Malayalam

Kallu Kondoru Pennu
A different Vijaya Shanthi
After much delay, Kallu Kondoru Pennu, the debut vehicle of director Shyamaprasad on big screen, has finally been released.though his second film Agnisaakshi was released earlier and had got rave reviews as well as awards.
Based on the play by noted dramatist SL Puram, the film is about a nurse Sita, who toils hard in the Gulf for her two brothers and a sister. Since her family means a lot to her, she even evades the love of Dr Suresh, who works with her in the same hospital while at home in Kerala, her elder brother Haridasan, his wife Ambika, their children, her sister Raji and her younger brother Venu lead a comfortable life with the money that she sends home. Sita is, however, consulted for all the major decisions including the marriage of Raji with Mohanachandran, whose demand as part of the dowry is a visa to the Gulf for a job even though he has a government job in India. And when Sita leaves for home to attend Raji’s marriage, war breaks out in the Gulf and she goes missing. A few days later, a photograph of Sita holding a child in her arms appears in the newspapers with the caption: A mother and child at the refugee camp. Tongues start wagging. Finally when Sita arrives alongwith the child, she finds that life has changed a lot for her.

Vijaya Shanti enacts the role of Sita with ease. It is indeed a change to see her doing such a meaningful role. Suresh Gopi as Dr Suresh, Dileep as Venu and Murali as Haridasan have done full justice to their respective roles. Manian Pillai Raju is also well cast as Mohanachandran and Harisri Ashokan is good as Aantappan, Venu’s driver-cum-friend. Screenplay is by producer G Jayakumar while dialogues are written by TA Razack and Shashidharan Aaraattuvaazhi. Songs by ONV Kurup set to tune by Illayaraaja are in keeping with the tempo of the film.

Vinayapoorvam Vidyaadharan
Honesty counts
Produced under the banner of Film Folks, Vinayapoor-vam Vidyaadharan is director KB Madhu’s third film, the earlier two being Chitrashalabham and Deepasthambham Mahaascharyam. Madhu, who was associate to noted director Jayaraj, had shown glimpses of a promising career when he made his entry as an independent director with Chitrashalabham, a remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand. His second film too did well at the boxoffice with its songs becoming much popular. This film too has proved to be different from the usual to hit the theatres of late.
Vidyaadharan is an honest bank manager and won’t stoop to earn easy money. Never to break the rules and conventions set by the bank, he just manages to sustain his family. But his wife Shalu who comes from an affluent family is not content. Wanting a luxurious life, she begins to nag her husband. Subseconquently in a weak moment, Vidyaadharan does something out of the way and unknowingly becomes party to a fraud committed against the bank. When he is suspended from service, he leaves the family and goes to Mumbai to trace those who cheated him and the bank and thus save his job. But fate takes him elsewhere and he finds himself among some beggars. It is here that a new world unfurls before him. It is no less than a revelation for Vidyaadharan.
Jagathy Sreekumar passes muster as Vidyaadharan while Sukanya gives ample support as Shalu. NF Verghese, Jagadeesh, Rajan P Dev and Harisri Ashokan have done commendable jobs. Cinematography is by MJ Radha-krishnan and editing by G Murali. P Suresh Kumar, who has written the script based on a story by the director himself, has done a good job. With some melodious songs written and composed by Kaithapram and sung by KJ Yesudas in addition to brilliant performance by the inimitable Jagathy, the film is sure to be a favourite as far as the family audience is concerned.

India Gate
Lucky Vani
Vani Viswanath seems to be lucky these days. Presently when there is a dearth of heroine-oriented films in Malayalam and when actresses have very little to do in the films, Vani has been getting meaningful roles in films like TV Chandran’s Susannah and PG Viswambharan’s Unniyaarcha. At the same time, she was seen in action films like Rapid Action Force, The Gang and Ival Droupadi. In most of her films, it is Vani herself who does the hero’s duty too in addition to being the heroine and the audience don’t seem to mind this. Director TS Saji’s India Gate has Vani donning the lead role and carrying the film solely on her shoulders.

