Spoilers ahead…
When we first meet Sameera (Parvathy), she’s missing a certificate. She’s at the Department of Health, applying for a job as a nurse in Iraq, but they won’t give her the necessary papers unless she produces that certificate. She screams, in frustration, at an official. She calls her son, asks him to search their computer. A colleague, Shaheed (Kunchacko Boban) offers to help, but she refuses. Later, she grudgingly accepts. We’ve already been told, at the beginning, that the events in this film are based on the 2014 crisis, when nurses from Kerala found themselves captives of the IS in Tikrit – so why this obsessive account of the hunt for a missing document, something that seems, at best, a small note on the margins of a much-larger story?
Read the rest of the review on Film Companion, here:
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
MANK
March 25, 2017
A brilliant review for a brilliant Film. After angamaly diaries, now this. You are writing at the height of your skills Brangan. I am sure the quality of these movies have a lot to do with your creative juices overflowing after a long time, and for that at least I am grateful that these movies are released with subtitles . Superb writing, Kudos
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Navneeth
March 25, 2017
MANK, appol padam kollaam alle?
Haven’t read BR’s review yet. I’ve got my ticket booked for the evening show.; looking forward to watching Fahadh & Parvathy. She is such a brilliant actress, with personality & presence – for me, one of the highlights of ‘…Moideen’ (dismal film) and ‘Mariyaan’.
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vishal yogin
March 25, 2017
Good to see a very, very timely review 🙂
Can anyone in Bombay tell me whether either of these screens have subtitles for this movie ? It is incredibly difficult to find contact numbers for the theaters online, and bookmyshow is utterly useless if you ask them about it.
Metro INOX Cinemas: Marine Lines
or
Carnival: Dreams Mall, Vasai
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MANK
March 25, 2017
Navneeth, we all have our own tastes, but I would say this, it’s a brilliantly crafted film made with passion and conviction. It does not take the audience for granted. Mahesh Narayan ,who has been a top class editor, makes a terrific debut as a director
Parvati is outstanding in the film and deserving of a national award , that’s if there aren’t any better performers this year
But the real surprise for me was kunchacko boban. This is his 20th year in movies . Aniyathipravu came out in 97, over the years , I have liked him some films, but More often he has disappointed. I think this is his career best turn , that too in More of a supporting role. I am glad Brangan mentioned him in his review
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Aman
March 25, 2017
@vishal yogin Best way to find out about the subtitle is to ask those from Mumbai ( Sethumadhavan Napan on twitter you can contact https://twitter.com/Sethumadhavan) or the the guy who subtitled these films ( Vivek Ranjit, https://twitter.com/vivekranjit ).
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Anu Warrier
March 25, 2017
Okay, now you’re whetting my appetite; this sounds more than interesting. It’s hard to get to watch Malayalam films here unless you’re willng to stream, and 99% of the sites aren’t legal. So I have to wait until my annual trip to India to pick these films up on DVD. I’m carefully filing away the names of all the good/interesting ones so I can pick them up in the summer.
Thanks, BR.
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Anu Warrier
March 25, 2017
p.s. Since I ranted vociferously against the FC move, let me put in a rave for it as well – I’m getting to read reviews of Malayalam films which, in turn, makes my to-buy list longer. 🙂
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vishal yogin
March 26, 2017
@Aman Thanks once again, I’ll try contacting both of them for information !
We definitely need a mini-revolution regarding this area, instead of the random turning on/off of subs by different theaters.
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Dileep
March 26, 2017
Too Many SPOILERS!!! 😦 😦
For eg: the part where the bomb explodes while giving a bath to the child. I’m sure I wont enjoy the as much if it I didn’t know about this. The same case with Angamaly Diaries. I LOVED the movie. But I had your review in the back of my mind and I knew when something was coming up on the screen- be it the action or the jokes. I absolutely love reading such a review after I have watched the movie, but it kind of take away that sense of surprise. I understand how difficult it must be to put up a spoiler free review while doing justice to the film. So I guess I have to go just go by the star rating to watch the movie. Just wondering if it is possible to have spoiler free paragraphs that are highlighted? And please put a spoiler tag on your reviews on FC.
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Navneeth
March 26, 2017
Dileep, that’s why it’s better not to read anything more than the title. 🙂 That’s what I do; this way, all I know prior to watching the film is that BR has given it a positive review.
Once I’ve watched and ‘digested’ it, I come here to know in greater detail what BR & the community thought of it.
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Navneeth
March 26, 2017
Having finished watching the film, I can understand what BR & MANK were talking about. I admire filmmakers who have the balls not only to dream big, but also to go about executing it with conviction. Despite the 2nd-half shift from human interest story to thriller mode, this is an ambitious project done well. Mahesh Narayanan & team should rightly be proud of it.
In spite of the runtime, not once do you feel distracted; full credit to the editors for that. The actors have done an excellent job. Parvathy- sorry, Parvathy Thiruvoth: wow! Commanding, resilient yet vulnerable, and the heart of the story. Kunchacko Boban is restrained, and BR describes his performance perfectly (“saintly without making him a saint”). Fahadh is badass.
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Navneeth
March 26, 2017
SPOILERS
Loved the first half, with its focus on setting up the characters, their relationships and the circumstances which lead them to undertake this hazardous journey. I was initially confused who Asif Ali’s character and the gamer kid were, given we’d seen Sameera receiving Shahid’s fullest attention prior to that. By the time shit really starts raining down, we’re invested in all the characters and find ourselves continually rooting for them (the WhatsApp-addicted nurse was a hoot!).
That is why I was disappointed that the script took the route it did, shifting focus from the kidnapped nurses to the Indian government’s rescue efforts led by the Ambassador, while criminally relegating the captured Shahid’s story to almost an afterthought. From a personal story, it changed into something nationalistic. As someone opposed to the enforced patriotism in vogue these days, I cringed when the audience enthusiastically applauded the sight of the flag near the end of the film. Such a cliched shot designed to evoke that reaction.
Also, not for a moment did I believe Shahid had died. A couple of lines of dialogue from the Ambassador do not serve as convincing proof. What if, during the ISIS camp missile attack, they had ended the scene with a more dramatic shot like, say, the camera zooming in on Shahid’s face as he looks up from the Malayali attacker’s body to watch the flames converging on him? A bit like Cutler Beckett’s death in PotC: At World’s End.
If the last two paragraphs sound too negative, well, it’s really not meant to be – the 2nd half still works very well as a thriller. It’s merely an expression of regret that had they continued leading with the human drama, the catharsis would’ve been sweeter at the end when the nurses are rescued, rather than looking like the Ambassador saving the Indian government’s ass.
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Navneeth
March 26, 2017
I also agree with MANK’s observation about the proportionality between BR’s writing & the quality of the Malayalam films he’s been reviewing. It’s been a good year for the industry 3 months in; I just read that Bejoy Nambiar will be making his Malayalam debut later this year with DQ in the lead, so things are set to get curiouser and curiouser…
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brangan
March 26, 2017
I think different reviewers give different levels of spoilers. I haven’t talked about the nature of the Shaheed-Sameera relationship (have just mentioned he is soft on her). Other reviewers have casually disclosed this in the plot summary.
I would rather not know about THAT.
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brangan
March 26, 2017
FC’s videos on the web go with a description in English as well as the language the film is in. I can do the Tamil, but can anyone help with Malayalam? It’s just a couple of lines 🙂
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 27, 2017
You mean a short audio byte in the corresponding language? So you’re going to start that in your following Tamil reviews?
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anurag1700
March 27, 2017
One suggestion Mr. Brangan. In your video reviews, you are delivering awesome and your excitement wherever needed is bang on, making it an interesting watch. However it is become obvious more than needed that you are reading from a display in front of you. In a way it is dialing down the respect you deserve for the words you are speaking which for a fact are penned by you only. For someone else who doesnt know you well, it appears as someone else’s written work being read. Can something be done about this? may be zooming out and not keeping the camera so close to your face.? I donno. Just my 2 cents. Thanks.
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 27, 2017
I am in! I am in! I haven’t understood exactly your requirement, but we can always give it a go… And later accept or reject it
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Kid
March 27, 2017
Navneeth:
“As someone opposed to the enforced patriotism in vogue these days, I cringed when the audience enthusiastically applauded the sight of the flag near the end of the film. Such a cliched shot designed to evoke that reaction”-
Sadly your response here is as cliched as the scene itself. And it is also an example of the prevaling “easy liberalism” in the country; this is liberalism of the worst kind, it’s puerile and thoughtless (and this is precisely the kind of self-serving liberalism which allows the most dangerous kind of right-wing ideology to flourish). And while I feel it’s my duty to challenge a certain kind of dangerous patriotism, I also believe that I must challenge this sort of unthinking response to that as well. That scene might not work for somebody for its (apparent lack of) cinematic quality, but to keep taking the very same unthinking ideological positions against it is meaningless. Also one MUST differenatiate between nationalism and patriotism (not that nationalism is wrong in itself). Both Airlift and this film (which I think is much superior to Airlift) are certainly patriotic without being nationalistic.
