Spoilers ahead…
By all rights, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol should have been a sex comedy – one of those films in which a married man begins to scratch that seven-year itch. Mohanlal plays Ulahannan, a panchayat official whose life is leached of excitement. The first time we see him, he’s snoring in a bus. He’s married to Annyamma (Meena, suffering some terrible makeup), but she tells a sympathetic neighbour that he hasn’t looked properly at her in months. She sleeps with the children, while he locks himself up in their bedroom. “I don’t disturb her and she doesn’t disturb me,” he tells a friend.
Into this life, a bombshell is dropped. Her name is Julie (Neha Saxena). She’s dressed in bright red, she smells of Dior perfume. Ulahannan is smitten. A slow, idiotic grin spreads over his face every time she calls. The scene is set for farcical shenanigans, something like Sathi Leelavathi – but the director Jibu Jacob is after something bigger, more wistful, and, yes, sadder. This is, if you will, a sex dramedy. Julie, it turns out, is as unhappy as Annyamma – her husband never asks her if she is happy. Ulahannan’s former flame, Indu (Asha Sharath), tells him that her husband, who’s ten years older, is always suspicious. And we get the line that firmly sets the film’s tone: “Marriage is not to forget the past. It is an attempt to convince others we’ve forgotten the past.”
Munthirivallikal, then, is a chronicle of marriage. And it shines a spotlight – sometimes briefly, sometimes throughout – on many marriages. Ulahannan’s. Julie’s. Indu’s. The boozy old neighbour’s, the man whose wife keeps locking him out. Venukuttan’s. The latter is Ulahannan’s friend (played by Anoop Menon, who aces the difficult task of making sliminess endearing), and he keeps flirting with women over the phone, saving their numbers under male names so his wife won’t catch on. It’s cheating, but the director’s gentle, tactful, unjudgemental handling of these characters and the sometimes-sordid situations they are trapped in make us see the bigger picture, that monotony can dull the edges of a marriage and men begin to exhibit the classic symptoms of mid-life crisis. (Women do too, but when men behave badly, we are still in the realm of a “family entertainer.” Boys will be boys, et cetera. When women behave badly, the film becomes an edgy Phantom production.)
The film’s biggest strength, apart from the marvellously understated performances (especially by Mohanlal) is that its message – nurture your relationships or they will wither and die – is always under the surface. There are a few over-expository lines and the ending is a bit of a disaster. Suddenly, the events, involving Ulahannan’s daughter Jini (Aima Rosmy Sebastian), turn preachy and melodramatic and plot-heavy. Bits of the film seem off. The scenes of Ulahannan at work are fun (a rather theatrical co-worker is a riot), but there’s a small action scene that feels out of place in these placid surroundings. But you’ve taken these people to heart, and a few missteps don’t matter.
Among these people is Ulahannan’s colleague Lilykutty, who has a crush on him. Another film would use her for comedy. She’d keep coming on to Ulahannan and he’d keep swatting her away, as though she were a pesky mosquito. But Ulahannan later says he kept away from her because he was afraid he’d be tempted, that he’d fall for her. Once again, there’s some hypocrisy here. (So he resists the ordinary-looking Lilykutty, but has no such qualms with Julie?) But we see that this is Ulahannan’s hypocrisy, not the film’s.
We see this in the lovely scene where Ulahannan confesses to Annyamma that he had a thing for Julie, and she hears him out while doing her chores. She isn’t wide-eyed, open-mouthed – because she probably knew, and also because she has her own confession to make. This is treated like comedy, but it’s nice to see a mainstream movie where a husband is made to tolerate his wife’s “infidelities” as much as she’s made to tolerate his. Munthirivallikal works best when it maps out these little details in a marriage.
There’s a Drishyam-like subplot about Jini, who falls for a rich dude. Ulahannan realises she’s becoming a woman and he wants to ask her how far things have gone, but at that precise moment she asks him for help with her English homework and he realises she’s still his little girl. I smiled when Jini catches her newly invigorated parents in a clinch, but beneath the “cuteness” of the moment, we get Annyamma’s acute embarrassment. How can she assume moral higher ground and lecture her daughter about sex when she herself has been “caught”? This is a beautiful observation about sexual guilt that many Indian women still feel, and it’s all the more beautiful for appearing in a film that can be seen with the family.
