overacting. If you get a chance to watch this movie, carefully analyse these scenes :-
Lal is locked in a room and his brother (Biju Menon) comes at the window to ask whether he should be freed. The way Lal expresses his agony is matchless.
There is one scene in which Biju Menon informs about the willingness of Riza Bava to allow his son to marry Lal’s sister with a condition that Lal should not attend the function. Lal’s “subtle” expressions “explain” everything. The scene is 0% melodramatic!
The scene in which our hero explains about his illness.
Lal is surely the front-runner for this year’s national award for the best actor.
Padmapriya is brilliant. She definitely leaves a good impression. She can become someone like Suhasini or Kartika. Biju Menon the gifted actor has proved once again that he is one of the best character artists available in Malayalam. Murali, Babu Namboodiri and Riza Bava have played their roles sincerely.Shammy Tilakan is an amazing actor. Nobody can forget him. Kaviyoor Ponnamma is tolerable in the only role that she can play (!). Actually, the director has controlled her and Kavya Madhavan well without allowing them to harm the proceedings by overacting. (As they usually do)!
Script and Direction
The director Shajoon Karyal has converted the well-written script (by noted poet Gireesh Puthenchery) into a good family movie. One cannot say that he is one of the best directors, but his work is appreciable. The climax is simple, but good.
The music is enchanting. Raveendran’s swansong topped the charts for the last twenty months!
The cinematography is good.
Trivia
It is not a grand movie like ‘The Beautiful Mind’. The ending of the English movie is unforgettable but that of ‘Vadakkunnaathan’ is rather a simple one.
Pisharody is a community in Kerala .Traditionally they are workers in Hindu Temples. The customs of the Pisharodies are different from other Hindu communities. These include the rituals closely resembling that of the Jains.