Of course, one has every “constitutional” right to reject any notion of patriotism (w.r.t India). But often people wrongly assume that by rejecting patriotism, their moral and ideological (and even intellectual) postion becomes superior to the rest. Yes, one might be “constitutionally” secure in this case (i.e. in the case of opposing or rejecting patriotism), but one is still answerable to certain moral questions. We are truly living in sad times. The “national anthem” scene in Deewar is the best example of subversion of nationalism and nation-state. But it is so because it does not take any easy route to do so. Infact no scene in Deewar is subversive or polemical only for the sake of it. There is no patting-oneself-on-the-back going on here, this is not liberalism of the self-serving kind. It is useful to notice that while the film might be on Bachchan’s side in an ideological sense (and hence is against the nation state) and is certainly is sympathetic to him in many ways, it still poses very strong questions to him (some of those questions are very obvious, some not so much).
In his terrific review of the film, BR found both Deewar and Dangal making the best use of the national anthem. Again, I might be wrong here, but I don’t think BR was mentioning those films only as “contrasting examples” with regards to depicting National Anthem. I think that BR alongwith the contrast, also noticed a slight similarity in scenes of both those films. That scene in Dangal is not as nationalistic as it may seem..in the sense that there is an element of subversion there. That national anthem scene in Dangal arrives only after the film highlights, in no uncertain terms, how poorly this nation state treats its women and sportsmen. In other words, the film certainly has favours patriotism, but only after offering a strong (though, at times, not strong enough) critique of the nation state. This again highlights why Baradwaj Rangan is our finest film critic. You would very rarely see him celebrating a liberal gesture just for the sake of it…and sometimes it rankles a few people (but the responses of those people are instructive in one sense. Around 30 years back when Adoor made Mukhamukham and supposedly made an anti-Marxist/anti-Leftist film, very seem criticism was meted out to his film in Kerala. This was suprising because their reading of Mukhamukham was completely wrong- Adoor never really makes a “pro or anti” film, his films are fare more nuanced to be limited to this kind of narrow discussion-, but also because Kerala has always had the best cinema audience in the country so it was odd to see them attack its greatest filmmaker).
Yes, certain ideologies are automatically better than the others, but to keep celebrating one’s own ideology (even if it is less harmful than that of the other) without ever questioning is self-defeating.
Incidentally, it’s actually a fact that the Indian ambassador (A. Ajay Kumar did help in bailing out the nurses at that time).
But that part of your comments highlights a thought I have always believed in that while no film is apolitcal, it is not very useful to read films only as political commentaries. Yes, cinema and its criticism (and any sort of writing on cinema) can never be de-linked from its politics, but no piece of film criticism should ever be so “enslaved” or blinded by a film’s politics that it forgets to take into account the “art” art of the cinema.
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brangan
March 27, 2017
So it’s text. In the video site, we are trying to have (below the video) an English as well as Tamil (or Malayalam or Telugu or Kannada) description of the video.
The following is an example for Kadugu. We want volunteers ( 🙂 ) for Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam! You can send me an email if you can/want to do this.
It doesn’t take much time once you have the font installed 🙂
Title
Kadugu | Movie Review | Baradwaj Rangan | Film Companion
Description
Watch Baradwaj Rangan’s review of Kadugu, a Tamil drama film written and directed by Vijay Milton featuring an ensemble cast of Bharath, Rajakumaran, Bharath Seeni, Subiksha and Chandini Tamilarasan
தலைப்பு:
கடுகு | திரைப்பட விமர்சனம் | பரத்வாஜ் ரங்கன் | ஃபிலிம் கம்பானியன்
விளக்கம்:
விஜய் மில்டன் எழுதி-இயக்கி ராஜகுமாரன், பரத், பாரத் சீனி மற்றும் சுபிக்ஷா முக்கிய வேடங்களில் நடிக்கும் ‘கடுகு’ தமிழ் பட விமர்சனம் – பரத்வாஜ் ரங்கன்
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 27, 2017
I can try. Which is the right place to install the font?
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Navneeth
March 27, 2017
Kid:
I’m not sure why you think my dislike for that shot is ‘ideological’ and not ‘cinematic’. It seems as though you only paid attention to the part about my personal politics/beliefs, which I opened with to provide context, while ignoring the line that follows it: “Such a cliched shot designed to evoke that reaction.”
To clarify, my comment is borne out of the disappointment that the the filmmaker, who was narrating a story about nurses trapped in a war zone, chose to alter the story midway through to ‘How the Indian Government Rescued the Nurses’; and that as a consequence, following the rescue, felt the need to include a shot of the national flag in a seemingly manipulative attempt at obtaining easy applause from the audience. In WWE terms, it’s like John Cena name-dropping local sports teams based in the city he’s performing at – a lazy move designed to get guaranteed cheers.
“Incidentally, it’s actually a fact that the Indian ambassador (A. Ajay Kumar did help in bailing out the nurses at that time).”
Kudos to him. Regardless, my opinion is that it should have remained a subplot rather than becoming the main plot. The inner workings of the government are not nearly as compelling or dramatic as the tragic & frightening circumstances Sameera, Shahid, the kid & the nurses find themselves engulfed in.
“Yes, cinema and its criticism (and any sort of writing on cinema) can never be de-linked from its politics, but no piece of film criticism should ever be so “enslaved” or blinded by a film’s politics that it forgets to take into account the “art” art of the cinema.”
Mate, you should re-read my comments if you believe my criticism of the film has been “blinded by its politics”. This is not about right-wing, left-wing or centre-forward; all I’m saying is that though I liked this film, I would have liked it more had better screenwriting choices been made in the latter half.
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Rahini David
March 27, 2017
Nair : Install in your smartphone.
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Kid
March 27, 2017
Navneeth: I only chose to highlight that “part” of your comment because I was only reacting against that particular bit of your comment (and you have buttressed your arguements against certain screenwriting choices of the film by also citing your own ideological stance- “As someone opposed to the enforced patriotism in vogue these days..”. You “could” have chosen to criticise that particular flag scene without giving an ideological reason for it. You didn’t. That was a “creative decision” on your part. Similarly the filmmaker chose to show the scene the way he has. Again, I don’t have a problem if you find it a lazily written scene, my arguement begins when you resort to “forced patriotism” point which I found as lazy and thoughtless an arguement as that particular scene. And you can’t behind the “context” bit at all considering I never missed the context in the first place). I didn’t care to comment on the rest of your comment because I didn’t have any problem with it (infact I enjoyed reading most of it). BTW, and I am not talking about here, but reacting against every show of partriotism (and terming every patriotic gesture as jingoistic) with very lame arguements in Indian films is equally in fashion these days.
On the last paragraph of my comment, it wasn’t directed at you at all. I was making a general point. I should have perhaps been clearer.
And if my comment is strongly-worded, so is that part of your comment.
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Kid
March 27, 2017
MANK: Completely agreed on Kunchako Boban. I haven’t seen some of his very early works, but I found him a harmless presence at best. But this performace was a revelation as was his work in Vettah where he was again playing a very tricky character. That was the most underrated Malayalam film of last year and Boban was excellent in it (though I must admit that I haven’t found a single other guy who has liked the film). Now that I have seen Vettah twice, I can safely say that it is a better film than Traffic. The film’s narrative twists are definitely manipulative, but Vettah makes better use of those twists than the recent Karthick Naren film because Rajesh Pillai makes sure that the twists work on an emotional level. Notice how the central tragedy at the heart of the Tamil film is only used in the service of the narrative. Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru is certainly the stronger film on formal levels, but Vettah scores over it in even on the narrative front (it has a killer twist at the end, but the best part it is the twist doesn’t arise out of the left-field…the seeds of that plot-turn has already been sown beforehand so there is no cheating going on). The twists here are truly shocking if a little too preposterous, and it also makes much better use of red herrings in the plot to mislead the audience. It has also much stronger performances across the board. SPOILERS AHEAD- But most importantly, in Vettah, by showing very early that the central character here is playing “mind games” with the the two cops, the director spells it out very quickly that the central character’s words should not be taken at face value. In other words, both that character and the directors forewarn the audience and the other characters before maniulating us and taking us for a ride. We know all along that the director is playing with us Karthick’s film, on the other hand, is a police procedural for the most part which suddenly changes tracks near the end and shifts its goalpost in the climacting portions through the use of the unreliable narrator device. Nothing wrong with this as a narrative decision, but then the “revelation” which happens, while truly tragic, is dealt in a very cold way so the twist doesn’t affect us in the way it should have. The other problem is that there is not a single character in Naren’s film whose fate we truly interested in. By the end of it, we know very little of Rahman’s character let alone the other policeman. I actually think the film could have benefitted from a slightly longer running time; some more fleshing out of the characters should have happened. In Vettah, you get atleast four flesh-and-blood characters whom we care about. The Malayalam film, also gets the noir element right, by beautifully shifting the moral centre of the characters throughout the running time, something which Karthick Naren tries to do but only at the end, but in a half-hearted way. That’s one of the reasons why Vettah makes better use of its its matryoshka-doll like plot structure than Naren’s film. And both Manju (who was better here than she was in How Old are You) and Indrajith (Malayalam film industry still hasn’t made full use of his talents) chip in with solid performances.
That being said, both these films are much inferior to Manikandan’s Kuttrame Thandanai. A beast of a film that was. And a great contemporary Tamil film whose director is on course to become the greatest Tamil filmmaker ever.
I loved Take Off. I think this is a much better film than Airlift and is certainly a more intelligent film. And I hope someone quickly casts Fahadh and Parvathy opposite each other in a film ( “Artist” was the last time Fahadh was paired with a strong actress)- they are two of the best young star-actors working in Indian cinema today.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 27, 2017
Rahini David: Actually had some really botched up question in mind; it came out that way. Sorry!
