Malayalam

Nalacharitham Naalamdivasam
The abduction and after
DEBUTANT director K Mohanakrishnan’s Nalacharitham Naalamdivasam, produced under the banner of Tejasree Films, presents a mix of sentiments, action, songs and of course some humour too. Nalinan, working in Mumbai, is to reach home just a few days before his marriage with Indu, his sweetheart and neighbour. But when all at home are eagerly awaiting his arrival, two of his friends bring the news that Nalinan has been forcefully kidnapped by people and his whereabouts are unknown.

Nalinan had got himself entangled in some unwarranted affairs just when he was to set out for home and was consequently abducted. He is kept at a closely guarded place in the company of Myna, a eunuch. His attempts to escape bear no fruit. Meanwhile those at home get the news that Nalinan has been killed in an accident. And added to this, an astrologer predicts that if Indu is not married off within two months, she is likely to remain unmarried for ever. Indu’s parents, encouraged by Nalinan’s father Ramankutty, who had decided to resign himself to the inevitable, decide to marry off Indu to Nandu, Nalinan’s friend. Though at first Indu doesn’t agree to this, she ultimately consents seeing the helplessness of her parents. But she puts forward a condition that her marriage be conducted in a pompous manner. She believes that like in the mythical story of Nala and Damayanti, in which Damayanti had agreed to a grand and pompous marriage believing that Nala would come at the right moment and marry her, Nalinan too would come. Does Nalinan come in the end? This forms the climax of the story.

Boban Alummoodan, who made his debut in Niram and won over hearts by acting in the song sequence Praayam nammil moham nalki is the hero here, donning the role of Nalinan. And as Indu is state award winner Praveena, who has already quit films after her marriage a few months back. Both have played their parts fairly well. Kalabhavan Mani as Myna, the eunuch, seems an unnecessary character and lacks appeal. Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Ramankutty, Nalinan’s father and Nedumudi Venu as Indu’s father do full justice to their respective roles. Jagathy Sreekumar fits the bill as Pushpan, Nalinan’s brother-in-law. Nishant Sagar of Joker fame as Nandu, Madhupal, Kaviyoor Renuka and Manka Mahesh too have performed quite well. The real highlight of the film, however, is KP Nambiathiri’s cinematography and the songs by the Yusuf Ali-Mohan Sithara team. The song Swayamvara panthalil ninnu stands out from the rest. With low profile names in the cast, the film seems to lack box-office appeal.

Nakshatrangal Parayaathirunnathu
One for family audiences
IT’S after a considerable gap of time that a Divya Unni starrer has been released in Malayalam. And it’s of course after a long time that Mukesh too has been cast in the lead. Greeshma Films’ Nakshathrangal Parayaathirunnathu, directed by CS Sudheesh has Mukesh and Divya Unni doing the lead roles and gives ample scope to both these artists to make their presence felt. Nandakumar, along with his friend Shashaankan, had tried his hand at all sorts of business, but every time he was bound to fail due to one reason or the other. At last he opens an Ayurveda pharmacy and that incidentally becomes a success. His success in curing Asthma patients draws the attention of the proprietors of Acharya Pharmaceuticals, a company that has been doing research for a long time on a cure for Asthma. The company has at the helm of affairs Indiramma, assisted by brother Rajashekharan and Gowrishankar, Rajashekharan’s son. Acharya Pharmaceuticals offers Nandakumar a fancy salary and asks him to head the research. He agrees, but of course not just for the money or for the research. Certain revelations about his father’s association with Acharya Pharmaceuticals, impels him to decide in favour of joining the group. His father Vasudeva Panicker had left them long back and disappeared some where. Once in Acharya, he begins his work, of course not at research. At the same time there is Shivaranjini, Indira’s daughter, who is drawn towards him after some initial clashes. Anyhow Nandakumar continues with the research with certain other motives. Gowrishankar, who has been on a foreign tour for a long time, returns and then things take a new turn.

Mukesh hasn’t had a single release in the last year. But now, in February, he has had two, including this one. As Nandakumar, Mukesh is his usual self, while Divya Unni is attractive as Shivaranjini. Lal puts in a commendable performance as Gowrishankar. Harisri Ashokan as Shashaankan, Innocent as Govinda Kamath, Narendra Prasad as Vasudeva Panicker, and Rajan P Dev as Rajashekharan fit the bill.

Shatrughnan seems to be very much in control of the script based on a story by Mohammed Ashraf. Background score by Rajamani too is good. Of the songs by the Kaithapram-Mohan Sithara team, Kukku kukku kuyile has a melodious touch. Ranjan Abraham as editor and Venugopal as cinematographer have both done well. But the film seems to lack in something vital, though it may well appeal to family audiences and fans of Mukesh and Divya Unni.

Dosth
Dileep, Boban excel
POPULAR young generation hero Dileep and teen sensation Kunchacko Boban coming together for the first time - that’s indeed news for the youth of Kerala, who constitute a major chunk of the filmgoers in the state. That’s the main attraction of Kottarakara Films’ Dosth, directed by Thulasidas, which as the name suggests, tells the story of friendship and of course, love.