KEY:
- Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol = when the vines sprout
Copyright ©2017 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
MANK
February 16, 2017
The best thing about this film was mohanlal, after a series of disappointments, he seems to have struck some vintage form with back to back winners in oppam and this film. he is back to being the brilliantly understated and ‘invisible’ actor that he was during his golden period
i am quite irritated by the drishyam ‘influences’ that has been present in both oppam and this film, but glad that the director did not overdo it.Also quite a refreshing sight to see a pair of totally out of shape hero and heroine in a mainstream film playing their age and body size 🙂 , something thats impossible in today’s hindi cinema
P.S. Brangan, do watch the same director’s earlier film vellimoonga, its a terrific political satire and perhaps in a lot of ways a much better film than this one.
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brangan
February 16, 2017
MANK: Also quite a refreshing sight to see a pair of totally out of shape hero and heroine
Hey, round IS a shape. At least that’s what I tell myself every time I face a mirror 😀
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MANK
February 16, 2017
Hey, round IS a shape
ha ha, true that. you have the real size zero figure 🙂
on a side note, do you remember the last time you saw such full bodied hero and heroine in hindi cinema?, i try to remember as far as 90’s which was the golden time for a very full bodied Govinda, but even the heroines who used to act opposite him were svelte like Karishma and Raveena. or even the days of sanjeev kumar (ah that spectacular tande tande paani song in pati patni or woh 🙂 ) i cant think of a an actress of the size – like meena in this film – ever adorning the hindi film heroine’s role.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 16, 2017
‘P.S. Brangan, do watch the same director’s earlier film vellimoonga, its a terrific political satire and perhaps in a lot of ways a much better film than this one.’
Sir you know it’s the film they remade as ‘Muthina Kathirika’, don’t you? So disappointment is out of the question
MANK: Didn’t mind the Jeethu Joseph influences in Oppam, After all, they were in the hands of a better director. Those who think the ‘breaking bottles’ scene in Kabali was great, should watch the scene in ‘Oppam’.
I think with almost each film of his being incomplete without any kind of self-referencing, Mohanlal may never be able to be ‘the man who could play anything and we’d never know its the same person’. Unless he does something like a Vanaprastham.
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Deepa
February 16, 2017
It is nice to see reviews of other language movies. It helps on a boring weekday, to take a break and watch some good movies. Much awaited Prithiviraj and Indrajith movie Tiyaan would hit the screens soon. Hope to see your review then.
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Kay
February 16, 2017
Sounds very interesting. I have to check it out.
Mank, can you recommend some good Malayalam movies (with happy endings)?
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brangan
February 16, 2017
Deepa: There are many “other language” movies that have been discussed here, either in reviews or in columns. If interested, you can check out the “Category” dropdown on the sidebar and get to them.
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supertramp
February 16, 2017
I think this is the only positive review this film got. I have a huge issue with how these daughter/son characters and their relationships or angst is portrayed in these films by old school makers. Sathyan Anthikad is a serial offender when it comes to this. As always happy to see you review other language films when most other reviewers don’t even give it a try. Obviously there’s a pet peeve about the choice of films ( not necessarily about the quality or you liking them).
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MANK
February 16, 2017
Kay, of the recent lot oppam, maheshinte prathikaram, action hero Biju, jacobinte swargarajyan , su su sudhi vatmeekam are all pretty good with happy endings
And if you want to watch a little more downbeat stuff kammatipadam and Kali , very riveting stuff, but not so happy endings
And if you want to see happiness throughout, watch aanandham, as the title suggests it is all happiness, no villains or bad characters. movie with all young newcomers,more like Dil chahta hai where a bunch of IT kids go on a IV cum pleasure trip. Rather shallow , but I found it enjoyable
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brangan
February 16, 2017
supertramp: Obviously there’s a pet peeve about the choice of films
Not sure I understand. Are you asking: “Why are you reviewing this particular film?”
if so, then the answer is just that this was released in Chennai with subtitles. I caught it a while ago but got around to writing the review only now.
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supertramp
February 16, 2017
@BRangan No sir, just that you don’t review all the films that release with subs, that isn’t possible anyway 😀 I get why you review a particular film, no problems with any of that.
