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Mammootty
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One day Alice
finds that her husband has vanished. And she sets out in search
of him. But, for Alice, the search ends in a revelation, or rather
a series of revelations. And the man who took film lovers into Alice’s
world and made them a partake of Alice’s search is none other
than TV Chandran, one of the boldest of Malayalam filmmakers.
Alicinte Anveshanam
(Alice’s Quest), made in 1989, won rave reviews and was an
entry in the Locarno Film Festival of 1990. And thus Chandran, who
had earlier made Krishnankutty in 1981 and Hemavin Kathalargal (Tamil)
in 1985, started getting noticed as a filmmaker worth reckoning.
Alicinte Anveshanam set the ball rolling as far as Chandran’s
creative urge was concerned. Chandran then made Ponthan Maada (1993),
a film in which Mammootty and Naseeruddin Shah, unparalleled actors
in their own respects, matched their acting skills. Then followed
Ormakal Undaayirikkanam and Mankamma, both unforgettable experiences
for film lovers. And with Susanna last year, Chandran proved his
boldness once again by narrating on celluloid the saga of womanhood.
Exploring hitherto unknown realms of the female psyche, the film
featured powerful performance by Vani Viswanath. Now this bold filmmaker
from Kerala is getting ready to present his eighth film, Dani, his
third one with Mammootty after Ponthan Maada and Ormakal Undayirikkanam.
It is, no doubt, that Dani is going to be a real treat for film
lovers.
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T.V.
Chandran
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Dani, produced
under the banner of Film Commune, tells us the story of Daniel Thomas,
a character who travels in Time along with historical events. Dani
as he is known, was born on the day of the Dandi Salt March. His
wife leaves him on the day the first Communist Government of Kerala
loses power. Dani’s love, disappointments, triumphs everything
coincides with historical events. Dani dons many roles in life.
He sings in the church. Then he becomes a saxophone player. And
then many such roles. But with the passage of time, Dani is abandoned
by all and he finds himself destined to lead a desolate existence.
He ends up in a hospital. And it is here that he meets Bhargavi
Amma, a retired professor, who is also desolate after the death
of her daughter and after being totally isolated in life. Dani and
Bhargavi Amma develop an intimacy and they travel back together
from the hospital. But Dani passes away on the way. Anyhow Bhargavi
Amma decides to perform the funeral rites in the Christian manner
in the compound of her house, a house of orthodox Hindus. This creates
certain problems, but Bhargavi Amma decides to dare all such problems.
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Mallika
Sarabhai
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It’s a
matter of no doubt that the character of Dani is going to be yet
another feather in the cap of Mammootty, an actor who has proved
himself time and again by giving life to many impressive characters.
As Dani, Mammootty has got to portray different faces on the screen
as the character is presented in different stages of life, ranging
from youth to extreme old age. Renowned dancer Mallika Sarabhai,
who has also acted in some Hindi and Gujarati films and an English
film as well, makes her appearance for the first time in a Malayalam
film with Dani. As Bhargavi Amma, this accomplished artist renders
able support to Mammootty’s Dani. TV Chandran had earlier intended
to cast Mallika in the title role in Susanna, but somehow it didn’t
happen. And what then did not materialise in Susanna has now materialised
in Dani and the gifted danseuse is here to make her presence felt.
The film also
stars Vani Viswanath, Vijayaraghavan, Siddique, Ratheesh, M.R. Gopakumar,
Narendra Prasad and Sivaji. Vani Viswanath does the role of Dani’s
wife while Vijayaraghavan plays his son, Robert. Popular television
actress Maya Moushmi appears in the role of his daughter Clara.
Ratheesh is facing the arc-lights after a gap of about a decade
as the doctor who treats Dani. The film also marks the launch of
a star-son. Devadevan, the son of actor Vijayaraghavan and the grandson
of noted actor Late N. N. Pillai, makes his debut on the silver
screen with Dani. And it is a notable fact that this youngster plays
two characters in the film - the childhood of Dani’s son, Robert
and then Robert’s son Albert.
Behind the
screen, assisting TV Chandran as his assistants are son Yadavan
and brother Soman. Yadavan, a diploma holder in Visual Communications,
assisted him in Susanna too. Chandran’s elder brother Soman
too has assisted him in some of his earlier ventures.
TV Chandran
himself has penned the story and the script of Dani. K. G. Jayan
does the cinematography while Venugopal is the editor and Nemon
Pushparaj, the art-director. Johnson has scored the music for the
film which is very much likely to be a film worth waiting. Dani
will hit the theatres soon.
—
Unni R. Nair
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