Gayathri, the young and charming daughter of Narayana Sharma, a pious Brahmin, is saved by Vishnu Dattan, a daring police officer, when some people try to molest her. Vishnu and Gayathri consequently fall in love and tie the nuptial knot. But Vishnu and his sisters are murdered and Gayathri, brutally raped. Time passes on, and Gayathri returns as Parvathy Sharma, to fight her enemies who include bigwigs like Viswanathan, Vaavachchan, Pollachi Thevar and Sharath. On one hand, she starts eliminating her enemies one by one and on the other, she has to evade Mohandas, a young Police Officer who investigates the case. It is hide and seek between the two while Parvathy, with the fire of revenge burning in her, goes on a hunting spree, assisted by two trusted lieutenants Williams and Nandan.

It is Vani all the way who dominates the cast. Charan Raj, Devan,Sphadikom George and Jagadeesh do their respective parts fairly well while Shammi Tilakan makes an appearance after a long time. Lyrics by Bharanikkaavu Shivakumar set to tune by Bernie-Ignatius somehow fits well. Script by Jayan Poojapura manages to keep up with the tempo. Anyhow the film should satisfy die-hard fans of Vani Viswanath.

Joker
Life in a circus
Joker, produced under the banner of Aachis Films, is a welcome change as far as Malayalam cinema is concerned. Different from the usual comedy stuff on the silver screen, Joker is scenarist-turned-director Lohitadas’s sixth film. Lohitadas, who began his innings as a director with Bhoothakannadi, then made Kaarunyam, Kanmadam, Ormacheppu and Rayannangulade Veedu, all defying trends and still attracting viewers. In India, very few films have been made focussing on the life inside a circus tent. Mera Naam Joker, an adaptation of KA Abbas’s novel of the same name by the great showman Raj Kapoor and Aravindan’s immortal Thambu are the only ones worth mentioning. And now Lohitadas has made a very humble effort to recreate on celluloid the lives of circus folk in his own typical style.

Royal Circus, owned by Govindan, is in dire financial straits. With the help of his manager Khader, Govindan just manages to run the company, yet not satisfactorily. .All the members of the troupe live as a family. There is Kumaran who, since he is ageing, has taken up clowning, giving up other feats. He is married to Jameela. There is Shekharan, the animal trainer who has an emotional attachment with his elephants and lions. There is cook Susheela who even steals coconuts and plantains from the neighbourhood in order to feed the troupe. Ranjan Bappa is a hefty wrestler type man with an unending appetite. Abookka, the clown had turned insane, but still insists on putting make-up and entering the ring, as a result he has to be chained when the show is on. Babu, the clown, is the favourite of all and has been in the troupe since his childhood, looking after other children, especially Govindan’s daughter Kamala. And according to Govindan, Babu would marry Kamala and be his heir. Thus he falls in love with Kamala. Trained by Abookka, Babu becomes a perfect clown and learns the art of masking his sorrows behind the clown’s ever laughing mask. It is when Sudhakar, better known as Sudheer Misra, the young son of Padmini, a former member of the troupe makes his entry into the camp that things begin to change. He steers the company out of its crisis and gives it a new look and calls it New Royal Circus. Things change for the better. But there are other changes too - undesirable ones.

Dileep is perfectly cast as Babu, while Nishant Saagar fits in as Sudheer. Late Bahadur has put up a brilliant performance as Abookka, the character which was his last one on the celluloid before his demise recently. Newcomer Manya is okay as Kamala while Bindu Panicker shines in the role of Susheela. Mala Aravindan, Mamookoya, Sreehari, NL Balakrishnan and Zeenath are good. Songs, penned by Yusuf Ali Kechery and Lohitadas (who makes his debut as the lyricist) and set to tune by Mohan Sithara are melodious. It has camerawork by Venugopal, background score by SP Venkatesh and editing by Sreekar Prasad. Art director Krishnankutty has done a good job of recreating the atmosphere of a circus camp effectively.

Cover Story
Tabu in a different role
Suresh Gopi is once again at his best, this time in an action-oriented role, in Revathi Kalamandir’s latest venture Cover Story. Directed by GS Vijayan, the maker of Aanavaathil Mothiram and Saaphalyam, Cover Story also stars Biju Menon and Bollywood actress Tabu in the lead.