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MANK
February 16, 2017
Supertramp, what do you mean the only positive review. It has been praised all around.
https://www.google.com/amp/indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/munthirivallikal-thalirkkumbol-movie-review-mohanlal-starrer-is-all-about-loving-the-family-4483477
Even the Catholic Church has given a thumbs up and insisted on their flock watching it
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supertramp
February 16, 2017
@MANK Oh, ok. I was going by the feed back I got. Regressive elements is there means Catholic Church will obviously give thumbs up. I heard those who read ” Pranayopanishad” were mostly disappointed. Haven’t read it though. Vellimoonga was brilliant attempt at satire and had great lines.
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Deepa
February 16, 2017
Rangan Sir, i have been following this blog religiously for quite sometime. I have even referred to “A ladies man’ for a paper on KB’s women leads. I was there in Anna Adarsh last Jan when you shared a session with Shalini. Today,my comment was to show my gratitude cos the blog and comment section have helped me a lot in enriching my vocabulary and my knowledge.
Thank you Sir.
P.S. I am a great fan of Mohanlal. His voice that traverses through ” Onnu Mudhal Poojyam vare ” still haunts me on a silent lonely night. Just the voice and i think only he is capable of making such an impact without seen much on the screen.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 17, 2017
Kay: You can also add Anuraga Karikkin Vellam to your list
MANK: On a side note, didn’t you find Aanandam’s 3rd act heavily contrived, and (esp. the divorce part), plain ridiculous? Otherwise, a fun film very much in line with the Vineeth Sreenivasan oeuvre
supertramp: I feel something similar; more than happy to see him check out other languages, obv. Malayalam in particular, yet can’t really get over the fact that he missed some fine films last year
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Gautham
February 17, 2017
Rangan Sir, I wanted you to review this movie as you had reviewed Jomomte Suvisheshangal which was released in the same weekend. I was little bit sad as you didnt review Munthirivalii which was far better than Jomon… . But thanks for reviewing it though little late.
‘Latea vanthalum latest ayi varuvenne’.
I’m a budding blogger taking having taken inspiration from you.
Please do read my review of Munthirivallikal too.
https://gauthamjnair.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/a-cute-love-story-of-a-middle-aged-couple/
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Gowri Shankar Chalat
February 17, 2017
How does this review thing work? Do you take notes while reviewing a film or do you watch it multiple times or mull over it after after watching the film. Because as a viewer I am involved in the film but miss so many things that you mention in your reviews. I have to say reviewing a film is a skill and you are probably the most skilled in this country..
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MANK
February 17, 2017
Rohit, oh the film itself was rather exaggerated and artificial and I enjoyed it on that level. So the last act didn’t bother me that much
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 17, 2017
Sure, the film was cotton candy, but even by those levels, how can you believe a father who makes his daughter gulp down his divorce in 2 minutes? How did he land up in a divorce in the first place if he had this gift?
PS: Silence released today in all major cities in India except Chennai. What are the odds?
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Rishikesh
February 17, 2017
@brangan Bit surprised to note that you have overlooked some of film’s flaws..the character julie for instance..it seemed poorly written..there are some nice slice of life moments and films is,thoroughly watchable unlike the super crap called ‘Vellimoonga’ but falls short of being entirely satisfying..the chief problem i thought was that film tried to do too much..the scenes at panchayat office turned out to be unnecessary and the track around felt the girl felt cliched. May be since you are not entirely familiar with the language and industry, you are letting some things pass, like in the case of Premam which i thought was a bore of a film.
Malayalam film industry is not able to break some rules..more due to limitations than lack of talent..it is virtually impossible to make a multiplex film like bollywood there..and thus you are forced to infuse comedy, songs into a story that would do much better without all those.
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brangan
February 18, 2017
Rishikesh: What makes you think that had I known the language I wouldn’t have “overlooked the flaws”?
What’s a “flaw” for you need not be a flaw for me, right?
The language aspect is one thing, certainly. Whenever I watch a movie in Kannada or Gujarati or German or Spanish, I am always going to be an “outsider.”
And it’s not just about being a linguistic outsider. It’s also being a “cultural outsider.”
Even in a Tamil milieu, someone brought up in Chennai is a cultural outsider when it comes to a Bharathiraja movie — and his/her experience will be very different from someone from that actual village.
Then there is the temporal outsider.
I may like Sivaji films from the 50s, but my experience of them will NEVER be the same as, say, my father’s — just as my nephew’s experience of Ilayaraja’s music will never be the same as mine.
