Thirakatha Review...

Thirakatha is directed by Renjith starring Prithviraj, Anoop Menon, Priyamani and Samvrutha Sunil in lead roles. I saw the movie from Jos Theatre, Thrissur. The crowd was not at all pleasing. I got tickets comfortably. Strictly speaking about the film, it can be expressed in one word "EXCELLENT". It is one of the finest movies ever made in Malayalam. This film is a homage to Srividya, the Malayalam actress who passed away recently. Renjith is back with a bang, after a drought for half a decade. He knows how to tell a story, his narrative skills are awesome, and he needs special applause for his attempt. The screenplay of the film is simply awesome.

And about the film, all characters of the film had done their roles beautifully. The performance of Anoop Chandran is excellent and director Renjith get full credit for that. Without a superstar label, Anoop had done his role brilliantly. Prithviraj is excellent in this movie, especially his voice, dialogue delivery and screen presence. Priyamani, woow, what a awesome performance from this young actress. She looks so cute in the first half, and her acting talents were revealed in second half, she deserved National award. She should do more Malayalam films and no words to express her. She is a gift to Malayalam as well as Indian cinema.

Some scenes from the film are really heart touching. The scene which Priyamani covers her head, when Ajay Chandran (Anoop Menon) came to hospital, is really great. The costume work was good, as I thought Priyamani had shaved off her head. The music by Sharath was also good. The camera work was amazing and excellent. The character Ajay Chandran resembles Mammooty and Mohanlal. He started off his career as a villian (just like Mohanlal in Manjil Virinja Pookal) and the film name too resembles that (Sorry, I forgot that name). Similarly he resembles Mammootty in last scened in which he is a acting in a film named 'Rudhiram' (Sounding similar to 'Roudram' starring Mammooty).

Yeah, this film is really a boost to Malayalam film industry. Though this movie is slow, it cannot be categorised into the list of off-beat films because this film is quite different from others, a different subject and something refreshing to the audiences. The films with good subjects and story should be encouraged by the audiences. If a movie like Thirakatha fails in boxoffice, it is bad for the malayalam industry, then no one has the right to say that they need a different movie. Overall it is a must watch film for those who love good films. Guys, never miss this film.

Verdict : I could not predict the fate of this movie in boxoffice. The movie is excellent and have to wait more to know how the Malayali viewers take this film. This film should be given superhit label, and I hope it will do.

Rating : 4/5

Akashagopuram Review

After a long wait, the most expensive Malayalam film, Akashagopuram released worldwide. It is an adaptation of the Norwegian play, "Master Builder", and is directed by K.P.Kumaran. But, the movie is nothing more than a different but awkward attempt. In an attempt to make an adaptation of the original play, this film ends up making this film a dull drama.

This film is noted much before the release due to international crew and huge budget. Mohanlal did the role of an architect, Albert Samson. Bharath Gopi had also done a remarkable role in the film. After reaching his fame and glory in profession, he had been sacrificing his personal life. But the film fails to impress the audiences, and feels quite sleepy while watching the movie. The movie which is primarily presented like a drama, is somewhat difficult to catch our heart.

But the background score of the film is excellent, and John Altman did full justice from his part. We can see some brilliant acting from Mohanlal, but the direction of the film is far below par. I feels very disappointed on seeing the film rendered in such a hapless manner. But I still wonder why the producer took such a risk by investing huge amount of money for an offbeat movie. Let me tell that this film had got some talented actors, enough investments and is a golden opportunity for the crew to carve this film in the pages of Malayalam film history, but sorry to say that this is nothing special to say about.

Verdict : Average from critics' view and flop in boxoffice.

Rating : 1.5/5

Happy Birthday Mammookka...

I felt this article was to be written 24 hours before. Because yesterday was the birthday of the legendary Indian actor Mammotty. With his career that spans more than three decades, he had acted in more than 300 films and is widely known as one half of the Malayalam film industry. He bagged National Awards for Best Actor three times, the most by anyone in the country, and that in two languages. He also got 6 state awards and 9 filmfare awards in his kitty.

Having started off his career in 1971, his first massive hit was 'Trishna' directed by I.V.Sasi in 1981. But his career witnessed a slump during late 80's, with his movies continuously bombing at boxoffice. But he made a stupendous comeback with a resounding success of 'New Delhi' in 1987. 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha' directed by Hariharan is considered as a milestone in his career, and he was awarded Best Actor Award. Mammooty played the role of a CBI officer Sethuramiyer in CBI series, which again was a massive hit.

He is known as the crowd puller in Malayalam cinema, and his latest films like Rajamanikyam and Annan Thampi groosed well in boxoffice, and broken all existing collection records. He had given equal importance to art and commercial films. He acted in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Anantharam', 'Mathilikal' and 'Vidheyan'. His latest film 'Ore Kadal' directed by Shyam Prasad was greeted with great enthusiasm by critics as well as viewers. It got many awards in national and international venues.

Mammootty is known for his innovative mind, great personality and he made Kerala known internationally. He is now regarded as a promoter of newcomers. Blessy, Amal Neerad, Anwar Rasheed etc are only some of them. But he is widely criticized that he cannot handle comedy roles and is poor in dancing. But his recent comedy films like 'Mayavi', 'Thommanum Makalum', 'Rajamanikayam' and 'Annan Thampi' roared great success in boxoffice.

Mammootty has also been involved in several other projects that range from being the brand ambassador of Akshaya, the Information Technology project undertaken by the Government of Kerala, to being the Chairman of Malayalam Communications.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes Mammokka....Long live Ikka.....