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 27, 2017
Just did a demo for Take Off. Have added more classical words (with common variants in brackets). Would like to know which would be better: classical or common. More advice from Chettans and Chechis truly appreciated (despite being aware of the fact that many are vying for the spot)
പേര് :
ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
പ്രശസ്ത ചിത്രസംയോജകൻ മഹേഷ് നാരായണൻ കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ച് ആദ്യമായി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന, പാർവ്വതി, കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ, ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ, ആസിഫ് അലി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളായി എത്തുന്ന ‘ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്’ എന്ന ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ (സിനിമയുടെ) നിരൂപണം – ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ
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Kid
March 27, 2017
Rohit: Had been meaning to say this for quite sometime, but I have become a huge fan of your writings here (among the newer commenters here, I like yours and Aadhy’s comments the most). Not only do you write really well, but I also love your clarity of thought while talking about films (your comments almost always tell us what you are “seeking out” of a particular film…also your comments always reveal your “theory of cinema”, but without resorting to theortical/academic language, not that there is anything wrong with a more academic writing …this is a trait your writing shares with that of BR wherein one writes very “specifically” about his/her experience of a film using a very sensory language and yet making sure that that whatever one is writing is very specific to that particular film, and that words cannot be loosely applied to any other film). I think you mentioned somewhere that you are still in college (I am assuming that you aren’t even in your twenties…apologies if I am wrong). At the risk of sounding patronising, I must add that it is heartening to see someone having such a clear understanding of cinema at this age. I wasn’t even half as knowledgable about cinema as you are when I was of your age (infact, I am still way behind you in this respect). I am sure that people must have already told you this, but were you to take up film criticism as a career, you would do really well in it. You have all the chops for it. Infact Indian film criticism requires people like you.
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Navneeth
March 27, 2017
Kid:
I see where you’re coming from. However, I think we’re spending too much effort on a relatively minor shot & moment in the film :), so I just wanted to address this:
“You “could” have chosen to criticise that particular flag scene without giving an ideological reason for it. You didn’t.”
“my arguement begins when you resort to “forced patriotism” point which I found as lazy and thoughtless an arguement as that particular scene.”
See, I’m not claiming my dislike for the shot isn’t partly ideology-driven; I remain increasingly uncomfortable by the direction our country & the world are heading towards, ideologically. However, my criticism of it is mostly from a cinematic POV, as I’ve explained previously.
The ‘forced patriotism’ remark was a general comment about what has been happening in the country in recent times – the government’s actions, the Supreme Court’s judgements… – and the current swell in patriotism/nationalism among the citizens. Given the situation, is it ‘lazy and thoughtless’ to suggest the filmmaker was attempting to capitalize on it with that shot? A shot that was cinematically not necessary (IMO)?
“I didn’t care to comment on the rest of your comment because I didn’t have any problem with it (infact I enjoyed reading most of it)”
Thank you.
*”BTW, and I am not talking about here, but reacting against every show of partriotism (and terming every patriotic gesture as jingoistic) with very lame arguements in Indian films is equally in fashion these days.
On the last paragraph of my comment, it wasn’t directed at you at all. I was making a general point. I should have perhaps been clearer.”*
Fair enough.
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Navneeth
March 27, 2017
Rohit: I’m not sure whether everyone would understand നിരൂപണം (also, using it twice would be repetitive), but ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ is fine. In fact, the rest of what you’ve written is good enough in my eyes.
Would also like to second what Kid has written about you. Personally, I too admire yours as well as MANK’s and Anuja Chandramouli’s comments around here. Such knowledgeable & passionate writings, as well as the enthusiastic discussions, are the reason I took the plunge. 🙂
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Navneeth
March 27, 2017
Kid: Good point about Fahadh & Parvathy. ‘Strong’ is the right word.
Speaking of ‘Artist’, where has Ann Augustine disappeared to? I was expecting her to go from strength to strength following that film.
Hmm, Wiki says she’s part of ‘Solo’ with Dulquer, due this year.
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brangan
March 27, 2017
So are we agreed on this, then? 🙂
പേര് :
ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
പ്രശസ്ത ചിത്രസംയോജകൻ മഹേഷ് നാരായണൻ കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ച് ആദ്യമായി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന, പാർവ്വതി, കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ, ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ, ആസിഫ് അലി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളായി എത്തുന്ന ‘ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്’ എന്ന ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ (സിനിമയുടെ) നിരൂപണം – ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 27, 2017
OK, so I guess I’ll replace the second നിരൂപണം with റിവ്യൂ
Revised Draft:
പേര് :
ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
പ്രശസ്ത ചിത്രസംയോജകൻ മഹേഷ് നാരായണൻ കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ച് ആദ്യമായി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന, പാർവ്വതി, കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ, ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ, ആസിഫ് അലി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളായി എത്തുന്ന ‘ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്’ എന്ന ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ (സിനിമയുടെ) റിവ്യൂ – ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ
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brangan
March 27, 2017
Rohit Sathish Nair: Thanks so much.
Now we just need two more 😀
പേര് :
Alamara : ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
Watch Baradwaj Rangans reviews of Alamara, Malayalam comedy film directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas starrring Sunny Wayne, Aju Varghese, Aditi Ravi, Ranji Panicker and Sonu Anna Jacob.
പേര് :
Angamaly Diaries : ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
Watch Baradwaj Rangans review of Angamaly Diaries, a Malayalam film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Chemban Vinod Jose. The film features Antony Varghese and Kichu Tellus in the lead.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 28, 2017
Alamara:
പേര് :
അലമാര: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
‘ആട്’, ‘ആന്മരിയ കലിപ്പിലാണ്’ എന്ന സിനിമകൾ നമുക്ക് സമ്മാനിച്ച മിഥുൻ മാനുവൽ തോമസ് സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന മൂന്നാമത്തെ ചലച്ചിത്രം ‘അലമാര’യുടെ റിവ്യൂ. സണ്ണി വെയ്ൻ, അദിതി രവി, രഞ്ജി പണിക്കർ, മണികണ്ഠൻ ആചാരി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ വേഷങ്ങളിൽ. റിവ്യൂ ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ വക
(Just mentioned a few of the director’s previous films there)
Angamaly Diaries:
പേര് :
അങ്കമാലി ഡയറീസ് : ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
86 പുതുമുഖതാരങ്ങളെ അണിനിരത്തി, ‘ആമേൻ’, ‘സിറ്റി ഓഫ് ഗോഡ്’, ‘ഡബിൾ ബാരൽ’ എന്ന സിനിമകൾ നമുക്ക് നൽകിയ ലിജോ ജോസ് പെല്ലിശ്ശേരി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന ‘അങ്കമാലി ഡയറീസ്’. കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ചത് പ്രശസ്ത നടൻ ചെമ്പൻ വിനോദ് ജോസ്.
നിരൂപകൻ: ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ.
(Thought of keeping the ’86 newcomers’ detail, director’s previous films, and the name of the writer; he is a known actor now.
Try to get the last line ‘നിരൂപകൻ: ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ.’ in bold, if possible. It says ‘Critic: Baradwaj Rangan’)
Do cross-check it once again, naattukaarae!
Should I make a mention of your National Award?
It’s been a pleasure helping you, Sir
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 28, 2017
Sorry for the delay
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brangan
March 28, 2017
Sorry? What are you saying?
I should be the one thanking you profusely.
And no, don’t need any extra information. Just the translation of the English text.
On a personal note, I have commenters helping out with surveys on Film Companion, and now translating… Thank you all so much.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 28, 2017
I guess it wasn’t so much extra info that I added there. It was more of information that could connect better with the Malayalees out there.
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Kid
March 28, 2017
Navneeth: Thank you so much for taking the comment in the right spirit. Looking back at our comments, you have come out as the more sensible guy between the two of us. I guess I could have displayed far less feistiness in my comments. You are right, we should drop the matter. And yes, I really liked your comments (then again some of my favourite writers are the ones whom I rarely agree with on ideogical matters) and pretty much agreed with everything you have written here. In any case, a Malayali cineviewer interests me the most 🙂
On Ann, I think she took a break after getting married (though she did do Nee-Na in between where she stole every scene she was in even though she got a rather thankless part. I actually quite liked that film and it was certainly one of Lal Jose’s better works. I thought the film was grossly misunderstood by people). Glad to know that Bejoy has cast her in his next. The other actress whom I really miss is Padmapriya. Her last scene in Iyobinte Pusthakam (I love this film) is a classic. But contemporary cinema is blessed with some very fine actresses. Iniya, Nazriya, Anumol (where is she btw?! How good she was in Akam, sm…the film itself was fine “reading” of the Yakshi myth with an underrated Fahadh performance. Again one of the heights of contemporary Malayalam cinema), Ssivada, even the new girl in Maheshinte….there are number of other names as well. The one thing which Malayali actresses have is that they seem to be very secure sexuality (or sensuosness) on screen without trying too hard and without always the urban-chic route/Zeenat Aman-Parveen Babi-Sharmila Tagore route. Hindi cinema has always fared quite poorly on this score, the only corresponding example I can think of is Smita Patil (heck, that lady could even make a cheesy seduction scene work on screen and that too with Akbar Khan). Even some of the luminaries of Bengali cinema (Suchitra, Madhabi…the former is imo the greatest Indian actress ever)- a cinema which has always been the most progresssive on sexual matters, and especially on woman’s sexuality- don’t match up to someone like Shobana on this front.