Retired Justice Menon has a new neighbour in Jasmine, a Mumbai-based girl who comes to Kerala to join a computer firm. The two become friends. For Jasmine, Menon is a father figure. One day Menon is killed, and Jasmine is the only witness. But she could see the killer only vaguely as her contact lenses had fallen. The matter takes a new turn. Vijay, the executive-director of True Vision Television Channel, reaches the spot to cover the story for his channel. And so does Anand S Nath, the Assistant Commissioner of Police who investigates the case. The investigation starts, centering around Jasmine, who seems to be shrouded in mysteries. The director retains the suspense only till the interval when the killer is revealed and then the story takes a new direction, unfolding a saga of revenge.

Suresh Gop, Biju Menon and Tabu are good. Nedumudi Venu is his usual self as Justice Menon. Siddique as a shrewd politician, and NF Verghese as a bold journalist, too have done full justice to their respective roles. The songs written by Gireesh Puthencherry and set to tune by Sharath, have been visualised brilliantly and add to the quality of a film. Cinematography is by Venugopal and editing is by Sreekar Prasad. Unni R Nair

Tamil
Kannuga Kanakahe
Offbeat subject
The film is about the love between a brother and sister and what happens when an astrologer predicts that the sister’s child would be the cause of the brother’s death. The film is noted for the career best performance by Devyani who has defied the star system to play the sister. Murali provides a good foil.
The director, through several scenes brings out the closeness between Murali and Devyani, who play siblings. When an astrologer tells Murali that the horoscope of Raja, Devyani’s husband predicts that if their first born is a boy, the child’s uncle will die when the child is five years old. Not wanting to disappoint the sister, Murali keeps it a secret and only his fiancee is aware of this. A baby born is born to Devyani and as years pass by tension mounts. When Devyani learns of this, she consumes poison after giving a portion to her child because if the child is dead before the completion of its fourth birthday then Murali would survive. Meanwhile a prank played on Vadivelu results in Murali getting hit by an arrow in the neck. The sister, brother and the child land in the hospital and after an emotional melodrama, escape from the astrologer’s prediction.
Director Dhayalan’s screenplay and Thankar Pachan’s camera with Deva’s music capture the rustic charm. Ayyappa Prasad

TELUGU
Ammo! Oka Tothedi
A family entertainer
With a thought-provoking film Ammo! Oka Tothedi, director EVV Satyanarayana has come up with a logical solution for middle-class people. He wants every member of the family to earn for a decent living instead of leaving the burden on one individual. EVV explores an excellent performer in LB Sriram and the characters like a nagging aged father, an irresponsible son, and the girls trying to help their father are close to reality with Suresh, Raasi and Srikanth giving good account of themselves. EVV’s occasional attempt with off-beat themes is commendable since he can explore various subjects instead of confining himself to routine subjects.

LB Sriram is a APSRTC driver. His family comprises his wife, three daughters, one son (Suresh) and an aged father (Kota Srinivasa Rao). His first daughter Prema is married while Raasi and her sister are spinsters. educated but unemployed son Suresh, dreams of becoming rich by marrying a rich girl but ends up marrying the maid servant. Sriram is unable to satisfy the wants of his family with his meagre income. Moreover, he has to shell out money even to his married daughter for some reason or the other. The father keeps reminding him about his cataract operation. He also has a widowed sister to look after. Soon he is in a financial mess. Srikanth is a bus conductor, his father pulls rickshaw and his mother and grandmother also work to build a house. His family helps Sriram many a times. Srikanth falls in love with Raasi. Sriram, unknowingly, runs the bus over his son-in-law and is jailed. He decides to sell his ancestral house without informing his father and solve all his problems. When Suresh and Kota file a case against him, the judge gives the judgement in Sriram’s favour and all the members begin to earn their living, realising their mistakes.

The dialogues are punchy at many places and the director would have avoided the comedy track since it doesn’t jell with the proceedings. Vandemataram Srinivas’s background music is better than his songs.

BVSP