Boban and young actress Kavya Madhavan are starring again opposite each other after Sahayaatrikaykku Snehapoorvam. Dosth has its focus on the friendship between Ajit and Vijay, both in the same college. On his first day in college, Vijay has a clash with Ajith. But before that he meets Geethu and it’s love at first sight for him. Ajith is the sort who doesn’t make friends easily. But friendship, that too a deep one, blooms between Ajit and Vijay. At the same time, on a parallel track, Vijay’s love with Geethu too develops. Only then does Vijay realize that Geethu is Ajith’s sister. He does not know what to do. But Ettuveettil Kuttappan, his servant-cum-wellwisher, tells him there is nothing wrong in it and so he decides to continue with his love towards Geethu. But when Vijay learns of some serious things from Ajith’s past, he finds himself in a real dilemma. He has to choose between friendship and love. That’s where he makes the crucial decision.

Among the cast it is Dileep who steals the show as Ajith. Dileep seems very different in the semi-serious role. Kunchacko Boban as Vijay and Kavya Madhavan as Geethu are very likely to appeal to the youth. Jagathy Sreekumar as Ettuveettil Kuttappan, Bindu Panicker as Lata, Kuttapan’s wife and Urmila Unni as Ajith’s mother have done justice to their respective roles. Salu George’s cinematography, which contributes towards creating the necessary mood and atmosphere of a college campus, deserves special mention. Scripted by Sibi K Thomas and Udayakrishna, the film has art by Nemon Pushparaj and editing by Ranjan Abraham. S Rameshan Nair’s lyrics, set to tune by Vidyasagar, are in keeping with the trend. Songs Manjupole, maankunjupole and “Thaththamma peru, thaazhambu veedu” have come off really well.

Dosth, the 26th film by Thulasidas, is likely to be a hit among the youth and teenagers.
Unni R Nair

Telugu

Murari
Love story marred by lengthy climax
Considering his age, teen sensation Mahesh should be doing more teenage love stories and Murari seems the right choice. He exhibits his youthful pranks and carries the film on his slender shoulders with this light-hearted performance. Sonali Bendre, on the other hand, looks pretty but has nothing much to do.

The climax drags on since director Krishna Vamsi is unable to wriggle out, caught between myth and reality, since Mahesh’s family is cursed by a goddess and three generations of his family have already died and now, it is Mahesh’s turn to meet his fate.

The film opens with Prakash Raj trying to usurp the wealth of a goddess and he is punished and so are the elders of his next two generations. Mahesh, belonging to the fourth generation, is a prankster and he is loved by his brothers and sister-in-laws. His grandma is worried about the fate of his grandson and she always interacts with the temple priest to find out which member of this generation is the one marked by fate. He happens to visit his sister-in-law (Lakshmi) and falls in love with Sonali Bendre, her sister. After the usual pranks they fall in love, and she visits his home to convince his parents. Finally, both families approve of the marriage but his grandma rejects the proposal since Mahesh is the cursed boy. She is forced to reveal the truth to his family, but he managed to bring home his ladylove after bashing up her uncle’s henchmen. His grandma manages to save him in the end from certain fate by a timely sacrifice.

Instead of making a simple love story, director Vamsi blends mystery into the story. Vamsi could have rounded off the film on a positive note, with Mahesh fighting back after being brutally injured, but instead, the director succumbs to dogma, justifying the sacrifice of the grandma to save him, which ends up as a routine devotional. The film looks disjointed since the twists are not properly placed out in the screenplay and the lengthy climax tests the patience of the audience.

Maa Ayina Sundaraiyah
Tear jerker all the way
After Sivaji, this is another attempt by Srihari to woo the womenfolk, and with Maa Ayina Sundaraiyah his gamble may just pay off. The film’s a typical tearjerker family drama revolving around three brothers. And Srihari plays the sacrificing brother with some conviction and even new girl Deepti matches strides with him. However, the script drags on in the second half and the film lacks good twists.

Director Haribabu captures few melodramatic scenes touchingly and writer Posani sprinkles the film with punchy dialogue, especially featuring Srihari and Deepti.

Srihari, a bank attendant saves the bank from a robbery and puts culprit Ponnambalam behinds bars, which earns the wrath of his father Kota Srinivasa Rao. Srihari’s family comprises a married elder brother (Ahutiprasad) and younger brother (Brahmaji) and sister besides his niece Deepti who loves him. He resigns his job to get his brother (Brahmaji) in his place. Taking advantage of his innocence, his elder brother usurps his provident fund money and later hands over his pension papers to the in-laws of his sister as dowry. But he is angered when the two brothers poorly perform their sister’s marriage. Later he marries Deepti. In a freak accident Deepti gets hurt in a cooking gas blast and Srihari is shattered when his family leaves the house unwilling to look after his badly-burnt wife. When they come back, he becomes rich by selling his house and after ignoring them for some time he finally saves the brothers from an attempted suicide and all are united.

Srihari tries to hold the attention of the audience with his histrionics more than his dare-devil stunts and it remains to be seen whether he will be accepted in his new avtaar.
BVS Prakash