BR and others: Apologies for clogging up the thread with some rather inane comments.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 28, 2017
Kid (Sherikkum paerenthaa?):
Sorry for the late reply
I sincerely thank you for your words of appreciation. It is more than heartening to have others place so much faith and assurance in one’s capabilities, especially when he/she forms doubts about the same from time to time. You guessed it right. I am 18, doing my BTech.
I wouldn’t say I already have a clear cut ‘theory of cinema’ as such. Sometimes, all it has taken is one film to change it all over. For example, when I first watched ‘Kammatipaadam’, I was confused as to how I should respond to it. Almost a year, a rewatch and a few discussions later, I still don’t know where EXACTLY it stands, yet now I consider it to be one of my most rewarding cinematic experiences. Even the hated discourse I, Madan bhaiyya, Anu chechi and MANK chettan had with Anuj, has been some sort of a learning curve for that matter. However the debate turned out, it made me mine my insides like few things or people did. Stray moments of disappointment or sheer despair apart, it was one hell of a ride!
Me not using theoretical or academic language is more about the fact that I am still in the process of picking up the terms and nuances of cinema (even basic terms like ‘composition’ and ‘blocking’, I learnt about only last year, thanks to Rangan sir!). So I should say this: whatever I have been able to put across, I owe a lot of it to Rangan sir. It was great to find someone out there who was pretty on the same page as I was, with regard to more than what one liked in cinema. And when he’d go on to give you the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of the same in such an entertaining fashion, it was exciting, especially in a phase when your views and interests are going through a certain kind of crytallisation, slowly but surely. There has been days when the only reading I’ve done is that of Rangan sir’s reviews and other articles, so the similarity in writing may not be a coincidence.
As much as watching and writing about films frequently is tempting, I must say I still have a lot of honing my skills to do on that account. For instance, most of my views till now were expressed mostly as scattered thoughts or as replies to other comments. I have yet to learn to link these thoughts and make them one single piece, like Rangan sir and other reviewers do. Even with that aside, it still is a challenging job to do, especially in these times. Still, if it need be, I’d certainly rise to the occasion.
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naveenkrwpress
March 28, 2017
too many spoilers in this thread. will read again after watching the movie
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brangan
March 28, 2017
naveenkrwpress: “too many spoilers in this thread”
I don’t get this comment. How do other blogs or web sites work? Don’t people talk about the film there too? How can any meaningful discussion of a film take place without some kind of spoilering?
Rohit Sathish Nair: At 18, you already have what many of our reviewers don’t.
Clarity of thought.
Clarity of expression.
There are people (I mean, current reviewers) who are great at talking about cinema, but are unable to put it down in writing with the same clarity. There are other reviewers who are great at the writing part but don’t have an engagement with Indian cinema. You are able to do both. Whether you want to become a reviewer or not, these qualities certainly point towards a career as a writer (if that interests you).
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MANK
March 28, 2017
Ha enthokkeya ivide nadakkune :). Rohit is now Brangan’s official translator ,…gee wiz
(to Rohit 🙂 adhikam pongalle mone 🙂 And no use talking to Kid in malayalam, he needs subtitles 🙂
Brangan one question – is it necessary to classify movies as drama or comedy – your note about Alamara, Malayalam comedy film – even though Rohit did not translate it, he has put it merely as film (chalachithram instead of hasya chalachithram) and i think that’s enough
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brangan
March 28, 2017
MANK: That’s fine. They just want to have the description in both languages. Thanks.
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 28, 2017
👍 chalachithram is a common enough word so I don’t think cinemayude is needed in brackets. Everything else is fine
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Navneeth
March 28, 2017
Kid: No issues, macha.
BR: Going off-road here like Max & Furiosa; apologies for the indulgence.
Nazriya, Sai Pallavi, Premam, Kali
Nazriya is an absolute gem, and I hope she continues her acting career. Her bubbly personality and charm is infectious, as her performances in Ohm Shanti Oshaana & Bangalore Days have shown. I have only seen Shivada (not gonna write it any other way :D) in Sudhi Vathmeekam, in which she did very well.
However, my hopes remain higher for Malayalis’ favourite teacher. To me, Sai Pallavi’s USP is that she seems very, very convincing as a ‘real’ girl/girl next door, and Premam & Kali lay testament to that.
Speaking of which, loved both films. Premam in particular is one of those films which you could start watching in the middle to watch ‘one scene’ and end up sitting right through; it’s so incredibly engaging. Though the film has editing issues (the Malar montage that goes on too long), these don’t bother us much. And that song ‘Malare’… my heart swelled and soared right out of my chest.
Favourite Sai Pallavi moment is her reaction when Nivin Pauly corrects her, saying it’s not a shirt, but a kurta.
Kali, when you look back at it, has significant writing issues – the 2nd-half metamorphosis into a Duel/NH10 variant, the fact that it wasn’t really the protagonist’s uncontrollable rage (the film’s theme) which triggered the whole mess. Yet, it doesn’t particularly bother you when watching. Sameer Thahir is a filmmaker whose sense of mood & aesthetics seems to closely resonate with mine, and the way Girish Gangadharan has gone about lighting it up & playing with the colour and tones, it’s the cinematic equivalent of Audrey Hepburn.
Padmapriya: her femme fatale role was criminally small in Iyobinte Pusthakam. I would’ve loved to have had more scenes between her & Fahadh; hers was definitely a more intriguing character than Jinu Joseph’s or Chemban’s.
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Navneeth
March 28, 2017
(continued from previous)
Iyobinte Pusthakam
I have to be honest, rewatching Iyobinte Pusthakam was a bit of a slog, possibly because the film was vividly in my head. That said, the way Amal Neerad has shot it makes it so rewarding to watch. Notice how, in each of the numerous breakfast table conversation scenes, he keeps moving the camera in the (establishing) long shots, with the door frame/railing in the foreground, on the edges of the frame, as though we were flies on the wall, listening in. While conventional wisdom tells you to move the camera only if the characters are on the move, the constant movement in this case instead dynamized those scenes.
Tremendous score as well; I like Aloshy’s & Iyob’s themes, though it feels like the reference track for Aloshy’s theme was Hans Zimmer’s ‘Time’.
Raave was beautifully shot. 64 fps, apparently. Random objects like a piano, white horse & a bathtub in a desert… I see Neerad’s SRFTI training coming to the fore. 😛 If we are to compare Raave to the other songs he has shot, I like Karmukilil (Bachelor Party) better. There is a deeper sense of intimacy to it, which I can relate to.
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Navneeth
March 28, 2017
MANK: Hahaha. Rohit’s stithi is like the title of a Padmarajan padam – ‘Parannu Parannu Parannu’.
Rohit: 18? Wow. B. Tech? Haha. Etha branch? I was EI myself.
Tell you what, ethayalum ippol pettu poyi. After you finish your course, take a leap of faith. Come back, so we can all be film people together again. Malayalam cinema requires writers with the qualities BR has described above.
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MANK
March 28, 2017
Around 30 years back when Adoor made Mukhamukham and supposedly made an anti-Marxist/anti-Leftist film, very seem criticism was meted out to his film in Kerala. This was suprising because their reading of Mukhamukham was completely wrong- Adoor never really makes a “pro or anti” film,
his films are fare more nuanced to be limited to this kind of narrow discussion-, but also because Kerala has always had the best cinema audience in the country so it was odd to see them attack its greatest filmmaker).
well Kid, something that’s common among extreme leftists and extreme rightists, they would not tolerate even a hint (or even a perceived hint) of criticism against their ideology. Also in Kerala, the ‘intellectual’ filmmakers always lean towards the left – Shaji N Karun, Lenin Rajendran etc etc – they have all made one or two movies that explicitly endorses the party ideology. Adoor is the pre eminent intellectual art filmmaker of the state who has consistently refused to toe that line and that has never gone down well with the marxist party . though the marxists have warmed up to him in recent times, or rather it has acquired a more moderate face as opposed to the times when Mukhamukham was in release
But you are right about the nuanced style of Adoor.in a film like Anantharam, which is a stark psychological drama , he tells the story from the different povs of the schizophrenic himself, thus avoiding any mention of schizophrenia, mental illness or any such term throughout the film and leaving the audience to judge the film for themselves. even in his more severely polemical works like his masterpiece Elipathayam and later in Vidheyan – which are severe indictments of Feudalism – he doesnt go overboard in painting the master class as embodiment of all evil. As shown through the character of slave thommi – who takes vicarious pleasure in the power exercised by his master – in vidheyan, he points out that the oppressed classes are as much responsible for their plight as the oppressors
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MANK
March 28, 2017
Navneeth, i have mixed feelings about iyobinte pusthakam. on one hand i appreciate that the fella who made BigB and Bachelor party attempting a film like this, but i think a more mature director would have made a much better film out of the same subject. but damn right about his technical skills, he knows how to move the camera, even though too much influenced by hollywood cinema. the climax shootout is heavily inspired from Michael Mann’s The last of the mohicans
Reg: Kali, i think more than Dulqar’s anger, i think it was sai pallavi’s anger that was the pivot of the movie. she is supposed to be the cool , calm and collected of the 2 , but she instigates the final violence that closes the film. that accounts for the shift in geography in the second half, because in a civilized world , the true nature of a character is always hidden. the film was really about the arc of her character to me than Dulqar’s .