So yes, while I agree that I may have had a “different” experience of the film that you (or another “proper” Malayali), it is nonetheless a very valid experience. And I am only talking about MY experience, not trying to say someone else will have the very same experience.
That said, there is the film itself. I realise Jomonte is filled with cliches, but I am a sucker for films that show a backslapping bond between fathers and sons. So I was able to set aside some of the cliches and enjoy what worked for me.
It’s all very subjective.
Every person’s experience of a film is going to be different. When you read a critic, it’s to see how HE experienced the film, not to validate whether that experience mirrored yours. Or worse, is “right” or “wrong.”
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MANK
February 18, 2017
Rohit, I saw silence when I was abroad recently. It’s a very very different Martin Scorsese film. None of his trademark camera moves , editing cuts or color schemes. It’s a very static slow moving , stately paced movie with a monochromatic look. He has altered his style keeping with the subject matter. Only kundun comes closest what he has done here. I think he was also inspired by Japanese masters like Kurosawa and Ozu in the making _ A scene were a group of Inquisitors come out of fog reminded me of an exact image from throne of blood. It’s pretty long too at around three hours. But I was riveted throughout
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tonks
February 18, 2017
http://www.inuth.com/entertainment/mohanlal-emerges-indias-first-superstar-to-deliver-5-straight-blockbusters-in-5-months-including-2-rs-100-crore-grossers/
This is pretty amazing, I thought
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sanjana
February 18, 2017
MANK, Hema Malini is not exactly size zero in some of her movies. And Raakhee Gulzar in Trishul is anything but svelte. And so was Nargis. I will try to remember and rattle of some more names.
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tonks
February 18, 2017
Vidya Balan in some of her movies. She was dumpy and deglamorised in Kahani 2
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Kid
February 18, 2017
Tonks: This is not a knock on Lal (and his many remarkable achievements including the Pulimargan one….actually think that Drishyam might be an even greater success in some ways considering it was hardly the “blockbuster” kind of film), but that Inuth website seems to be unaware of Bachchan or Rajini (and their respective box office achievements…Bachchan, in his prime, has pretty much an incomparable record which remains unmatched by any actor from any industry of the world…Rajini comes closest to him in this regard. Lal’s box office achievements, as astonishing as they are in their own right, aren’t even in the same ball park). MANK had summed up all of it in a comment not so long ago. Again, this is not a slight on Lal at all. It is remarkable that he is still giving blockbusters at this age, but once the writer frames the arguement in the way he has, it’s important to bring in some hard facts. Also Manyam Puli is dubbed version of Puli Murugan so it’s not even a separate film. Janatha Garage is first and foremost a Jr NTR film (Lal has a supporting role here and he hardly contributed to its gross).
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Kid
February 18, 2017
While I wouldn’t call its ending a happy one (though it is a “hopeful” one), I thought Jayaraj’s “Ottal” is a magnificent work and one of the great contemporary Malayalam films. The film has Chekhov written all over (it’s adapted from Vanka) and yet it tells a very rooted, localised tale.
The other underrated Malayalam (the ending, again difficult to cahracterise it, here is a masterstroke and is easily the best part of the film) film I saw not too long back was Sidharth Siva’s “Ain”. The film seems to have been made on a miniscule budget ( production design is quite poor), but there is something quite mysterious about it. And Musthafa is terrific in a demanding role.
And while there is nothing happy about the film, “Papilio Buddha” is a supreme piece of filmmaking. Political, polemical, incendiary and yet very, very human.
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Kid
February 18, 2017
I think Maheshinte Prathikaram is one of the absolute great works as far as Indian comedy films are concerned and Fahadh’s work here is deserving of the highest praise (incidentally his common man/little guy is less Mohanlal and more Amol Palekar IMO. In an alternate timeline, if Mahesh’s marriage proposal gets rejected, he might have to hire the services of Col. Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh). I actually think it is superior to a number of widely praised comedies made around the same period (for instance, barring Golmaal and Chupke Chupke, it is better than every other Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy. It is also certainly better than any Tamil comedy I have seen other than Pesum Padam). Also it has one of the great cinema homages….notice how the director highlights the heroism of the Mohanlal character (Kireedam) and yet comments on the character’s foolishness (and the fatalism of both the character and the Malayil film). In other words, it works simultaneously as a tribute/homage, an affecionate parody and a sly deconstruction of Kireedam (and all of it is done with a very light touch). I also think it is a farely subversive (and yet affectionate) take on the serious Masala cinema and its cathartuc virtues (notice the sudden,abrupt end of the film which is a far cry from the climactic fight….and because the director does not end the film when Mahesh wins the fight, but at the pRoposal scene, the element of catharsis is removed).
