Fazil - The Grandfather of The New Generation Movement

Fazil - The Grandfather of The New Generation Movement

Njan mumbu orikil chodichillatha oru chodyam chodichal, Nee Uthram Parayu? Pathinanchu vayasil kaanathayi nee, pinne iruvathu aaru varshangal, evide aayirunu? This dialogue is something that hits us way back to those days when life was like in the 80s. At that time Malayalam cinema was going through a tectonic shift as industry veterans were starting to age. On December 25th, 1980, Manjil Virinja Pookal from Navodaya had released. It was credited with introducing a new face who later became the thespian of Malayalam Cinema, Mohanlal. This was made possible by a 31-year-old filmmaker named Fazil who also made his sole directorial debut.

Since then, Fazil has gone on to make films that have experimented with stories within the commercial format. He also made minor appearances in the films that he directed. One of his films Nokkethu Kaanum Doorathu had him play the role of Alexi who happens to be a friend. He also introduced Nadia Moidu in the lead role as an actress. He also entered Tamil Cinema and introduced actresses like Kushbhu Sundar and Shalini. It was with Aniyathipravu that he spotted the talent of Kunchacko Boban who went from Chocolate Box Heroes to becoming the face of thrillers. In Kaiyethyum Doorathu, He even introduced his son Fahadh Faasil and Nikitha Thukral. This film was an unexpected failure in the box office. Fazil directed his last film; Living together in which he introduced Sshivada Nair. Out of all the films he directed, Manichitrathazhu was the best film I ever watched as he gave the audiences the revival of a horror genre. Nobody can forget the Oru Murai Vandhu Paathaya song that still remains in our hearts. The Gange Scene seems to have entered pop culture sentiments and people still re-enact that scene.

Fazil is still active as an actor and people still associate him with the character Father Nedumpally from the Lucifer Trilogy. I am hoping for Fazil to make a comeback as a director very soon.

Rang De Basanti - A Film That became a Movement.

Rang De Basanti - A Film That became a Movement.

Disclaimer: In an earlier article, I wrote about Rang De Basanti being the case study of corruption, but I felt this was not enough, so I decided to write an in-depth analysis into what made this film so endearing to the Indian Diaspora. I would honestly call this a sequel Article.

This film is a story of Sue McKinley, a young Documentary Filmmaker who sets out to make a film based on her Grandfather's Encounter with the revolutionaries which served as an inspiration. With the motive in mind, she sets out on a journey to Delhi and finds the people who are suited in Daljeet Singh, Karan Singhania, Sukhi Ram, Aslam and Lakshman Pandey along with Sonia. Their work on the documentary results in them imbibing a strong sense of Patriotism. Their Patriotism which was asleep at that time had just woken up with the documentary serving as a catalyst and also the demise of one of their friends, a flight pilot in a MIG- 21 crash which the corrupt government used excuses to cover up the crime. A candlelight vigil is held but is broken up. They decide that they have had enough and take law in their hands by killing the corrupt defense minister as well as Karan's Dad who was also complicit in this case. They go and confess their crime to the people and are murdered by the same government whom they were fighting against.

Character Sketches:

Daljeet Singh alias DJ is described in just one line - There are 2 ways to live life. One is to accept things the way they are and the second is to assume responsibility to make changes.

Karan Singhania: He is a frustrated Playboy son of a rich businessman who is corrupt to the core. The feeling of patriotism is so strong for Karan that he ends up confronting his father for his role in the death of his friend which is similar to Chris's confrontation with his dad over his shady past in all my sons.

Laxman Pandey is a Hindutva Activist who initially starts out as a person who fights for his own party but later gets disillusioned by its corrupt tactics and leaves to join the boys in their fight for the truth.

Sukhi Ram is described as a bachelor who is hoping to find a girlfriend for himself later decides to join his buddies in their mission to kill the corrupt system. He is initially afraid of death but later embraces it with a smile.

Aslam Khan is a Muslim guy who comes from a rigid family as his father and brother are against forming alliance with people from other religions. Aslam is different as he is shown to be radical.

Legacy: 

The film not only set the box office registers ringing but it also awakened the youngsters who were entirely fed up with the system. Rakeysh Mehra who directed the film didn't expect that it would cause a social impact on the Indian Diaspora. At the time of its release, The Jessica Lal case witnessed an acquittal of her killer. This resulted in angry people marching off to India Gate and also organizing candlelight vigils to get justice for Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mathoo who was also killed. This film inspired youngsters to fight for their rights as citizens of this country. 

In My Opinion, Rang De Basanti is a film that brought out Patriotism and amalgamated it with the youngster life. There was no trace of Jingoism in the film. This has become a class apart on how to bring out the meaning of Patriotism without being too preachy.

Traffic - A Well -Made Hyperlink Thriller

Traffic - A Well -Made Hyperlink Thriller

Written by Bobby-Sanjay

Director - Rajesh Pillai 

Producer - Listen Stephen

Music - Mejo Joseph

Cast- Sreenivasan, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Kunchacko Boban, Roma Asrani, Sandhya, Saikumar, Asif Ali, Rahman, Anoop Menon and Others

One Line- Based on a true incident in Chennai, this film focuses on an Arduous journey from Kochi to Palakkad to donate a dead Journalist's heart to a heart patient.

My Review: 

Traffic is one such film that deserves a rewatch for the way it was made. The film came at the time when Mollywood was going through a phase where Superstardom was higher, and content was going down. It was a time when Malayalam Heroes became well known for their testosterone characters. This film came in like a breeze of fresh air.