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MANK
March 28, 2017
i too am surprised at all these sudden accusations of spoilers. anybody who is remotely familiar with Brangan’s style knows that this is how he writes. he goes in for lengthy analysis and if cannot discuss the scenes , how is he going to analyse them.
I have watched a lot of films after reading Brangan’s reviews and it has never ruined the experience for me.I find all this concept of spoilers overrated really, in this age of being bombarded with movie trailers, Facebook,whatsapp and what not, i dont think the ‘virgin’ movie watching experience exists all that much anymore
But perhaps a lot of it depends upon our individual perceptions- of what we expect from a film.Speaking for myself , the basic plot or story of a film is the least interesting aspect of a film i more or less watch a film for the entire cinematic experience, something that a film like Take off provides immensely.
On a personal note, I have commenters helping out with surveys on Film Companion, and now translating… Thank you all so much.
Brangan,Huh , who said we are commenters, didnt you know, we are your cronies ? :). we are duty bound.
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Supertramp
March 28, 2017
MANK, Rohit Sathish Nair, Navneeth I didn’t know there is these many malayalis here. ( ഇവിടെ ഇത്രയധികം മലയാളികളുണ്ടെന്ന് ഞാന് അറിഞ്ഞില്ല.)
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Rishikesh
March 28, 2017
പേര് :
ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
പ്രശസ്ത ചിത്രസംയോജകൻ മഹേഷ് നാരായണൻ കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ച് ആദ്യമായി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന, പാർവ്വതി, കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ, ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ, ആസിഫ് അലി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളായി എത്തുന്ന ‘ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്’ എന്ന ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ (സിനിമയുടെ) നിരൂപണം – ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ
Great work Rohit. If is yet to be finalised, can you please check a couple of things, one I feel the tense should be past throughout so instead of Cheyunna, which is a running word ..it can be “Cheytu”..also “Mukhya Kadapratrangalayi Ethunna” (appearing as main characters) may get a people confused to think whether those are names of characters or the actors playing them…I know it is the one that is followed channels and stuff..But would it better if it is “Mukhya kadapratangalil Abhinayicha”..also with that tense issue is also solved..with everything changed to past…
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Navneeth
March 28, 2017
MANK: That is an interesting take on Kali. Hadn’t thought of it that way.
Rewatch excuse obtained.
Re: Iyobinte Pusthakam’s climax, Neerad claims he choreographed it himself (by all accounts, he had a major falling-out with the stunt director); in which case, “heavily inspired from Michael Mann’s The last of the mohicans” would not surprise me one bit.
“Brangan,Huh , who said we are commenters, didnt you know, we are your cronies ? :). we are duty bound.”
So Rangan is Vincent Pepe? 😉
Supertramp: “MANK, Rohit Sathish Nair, Navneeth I didn’t know there is these many malayalis here. ( ഇവിടെ ഇത്രയധികം മലയാളികളുണ്ടെന്ന് ഞാന് അറിഞ്ഞില്ല.)”
Very good, Alexander. Now write it in Tamil, Telugu & Kannada.
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Navneeth
March 28, 2017
*”i too am surprised at all these sudden accusations of spoilers. anybody who is remotely familiar with Brangan’s style knows that this is how he writes. he goes in for lengthy analysis and if cannot discuss the scenes , how is he going to analyse them.
I have watched a lot of films after reading Brangan’s reviews and it has never ruined the experience for me.”*
I suspect the complainants are new readers unfamiliar with Rangan’s chai peete adda maro Bengali style. 😉 I’ve noticed that the reviews by other critics are generally of the ‘rating’ or ‘must-watch’/’one-time-watch’ variety (how I hate those phrases, btw). Perhaps these readers are simply too used to that style?
On that note, I don’t see the point in reading a review prior to watching a film. Surely if you’re thinking of watching a particular film, it’s because it appeals to you in some way. Isn’t it enough to trust your instinct and go in, and later ruminate on how the film made you feel?
Btw, can someone tell me the shortcuts for writing a word in bold, and underlining a sentence?
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Rishikesh
March 28, 2017
Does anyone feel that Rangan has to take a different approach for the reviews here and the one he puts fr FC. While the one in blog can be detailed in the manner in which Rangan usually puts, the FC one can ought to be a bit more straight forward without any dissection of scenes and stuff, or in other words blog review should be well edited version of one that is put up in FC, that way he could combat the accusation,and it caters to the two different kind as well, one who would like to read the detailed stuff (I will prefer that after watching the film) and those who just wanna know whether the film is good or bad.
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Supertramp
March 28, 2017
Navneeth : Very good, Alexander. Now write it in Tamil, Telugu & Kannada
മലയാളം മാത്രമേ അറിയൂ. Tamil venel pesi parakalaam.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
March 28, 2017
Also in Kerala, the ‘intellectual’ filmmakers always lean towards the left – Shaji N Karun, Lenin Rajendran etc
MANK, but that has been the case everywhere. Perhaps, this must be the reason why Bengal and Kerala have produced the greatest filmmakers of our country. Of course, there were others – K. A. Abbas, Benegal, Nihalani, et al, Ray, despite his Bengal connection, was not very open about his political inclination. This article sheds some light on his views about Marxism and Mrinal Sen:
http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/may/03gupta.htm
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 29, 2017
I really don’t know what to say, guys! ഇത്രേം പ്രശംസ ഒരുമിച്ച് താങ്ങാൻ വയ്യ! (Forgive me if I’m sounding weird, or downright stupid at this point)
As a career or not, I’ll certainly try to watch and write full-length pieces on film, exactly because as you said, film literature/criticism in Kerala isn’t what it used to be before, and it is pretty dismal today
Navneeth: Mechanical
Kunchacko Boban is a performer I never really liked, and in some films, borderline hated. I cringed especially, at the fact that he was considered to be a good comic performer. He barely bounces off his co-star’s one-liners, and yet he is seen as a part of many successful comic duos. Most of his peers (even Prithviraj now) and the younger lot (yes, even relatively inexperienced Dulquer is a better comic actor) have improved on these skills. Even in films where he did negative roles, it was as if he was trying HARD to shake off hi schoolboy image
All of which is to say that his performance in ‘Vettah’ surprised me. See him at the start of ‘Raavu Maayave’, nodding gently with eyes closed, and looking back at happier days.It says so much about what Melvin Philip has gone through (or is going through). I found ‘Vettah’ to be a very engaging watch, yet its high point for me (other than KB’s and Manju Warrier’s peformances) was Shaan Rahman’s music. Very uncharacteristic and unique sounds on the outside, and still, totally in-sync with the film. Shaan Rahman has been a great relief for us, especially when Gopi Sunder’s music (except maybe Kali) seem to be getting more strained and heavyhanded. Prime Examples: Puthiya Niyamam and Pulimurugan (even James and Alice for that matter)
Hey, the net says both Shaan Rahman and Gopi Sunder did the music. ANybody who knows who did what?
I had written a little about Kali in an earlier page, and i still feel that the 2nd half is the actual meat of the film. The 1st half, which totally sets up the premise, isn’t breezy situational humour either. Situations which are otherwise ordinary, become minor time-bombs with Dulquer’s short-fused, troublemaker character. So he is actually put in his place when he crosses horns with a more berserk man (Vinayakan) and a chilly-as-ice villain (Chemban). Fire meets fire, and fire meets ice too.
Even by Maneesh Chettan’s clever analogy, the writing doesn’t feel disjointed.
Anyone else who felt Iyobinte Pusthakam is a good genre-bender? Look past its period setting and Christian milieu, and you find a good load of masala tropes. Even as you keep aside the exteriors, you get a decent character study. Almost every key player is a different kind of man or woman.
Rishikesh:
Don’t know if it has been displayed already, but yes, valid points
പേര് :
ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്: ചലച്ചിത്ര നിരൂപണം (മൂവി റിവ്യൂ) : ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ: ഫിലിം കംപാനിയൺ
വിവരണം :
പ്രശസ്ത ചിത്രസംയോജകൻ മഹേഷ് നാരായണൻ കഥ, തിരക്കഥ, സംഭാഷണം എന്നിവ നിർവഹിച്ച് ആദ്യമായി സംവിധാനം ചെയ്ത, പാർവ്വതി, കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ, ഫഹദ് ഫാസിൽ, ആസിഫ് അലി എന്നിവർ മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളിൽ എത്തിയ ‘ടേക്ക് ഓഫ്’ എന്ന ചലച്ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ നിരൂപണം – ഭരദ്വാജ് രംഗൻ
I just got to know now. The inspiration for Fahadh’s character A.Ajaykumar, used to work as First Secretary of Bahrain’s Indian Embassy when I used to live there. Invariably he would be one of the guests for functions in schools or the Keraleeya Samajam,and pretty frequently at that. Heck, some of us even used to make fun of his heavily accented English.
Did ANYONE think a film would be made on him among other people, with none other than Fahadh Faasil in his shoes? Even Fahadh Faasil was a near-unknown, failed starkid back in 2009. I don’t know what exactly to make of all this, but it fills me with wonder.
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MANK fan
March 29, 2017
enikku vayya..
ee MANK-inu ella films-ine pattiyum ellaam ariyamallo!!
ithokke engane saadhikunnu maashe?
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Anu Warrier
March 29, 2017
This has become a chaayakkada now? 🙂 Poor BR – he’s being overwhelmed by our Mallu brigade.