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sanjana
February 18, 2017
I think MANK meant someone without star signature or aura with ordinary looks and some healthy body type.
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tonks
February 18, 2017
Kid, yes, but did they have so many blockbusters within such a short time and that too at such an advanced age? Agree with you about the Pulimurugan dub not counting as a separate movie.
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Rishikesh
February 18, 2017
@brangan I get your point…Don’t be mistaken, I am really happy to see you review mainstream malayalam cinema in this blog like all others..It may be a personal thing, but something made me feel that you were going a bit soft on them.like there are many aspects that you could have talked about..the director’s fairly old-fashioned approach for one..I will be tad surprised if you disagree on that note though.
For me, milieu and particularly language do matter a lot..I watch very less tamil movies due to this reason..I somehow feel that i wont be grasp the soul of it fully, while watching it with the help of subs
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MANK
February 18, 2017
Sanjana, Tonks , Hema ,Rakhee and vidhya were full bodied and also oozes a certain movie glamor in the films you mentioned. what i am talking about is even beyond that. if you have noticed Meena in his film, you’ll realize. she looks closer to Bhumi Pednekar in dum lagake haisha whose main theme was the ‘weight’ problem of the heroine
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MANK
February 18, 2017
Rishikesh, Premam can be called a lot of things, but boring its definitely not
Kid, you are spot on about maheshinte parathikaram. right from the way he accidentally gets in to the first fight, to how he loses his first love, its all a tribute to kireedam and also a subversion of the same. In kireedam, mohanlal disintegrates bit by bit after that fight until the climax when he almost become insane. here its exactly the opposite. Mahesh’s character become better and better , he becomes a better man and a better artist in his single minded devotion to revenge.
i think the same goes for Action hero Biju as well. its a big wink (starting from its title) at all the fire and brimstone cop movies starring Mammootty and Suresh Gopi . it completely deglamorises and subverts the movie cop to his bare elemental form
And yes ,Tonks is right on that account. Forget mayum puli and Janatha garage. i dont think there exists any other 57 year old actor who had 3 back to back biggest hits in the industry he is working in a span of less than 6 months and that too in 3 completely different genres
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
February 18, 2017
tonks: I’m sure Emgeeyaar had a much better record! Rajkumar was perhaps the only other actor who came closer. And, they never played second fiddle to other heroes.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 19, 2017
MANK: Scorsese’s most uniformly uncharacteristic movie in directorial terms that I have watched till now was ‘The King of Comedy’, more than Kundun, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Age of Innocence. The latter films had their versions of Scorsese’s touches, but KIC left me craving for one. Even his tracking shots had a restrained, even suppressed quality.
I think Scorsese has experimented lots enough with colour schemes to not be slotted down in one group. Take Kundun’s red and yellow and Hugo’s blue, black and brown, which are again far removed from the yin-yang mix of moody, unsaturated colours and gaudy clothes seen in his more distinctive films.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 19, 2017
Kid, MANK: I haven’t watched ‘Kireedam’ yet, and so never really thought about that analogy. I was reminded of ‘Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu’ a bit, because of the bits with the lover herself ditching him, and the bit where he becomes successful at his craft. Another film which I felt was inspired by PT was Kunjiramayanam, where the villagers are shown as fickle fools, far from the stereotypes they are in most village films in Malayalam today.
Rishikesh: This kind of movie needs a bit of acknowledgement, because such unabashedly old-school movies are getting a bit rare to find for us, and few seem to be doing them right. Even the newer old-fashioned guys like Vineeth Sreenivasan, have made it look way too new visually and thus, a bit of the robustness of this kind of film, IMO, is lost.
If you meant the gritty-bloody type of multiplex movie, I’d agree, but the other kind, we seem to be making a good number of them with a slightly better emphasis on milieu and language.