Technicality Wise - The script by Bobby Sanjay works wonders and has been beautifully communicated in a visual sense. The cinematography and the music work so well that we are transported on a fast drive. The direction is so intricately done and the nuances in each scene are portrayed very well.

Performance Wise: Sreenivasan has downplayed his character very well as a person who is looking to redeem himself for a mistake that he had committed. Vineeth brought in his freshness as an aspiring tv journalist. Anoop Menon performed so well as a cop who initiates the dangerous mission. Kunchacko's performance was so new and fresh. It was a relief seeing him out of his chocolate boy image. Saikumar plays a father who grieves the loss of his son but at the same time also helps to donate the heart. It shows the power of sacrifice. Asif Ali brought life to his character who helps to keep his friend's memory alive. Kadhal Sandhya's role was meaty enough as a divorcee. All the other actors performed very well. Jose Prakash's Last appearance was amazingly well done and the energy he brought serves as a reminder for artists who are aging but still raring to go.

In My Opinion, Traffic is one such film that signaled the beginning of the New Age Movement in Malayalam Cinema. It's a pity that Rajesh Pillai is not here with us anymore. But he will be remembered for his cult classics.

My Retrospective on KS Ravikumar

My Retrospective on KS Ravikumar

It was in the 90s that Kollywood was starting to experience a change of Filmmaking. Many young people entered and managed to leave such an imprint on the marks of K-Town. One such filmmaker happened to be K.S Ravikumar. He started out as an assistant under Director Vikraman for a romantic film. In 1990, He made his entry into the Film Industry with Puriyatha Puthir which was a thriller. It was an adaptation of Sunil Kumar Desai's Tarka. This was his only film outside the masala genre for which he later became well known.

He then went on to direct action dramas set in villages. His collaborations with Erode Soundar and Sarathkumar made their films timeless. Through this works, Sarathkumar who had been struggling at that time got a break. One such Film Nattamai was credited with redefining Masala Movies in Villages. One such dialogue "Nattamai Theerpu Matti Sollu" entered pop culture phenomena. He then collaborated with Superstar Rajinikanth for 3 films: Muthu, Padayappa and Lingaa with music composed by A.R Rahman. Thus, the collaboration was called as Tamil Cinema's RRR. 

His collaborations with Kamal Hassan involved the witty writeups of Crazy Mohan who was called the P.G Wodehouse of Tamil Humor. People said that men alone could play villains and women could be restricted to side parts and heroine roles that added to the glamour of a film. K.S Ravikumar gave the audiences an Irunga Bhai Moment by creating a villainous character Neelambari which was played by Small Screen Legend Ramya Krishnan. This film is termed as The Baahubali of the 90s. Padayappa's legacy resulted in K.S Ravikumar making a different film named Minsara Kanna (Based on the song of the same name) which starred Vijay in the lead role. His films mainly focused on the themes of greed, love, betrayal. etc. He has often worked with established veterans who have experienced the stardom as actors.

From the 1990s till the 2010s, K.S Ravikumar's films were known for their experimental style within the commercial format. His work, Lingaa with Rajini turned out to be a dud at the box office. He then went on to direct a few more films that unfortunately missed the BO Mark. His cameo appearances in the films that he directed served as training ground for his acting career. He transitioned from Mass ka Baap Director to Character Artist. He is active as an actor but when it comes to filmmaking, he is close to retirement. We are still missing the entertainment that the director in him gave. What K-Town needs is the vintage K.S Ravikumar Stamp as a director to make a comeback.

My Retrospective on S.Shankar as a filmmaker

My Retrospective on S.Shankar as a filmmaker 

Once upon a time, there lived a ghost named S.Shankar. Once, termed as a filmmaker with a Midas touch, his current films have now become flops in terms of box office ability and content. 

In the 90s till 2010, Shankar was well known for bringing in his unique style as a director with ideas that warranted Large Scale extravaganza and big budget visuals. His collaborations with late novelist and screenwriter Sujatha were the common factor that worked well with the audiences. When it comes to music, Shankar has often worked with Madras's Mozart A.R Rahman. His stories held a lot of reverence with the common man. 

The works that solidified Shankar as India's Steven Spielberg were Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Boys, Anniyan, Sivaji the boss and Enthiran. Gentleman was a desi take on Robin Hood, Kadhalan was a love story set in a political angle of deceit and terrorism, Indian revolved around an ex- freedom fighter's war against corruption, Jeans focused on a love story between twins, Mudhalvan spoke of a journalist who took up a challenge to become a Chief Minister for 24 hours, Boys was a coming-of-age love story, Anniyan was about a meek lawyer who assumes an alter ego of a grim reaper to punish corrupt criminals to change the system, Sivaji the Boss focused on an Software Engineer who fought against a corrupt businessman to start an NGO while Enthiran was a story of a robot. 

Even despite the demise of Sujatha, Shankar went on to make another successful film named Nanban which was adapted from Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots which in turn was loosely adapted from Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone. This movie was a big hit. But later the subsequent films he made showed that his contents were not cohesive enough. I was a desi adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, but it focused on a Model who is deformed by his enemies. Though the songs were good, the storyline was a bit too meandering, 2.0 focused on a war between Birds and Phone users. The content was cohesive enough for a sequel to do so good.

Indian 2 was the most awaited sequel but unfortunately became a sequel we didn't ask for as the story was not the hero. It was made from old cartoons that combined to create a mismatch. He himself parodied his earlier works as well. While the original had soul, the sequel had become a stale affair, and it was like having an undercooked dinner. His next work Game Changer also was termed boring by the people. This film also warranted too much of Mocobots that in turn ruined the film's story. In My Opinion Shankar's Vintage style of a filmmaker needs a comeback.