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Navneeth
March 29, 2017
Rishikesh: “Does anyone feel that Rangan has to take a different approach for the reviews here and the one he puts fr FC. While the one in blog can be detailed in the manner in which Rangan usually puts, the FC one can ought to be a bit more straight forward without any dissection of scenes and stuff,… that way he could combat the accusation,and it caters to the two different kind as well, one who would like to read the detailed stuff (I will prefer that after watching the film) and those who just wanna know whether the film is good or bad.”
Well, I don’t see the point of releasing a theatrical cut as well as an extended director’s cut. I’m not sure FC would take kindly to that either.
Let Rangan stick to the style that has won him numerous admirers. For readers merely wanting to know the rating without in-depth discussions, they can read any of the numerous reviews by critics online.
Rohit: “Did ANYONE think a film would be made on him among other people, with none other than Fahadh Faasil in his shoes? Even Fahadh Faasil was a near-unknown, failed starkid back in 2009.”
I’m not sure about the First Secretary, but Fahadh’s reincarnation and resurgence has been one of the best things to happen to the industry. The guy is so versatile, able to pass off as an urbane businessman, a small-town photographer or an auto driver – and boy, he can act. He has certainly picked a great range of roles from Chaappa Kurishu, Friday & Artist to North 24 Kaatham & Maheshinte Prathikaaram.
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tonks
March 29, 2017
I love these new reviews. What’s an extra click or two, if it means more Malayalam movie reviews. Tonks khush hui.
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tonks
March 29, 2017
I’m seriously beginning to wonder : does this blog have more Mallu commentators than Tamil?
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Shankar
March 30, 2017
Finally the mallu brigade descends, been waiting for so long! 🙂 It has to do with Baddy reviewing more mallu films and of course, more films coming out with subtitles. Kandu kandu baasha padicholum angeru! 🙂
@Anu Warrier, I have a good legal website to watch all the malayalam films, will e-mail you.
And regarding Kunchacko, he has always been easy on the eyes, no great shakes as a performer but fits well within the overall milieu. It is good to see him get some good roles after being away for a while. His journey is a bit like Rahman. I always thought Rahman would have been a bonafide superstar, following the big two, if he hadn’t crossed over to Tamil. Of course, at that time, there was no knowing that the big two would have this much staying power! 🙂 But Rahman has always hung around, more so perhaps in other languages (D-16, Billa-2, Kuttrame Dhandanai etc.) getting some solid roles. From that context, Kunchacko has also hung around, in Malayalam, without withering away.
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vinjk
March 30, 2017
“I’m seriously beginning to wonder : does this blog have more Mallu commentators than Tamil?”
Not sure. But there are many silent malayali readers. Like me! 🙂
Loving this spike this malayalam movie reviews!
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tonks
March 30, 2017
And regarding Kunchacko, he has always been easy on the eyes
If you like poovam pazham 🙂 Personally, no thanks 🙂
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Anu Warrier
March 30, 2017
@Tonks – If you like poovam pazham 🙂
snort 🙂
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Shankar
March 30, 2017
@Tonks, you surely meant Basheer’s short story, right? 🙂
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tonks
March 30, 2017
Shankar, sarcasm. Right? 🙂
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tonks
March 30, 2017
It looks like the story is quite close to what actually happened
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/take-suggests-did-malayali-businessman-help-rescuing-nurses-iraq-59511
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tonks
March 30, 2017
I was just speaking about selfies in airports the other day and I’m rather on a high, coz last Monday, I managed one with Mammootty in Nedumbassery. He was on the same flight as me. I was blown away by how young and good he still looks and that I was the only one on the plane who got the honour. Tactics (I even changed seats to be closer to him when he got off), speed (he strode off at breakneck speed and I followed suit) , humility of approach (I started off apologising) and I guess, plain luck : I must have caught him in a good mood (he is notorious for arrogance though that day, he was very gracious).
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Shankar
March 30, 2017
@Tonks, sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic…I was just trying to defuse that with a joke. Anyways, I’ll leave it at this.
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Anu Warrier
March 30, 2017
Tonks, I’m trying to imagine you running after Mammootty. 🙂 It’s hard to keep up with the man when he walks normally.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 31, 2017
A rousing but not jingoistic story, evocative but not showy filmmaking, economical but not detached storytelling – this was Take Off in short for me
Most good films today confound your emotions, or at least, make you really slap your head and say ‘Wow’ only after hours, day, weeks or even months. So I must say it’s great to find a film that earns your tears and joy right when you’re at the theatre, and not for the easier reasons.
I guess it would be easier to start with the teeny tiny flaws: a few of the dialogues are exposition-heavy (the Arab doctor’s, and Fahadh’s lines), and maybe you might feel some kind of closure should have been added for Sameera and family. But again for the latter, you know that they’ve been through the toughest of ’em all, so the rest we can see how they will deal with. Also, you could maybe work it out in your head about how nurses, who serve selflessly, are in turn saved by the Government without personal interests in mind.
The first half is a beast; it triumphs single-handedly on more than a level. The key scenes/ conflict points/ confrontations in most dramas have a tendency to sit back and unfold; the rest of the scenes have to do the ‘running to’. Here, we have sticky situation after sticky situation, and I guess it’s fitting that the director put himself in the character’s shoes and exuded the ‘I know these are serious problems, but I can’t ponder on these all day, I have to move on’ attitude. Plus, Mahesh Narayanan is a film editor himself, so it would have been a disappointment if his film hadn’t been this crisp.
Another aspect of the first half that should be lauded is how nurses are shown as flesh-and-blood creatures, neither the fairer-than-white halo-headed ones, nor the vamp-like caricatures said to have been shown in many recent films (Even Ramya Nambeeshan’s character in Left Right Left, which was less of a character than a Vertigo-esque conceit, was accused of this). In another film, the circumstances due to which Sameera accepts Shaheed’s proposal would have been viewed differently. Even male nurses, for that matter, aren’t shown to be less masculine at all
Yes, the second half is a different, more conventional creature, and the shift, in theory, would have been jarring, but one big reason it doesn’t feel so is that pre-interval scene with the son: a superb segue and a scene which isn’t all that less in terms of storytelling power than the Angamaly Diaries one-take. We do get stock situations (the will-their-cover-get-blown-up? stuff), yet to its credit, the film does it better than say, Airlift (or even Neerja for that matter).
It’s true that even a few frames in the second half look similar to those in Airlift, other than locations. Even then, Take Off successfully evades the predictability that somewhat plagued the 2nd half. Almost every writing decision in Take Off makes say, the Kuwaiti lady and Ibrahim, or the Iraqi general, in Airlift look inferior. Take Off takes 15 minutes longer than Airlift, but yes, it uses the extra time well. That said, would a Take Off be this successful in Bollywood? Was it a success in Kerala because it could afford to be this focused, whereas it has to be a little more ‘audience-friendly’ for Bollywood? (I’ve had a little too much of peace of mind lately. അങ്ങേര് ഇത് കാണുവോ ആവോ?)
Kunchacko Boban’s Shaheed isn’t the first soft-spoken good guy out there; you could even point to Fahadh Faasil’s Rasool for that, but such a nuanced character’s presence in this kind of a movie is a big miracle. Especially nice to see him not reference his ‘chocolate-boy’ image. Then again, no one protrudes or even stands tall compared to the others in this cast, even Parvathy or Fahadh Faasil.
PS. The opening credits say: “Original Background Score: Gopi Sunder” . Culprit caught, but don’t punish him, because the main refrain (What do you call the main piece of the BGM , the one that is played in the trailer?) is so rousing even as a standalone track.
PPS: The detail that nailed it for me in a film so attentive to detail: One scene shows Jayamohan, a key negotiator, being contacted and convinced by Fahadh to fight for their cause. According to the scene, he is in a car, travelling from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain for a function. In case you might ask “Why a car? Why not your private jet or helicopter?”, I’ll tell you why:
1)Bahrain and KSA are connected by a 25 km-bridge called the King Fahd Causeway. Via this road, they come to Bahrain routinely during the weekends, and savour the relative freedom
2)Google says the distance and time from Riyadh to Bahrain is 415 km and 4.5 hr. With cheap petrol prices, wouldn’t you rather take this alternative?
The car might have actually gone to the airport, but why waste a chance the director accidentally gives you to wallow in nostalgia?
PPPS: Great Father releases tomorrow. Going by the title and teasers, it’s practically Mammootty saying “Take Off and Flight sublime, now time for crash landing.” (Might be a better joke than anything that it cracks tomorrow).
I may be making a hasty judgement, but I really didn’t want this year’s Pulimurugan this early.
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tonks
March 31, 2017
Shankar, I was being tongue in cheek, too. No offence taken.
Anu, I watched all six seasons of GOT last year, spaced out over months of treadmilling. Nice to see that practice has its occasional uses 😉
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Kid
March 31, 2017
Anu: Ma’am, there is Einthusan.com where you can legally watch a good number of Malayalam films for free (they have almost all the new releases). They have a very good collection of Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films (and a number of these are with subtitles).
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tonks
April 1, 2017
Kid : That doesn’t work in India. Which are the best sites here for legal streaming/ downloading?