And songs atleast, can do well in a multiplex movie, for example Kali, where songs somewhat made up for backstory. We may not really know the Dulquer and Pallavi characters, but the songs made us feel what they felt about things.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 19, 2017
I don’t know if Maheshinte Prathikaram is a comedy classic, but for a film that seems to be remarkably light on the outside, the writing keeps coming off as deceivingly deep with each rewatch.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
February 19, 2017
And now he’s watched Ezra too! Bring it on!
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Vishnu
February 19, 2017
Interesting review. 🙂
Deepa, thanks for reminding of Onnu muthal pujyam vare, one of my favourite movies and a really haunting movie one can ever see. It is just timeless, consisting of what can be described as the sheer magic of Mohanlal and an astounding perfomance of Asha Jayaram(one of the best ever heroine perfomances) and the baby Geethu. A movie easily in the leagues of French classics like A Heart in the Winter (a movie i had seen after reading a review of it by BR), I’d have recommended it to BR himself (and other movie lovers) had there been a subtitled full version available.
Though it’s way old (released in 1985 or 86) Regunath Paleri’s brilliant direction still makes it look due fresh.
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Rishikesh
February 19, 2017
One Mohanlal movie that I felt didn’t get its due in Recent times was Ranjith’s Loham..I don’t understand why people hate that film..The manner in which mohanlal’s character’s identity was kept under wraps right till the end was really refreshing..I think it was one movie that dared to deviate from the formulaic path but unfortunately had to pay the price of it..I won’t rate Maheshinte Prathikaram that high..I thought there were better films..Action Hero Biju, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kunjiramayanam and spoof movie..Chirakodinja Kinavukal..I donno but I didnt enjoy Premam at all..except for the college portion in the middle, I found very little interesting..the portion involving first heroine would have worked much better as a hair oil ad.
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MANK
February 19, 2017
Honest Raj , there was NTR and ANR also you know. ANR’s biggest hit of his career was premabhishekam which came out when he was 58 and NTR had big hits like Kondaveetti simham and Bobbili puli right up to the time he was 60, -when he quit films and became chief minister. at that time he was the highest paid actor in south india. but I think all of them had drastically cut down their movie work by the time they got closer to 60 and wasnt as prolific as mohanlal is today, MGR and NTR , because of their politcal activism while Rajkumar and ANR had gone in to retirement mode
But that was also a different era where when movies were the only source of entertainment .its is quite remarkable what mohanlal has achieved in this day and age and with that physical appearance, sure its embarrassing watching him in a film like pulimurugan, when physically he is the last person whom you would imagine to be a tiger hunter, but the the audience dont seem to bother at all
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
February 19, 2017
MANK: Sure but the point here is delivering three or more “blockbusters” in a row, which I’m sure neither NTR nor ANR did in their 60s. MGR was prolific as well as a numero uno star even at the twilight of his career. Rajkumar nearly matched him but had a setback during the 90s. But unlike NTR and ANR, these two never played their age. MGR remained a ‘Ungal Veetu Pillai’, especially so during the fag end of his career.
Agree, the two Ms are the most prolific actors of their generation (despite being relatively late to the industry) in our country. Not to take anything away from Mohanlal, but based on my (limited) understanding about Malayalam cinema I think Mammootty is far more an “accomplished” actor than Mohanlal. Also, he never did a Jilla/Janatha Garage any point in time outside Malayalam. Of course he did a Thalapathi, but that was opposite Rajini!
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Senthil S
February 21, 2017
brangan: Really enjoyed the first half of the movie. Like you said, it’s very relaxed and natural. I especially loved the scene where Mohanlal meets his old college gf. Another great scene is where he hears his wife’s song for the first time. Sadly, the second half became over dramatic, but the performances still made it watchable.
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Vishnu
February 21, 2017
“…Regunath Paleri’s brilliant direction still makes it look due fresh.”
Sorry, a typo. Meant as “dew fresh”.(though ofcourse it doesn’t matter).
@Honest Raj, I think you have vastly underestimated MLal’s star power there. Anyways 🙂
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Ratish Ravindran
February 21, 2017
Hmm….Reviews for Oyivu divasathe kali, Jomonte Suvisheshangal and now Munthirivalli thallirkumbol. That’s quite an eclectic mix. Rangan sir, this being the Oscar week will you review the movies in contention for Best film. We saw your review for LA La Land. Please review Hidden figures, Lion, silence, Moonlight etc. Who do you predict as the winner of best film this year?
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