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Kid
April 1, 2017
Tonks: Are you asking only about Malayalam films? It would be easier if you could tell me the particular film(s). I don’t usually use legal sites for watching films (not the right way to go about these things, but…) so I am not really up to date regarding legal streams. But try some Youtube channels where you can legally pay and watch films (and sometimes watch them for free)- for instance, there is this Youtube channel called API- Tamil where you can pay and watch films (all of these are with subs). There is API- Malayalam as well. There is also this website called Reelmonk which streams the recent offbeat Malayalam films (Ozhivudivasathe Kali, CR No. 89, Kanyaka Talkies etc..they have a very good collection). There is another website Sominal Tv as well (have never used, but they apparently stream films in a number of Indian languages, and often with subs). There is also a new platform called Movie Saints where you can get your money back in case you don’t like a film and want to stop watching after the first 10 mins or so. There are several others as well, but it would be great if I could know the names of the films you want to see.
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Kid
April 1, 2017
Rohit: Apologies for the late reply. And yeah, MANK is right (LOL), I don’t follow Malayalam or any other South Indian language (I consider it entirely my loss, but this how it is) so do kindly translate that bit in English. On the background thing, I call it the signature piece. Don’t know the technical term for it. On Vettah, great to know that you liked it. And I think Shaan composed both the music and BGM.
MANK: Talking with you on cinema always feels like an eduction. Thanks for the characteristically insightful comment. BTW I have been looking out for the Malayalam masala films you had recommended (it’s difficult to procure subtitled prints of these works). I did get around to watching Aavanazhi (very enjoyable…and Mammootty is on fire here) and Adiyozhukkukal (this was an excellent…I can easily revisit it a number of times). Also caught up with two of Joshiy’s works- New Delhi (incredibly gripping, I do rememeber seeing the Hindi remake with Jeetendra many years ago and do remember liking it inspite of the actor. But with Mammootty, this one becomes a different beast altogether) and Kodum Kattu (enjoyable enough and Mammootty is excellent. But I think this was my first Prem Nazeer film and I can’t say I liked him. Much prefer Madhu to him, but then I also saw in a truly astonishing film- Swayamvaram. Also Madhu is a rather handsome chap). On Lenin Rajendran, I must look out for his films. But you are absolutely on the money regarding Vidheyan (what an incredible Mammootty performance, he personifies “villainy” in its most primal form without ever making the character a caricature. Also I love the way he says Eda/Eeda. And Gopakumar makes for the perfect slave, not too many faces can reward close-ups like his can. I think Bhaskar Patelar is one of Indian cinema’s greatest “villains”, insofar as one can use this word in the context of an Adoor film). I think the central relationship between Kutiyappan (BijuMenon) and Pillaichan (Vijay Raghavan) is a nod to the master-slave relationship in Vidheyan (I am only talking about Ranjith’s film, have no idea about the original story). But even in Munnariyippu, the shadow of Mathilukal keeps hanging over the film (especially in thatscene in bar where Mammootty starts talking about his sense of freedom). A very similar scene is there in Mathilukal where Mammootty talks about freedom). But it’s not just Adoor, Unni is also clearly inspired from Aravindan. In both Esthappan and Charlie (an overrated film if there ever was one). In both films, you are told about an almost mythical man through the eyes of other people.
You are also right regarding Adoor never explicitly spelling out things like Anantharam. And to take your point further, notice how film uses the disease as a commentary on the art (and unreliable) nature of “storytelling” itself. This film could be read as Adoor’s essay on cinema and storytelling. But the important think to notice here is that while Adoor’s films are grounded in realism, he is never a slave to realism is either (this was evident in Pinneyum as well, which his weakest film in terms of craft and was also poorly structured. And once you take Dileep as the lead, you already begin with a handicap. I can’t understand why he could he not take any other star for such an important role. I never got around to watching the one he made before Pinneyum).
Among the leftist Malayali film, the one I liked quite a bit was Kabani Nadi Chuvannapol. This was certainly, but wasn’t merely propagandist. Still thing though that Mani Muzhakkam is the stronger work (it would be in my top 5 favourite Malayalam films).
Loved your reading of Kali as well (Aranyer Din Ratri for the thriller-audiences. Haha!). I think one of the major reasons why I prefer this to something like to NH10 is because of the Chemban Vinod character whose motives remain difficult to ascertain even after the end of the film. In NH10, you know that Darshan Kumar is a typical villain very early into the film (you know his motivations etc). Here though never quite know how to pin down Chemban Vinod’s character. Is he a lech? Given a chance, would he attempt to rape the girl?! Or is he simply playing around with these city folks, just messing with their heads. He keeps you on tenterhooks?! And yet, Vinod makes the character very intetesting without resorting to easy gestures. In this sense, he is like Saif’s character in first half of Ek Haseena Thi, you feel uneasy when you seem him, but you are stillnot sure if he is necessarily a villain.
Navneeth: Apologies for not being reply to you. I would do so in a couple of days. But I loved your thoughts, especially on Iyobinte.
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tonks
April 1, 2017
Kid, thank you. I had in mind mostly relatively smaller budget, non-Malayalam movies that do not get released in Kerala theatres (or sometimes they have a blink and go theatre run and you hear about them only afterwards : Kakka Muttai is one example), but are still critically acclaimed. I thought of watched Phillaurri this weekend after reading the review here but it’s not playing in my town.
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Anu Warrier
April 1, 2017
Kid, thank you. Shankar had also told me about Einthusan, so I intend to pay for the premier membership. If you haven’t watched it already, and you do get hold of it, watch Thaniyaavarthanam – it’s a film that I haven’t been able to revisit, but it had powerful performances.
From the 80s and 90s cinema – Aal Kootathil Thaniye, Aparan, Abhayam Thedi, Anubandham, Yavanika, Aadaminte Variyellu, Kariyilakkattuppole, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Bharatam, Adharvam,Panchagni, Gandhi Nagar 2nd Street, Namakku Paarkkan Munthirithoppukal, Ulladakkam, Manichitrathazhu, Moonam Pakkam… I’m sure MANK will have many more recommendations.
I love that a blog usually devoted to Tamil and Hindi films is now discussing Malayalam films.
I wonder if BR ever thought that a move to FC would bring so many Malayalis crawling out of the woodwork. 🙂
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tonks
April 2, 2017
What really happened, written by one of the nurses :
http://m.ndtv.com/blog/i-was-an-isis-hostage-a-kerala-nurses-iraq-diary-593731?amp=1&akamai-rum=off
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 3, 2017
Ctrl+b for bold and ctrl+u for underline on the keyboard. Or did u mean on the phone?
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 3, 2017
Probably it is only now, he is realising there was an existing huge malayalam brigade… 😁
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 3, 2017
Interesting interview of Parvathy, the lead of the movie…
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Shankar
April 3, 2017
@Anu Warrier, Thaniyavarthanam is a favorite of mine. Such an amazing film! To add to your recos, I will also add the enjoyable comedy films…Naadodikatru, Vellaanakalude Naadu, Varavelpu, Aye Auto, Vietnam Colony, Sanmanasullavarku Samadhaanam etc.
@Kid, there are just so many from that era….Ulsavapittenu, Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, Amrutham Gamaya, Kireedom, Thazhvaaram, Yavanika, Koodevide, Nirakkootu, Arapetta Ketiya Gramathil, Kariyilakkattu Pole…..not all classics, but very enjoyable films.
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 3, 2017
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MANK
April 3, 2017
Rohit,Navneeth & Kid: i think there are lot of similarities between Kali and chappa kurisu. – both samir thahir films- . character arcs of fahadh & vineet is very similair to Dulqar-saipallavi . one who starts out as passive , calm and introverted becoming more aggressive as the film progresses. while the one who is arrogant and hotheaded becoming more controlled and responsible
the second thing is the class conflicts that takes place between the characters. both dulqar and fahadh characters are placed in the upper\upper middle class milieu, while both vineeth and chemban are from the lowest strata of the society. its really about the guy from the lower class manipulating and tormenting the upper class guy – who otherwise would never crossed paths with him in his daily life and who somehow suddenly becomes dependent on him for his survival – and bringing him down from his pedestal (almost literally in CK). you could see the transition as both characters are forced out of their comfort zone -posh high rise buildings and offices in CK, the city in Kali- and in to the underworld where the former resides.in CK the climax fight between the 2 takes place in a public toilet , while in Kali , its in the middle of nowhere on a highway
Reg : Vettah, i thought the film was just too fractured and clever for its own good. again films like these which looks overtly staged and where people talk in such slow deliberate terms always smacks of pretentiousness to me. it was trying too hard to be hollywood cool. especially the kunchacko boban character who seems to be modeled on the ‘Keyser Söze’ kind of unreliable narrator. secondly the tactics employed by kunchacko for his revenge seemed too far fetched to be convincing . perhaps the basic ideas were all there on a script level but a lot was lost in translating to film. the only freshness in the film was about placing a women police officer at the center of the action
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MANK
April 3, 2017
Kid, glad to hear you liked Aavanazhi and New delhi. both their hindi remakes were listless because neither Vinod Khanna nor Jeetendra were half as effective as Mammootty.
As for more 80’s masala, try out further combinations of Joshi-Mammootty and Mammootty-mohanlal & IV Sasi . other masala that i like from that era are Rajavinte makan, Irupatham noottand, , Nirakkoottu, August 1 ,Aryan,chanakyan, Iyer the Great you see the beauty of those films were that there was substantial parts for women in them. In a film like Aavanazhi, , the lead character of Mammooty is shaped by 3 different women belonging to different class of the society.Another great thing about them is that most of these films are based on real characters and real incidents.you compare it with films that are tagged as masala, coming out today especially in Telugu,Tamil and Hindi and you get the idea
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MANK
April 3, 2017
I really don’t know what to say, guys! ഇത്രേം പ്രശംസ ഒരുമിച്ച് താങ്ങാൻ വയ്യ!
Huh ee Rohit chekkantoru karyam. onnu po-dey. elavarum koodi parannu parannu ivaneyoru vazhikkakkum 🙂
ithokke engane saadhikunnu maashe?
To myFan Vitteku mashe , jeevichu pokkotte 🙂 .ippolathe 18 vayasu chekkanmare kandille . asalu budhijeevi linelila cinemaye patti samsarikkunne . namallonum avarude munpil onnumalla 🙂
I must have caught him in a good mood (he is notorious for arrogance though that day, he was very gracious).
Tonks, you must have caught him in a very very good mood. one of my friends had a really nasty experience with him . adi kittathe rakshapettathu bhagyam. but Mohanlal on other hand is a very very giving person as far as selfies are concerned.
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Supertramp
April 3, 2017
Rohit Sathish Nair : I just got to know now. The inspiration for Fahadh’s character A.Ajaykumar, used to work as First Secretary of Bahrain’s Indian Embassy when I used to live there. Invariably he would be one of the guests for functions in schools or the Keraleeya Samajam,and pretty frequently at that. Heck, some of us even used to make fun of his heavily accented English.
I just got to know this A.Ajaykumar is my grandma’s cousin, sometimes whatsapp family group’s can be useful. Now I can gloat in the glory of someone’s achievement although I have nothing to do with it, but he happens to be a relative.
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Vanya
April 4, 2017
Another fan of Thaniyavarthanam here! Other masala-ish movies to add to the list –Mithunam, panchavadi palam, vadakkunokkiyanthram, Godfather, meleparambil aanveedu, ponmuttayidunna tharavu, thalayanamanthram, and the movie that is the through line connecting the mallus on this blog — Thoovanathumbikal.
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brangan
April 4, 2017
I liked the Tamil version of Aavanazhi, Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupadu. Sathyaraj gave — as usual — a broad performance, but his physicality lent a fantasic dimension to the role. That such a huge, looming man could be cowed down by life was oddly pathetic. This dimension even Mammootty did not bring, though the latter was of course far more subtle and brought in more “emotional” shades to the role.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
April 4, 2017
Mammootty is ‘huge’ as well. 🙂 Btw, did Kamal really make a ‘special appearance’ in KKK?
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Aman
April 4, 2017
This is good news for all the mallu folks and non-mallu folks interested old classics of malayalam cinema, they are now available with subs on hotstar.
Noted subtitler and screenwriter Vivek Ranjit says ( includes the list of the films available) :
Was checking out Hotstar yesterday and was super happy to see that so many of our older favourite and classic Malayalam movies have been updated with English Subtitles. And another great thing is almost all the movies on Hotstar are in crystal clear HD format, including many movies which have never come out on DVDs like Kalapani,etc.
The movies available with English Subtitles on Hotstar are
Chitram, Kilukkam, Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal, Bhoothakkannadi, Samrajyam, Aniyathipravu, Ravanaprabhu, Ramjirao Speaking, Naran, Loudspeaker, Iyer The Great, Kaiyoppu, Pazhassiraja, Keerthichakra, Classmates, Summer In Betlehem, Adiyozhukkukal, Kariyilakkattu Pole, Amrutham Gamaya, Sreekrishnaparunthu, Nokkethadoorathu Kannum Nattu, Pavithram, Kanmadam, Punjabi House, Appunni, Traffic, Nandanam, Ee Kanni Koodi, Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam, Aye Auto, Agnidevan, Oru Maravathur Kanavu, Bhoomiyile Rajakkanmar, Passenger, Beautiful, Chandrolsavam, Ustad Hotel, Minnaram, Aaryan, Manu Uncle, Nirakkoottu and many more, including the latest Pulimurugan and Oppam with subtitles. (Was happy to see that even our movie, Kili Poyi is available with subs on Hotstar, though it is heavily censored).
This is something I always wanted to do, and had even approached Asianet a couple of years back offering my services, but was rejected citing corporate rules or something. But now, some noble souls at Hotstar have chosen some really good films to subtitle and are still updating many more films with subtitles. Many people have asked me where subtitles would be available for many of these films. So here you go! Show them proudly to your non-Malayali friends and make them addicted to Malayalam Cinema. And for ‘fans’ who are fighting over collection records and youtube views, do something more worthwhile by showing these classics of your favourite actors to people who haven’t seen these movies, all over the country. Use the power and strength of fan clubs to do something positive, rather than trolling each other!
PS – Though I’m really jealous that someone else got to do it, spread this info everywhere so that our classic movies can be enjoyed by much more people.
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aavanazhi
April 4, 2017
Happy someone mentioned aavanazhi.
I watched that movie at an age when I shouldn’t be watching that sort of movies. The movie made quiet an impression on me. It twisted my brains inside out.
To this day, a man who can rock a moustache, can look hot in a khakhi uniform and can be a BAMF who curses at whoever and whenever and who is haunted by his past demons,is my idea of a perfect man!!! How these indian movies hook you into drama like drugs!! Thanks to movies like these, normal people with ordinary lives bore me. And I am sure all the drama that I create in my life is thanks to the stuff that I watched when i was young.
“That such a huge, looming man could be cowed down by life was oddly pathetic.”…….
That is exactly what my mind was thinking but I wasn’t smart enough to put it in words.
watch from 2:10. I just wanted to reach out , hug him and say everything would be alright… don’t worry.The rage, regret, frustration, anger…the poor thing just couldn’t get a break.
I love mohanlal too but mammootty just aced these kind of scenes.
I have sworn to myself, If I ever have kids,I will never expose my kids to movie like these when they are young.
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Snehnath
April 4, 2017
The end of Thaniyavarthanam still gives me the chills. Amrutham Gamaya was also a lovely tale of redemption.
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anubandham
April 4, 2017
Has anyone mentioned anubandham yet? Mohanlal Shobana relationship dynamics in that movie is on point.
And one of my all time favorite songs “kannanthalirum” is in that movie.
Her all regretful and resentful that she had to settle for him and she “married down” and is stuck in this godforsaken village. Him not indulging her need for drama and is passive aggressive and hurtful. Their son taking the brunt of all her frustration.
Till a tragedy brings them together.
watch from 9.15
“nammal pankittaal maathrame ee dhukatheenoru mojanam labhikoo”.
All ordinary people dealing with regrets and mistakes of the past, trying hard at a second chance at life.
Where is I.V SASHI, now? Why isn’t he felicitated with more awards?
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anubandham
April 4, 2017
ok…my last comment …
Just wanted to mention I love shyam, the BGM composer in most of Shashi’s movies. Loved their combination. The string instruments in the background reaching a crescendo, just perfect to heighten your already heightened senses in all the emotional scenes.
I have his bgm playing in my head even in real life situations.
I know….. I need help!!!
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Shankar
April 5, 2017
I mentioned a few previously…something about Koodevide is so haunting. It was such a perfect debut vehicle for Rahman. I also loved Olangal…the sensitivity with which it was dealt with, (despite being a borrowed tale) is really awesome. As avanazhi said, we watched a lot of movies in those days, at an age, when we probably should not have! 🙂
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Shankar
April 5, 2017
Some more to the list….Perunthachan, Chidambaram, Panchavadi Paalam, Sadayam, Aparan, Parinayam, Deshadanakili Karayarilla, Amaram….so many good films.
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sarathp
April 5, 2017
I have always been fond of how the woods have been used to create mood for films in that era like Aranyakam, Ennu swantham janakikutti. These may not be classics, but they had the mystery quotient, largely owing to the innocent lead and the mysterious woods trope.
And on innocence and coming of age, I would like to add T.D. Dasan Std.VI B to the list. Even this one had a mysterious woods in the backdrop . Had great music too by Sreevalsan J Menon.
And more recently, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan used the landscape well in both his films Oraalpokkam and Ozhivudivasathe kali. Enough praise has been showered on Ozhivudivasathe Kali already, but Oraalpokkam is equally deserving in my opinion. Agreed that it was a bit pretentious, but it did bring out the trauma of the lead, his mysticism aided by great cinematography and fantastic editing. Appu Bhaathiri, the editor is surely one to watch out for. Even in commercial stuff like Kunjiramayanam, his work was commendable (look out for the scene where Mamukkoya boasts to varied crowd).
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Navneeth
April 5, 2017
Jyoti: Thanks.
MANK: Good analysis of the Thahir films.
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Bharath Vijayakumar
April 5, 2017
A calculated risk taken by Manoj (Fahadh) against the wishes of his supervisors ends up saving the Indian nurses being held hostage. Manoj sort of sarcastically and in a slightly heroic manner indicates to his boss that his decision saved 19 lives. But this gesture on the announcement that nurses from other nations have lost their lives raises some difficult questions. Are some lives more important than others? This has nothing to do with the way Manoj makes his decisions. He is doing exactly what he is supposed to do and only what he can do. But that gesture at that particular moment needs some soul searching.
Anyone else felt a similar emotion?
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tonks
April 6, 2017
Manoj sort of sarcastically and in a slightly heroic manner indicates to his boss that his decision saved 19 lives. But this gesture on the announcement that nurses from other nations have lost their lives raises some difficult questions. Are some lives more important than others?
His self satisfaction at being proved right momentarily out weighed his sympathy for the unfortunate Bangladeshi nurses. Quite a believable human reaction.
I personally wanted to bash Parvathy’s head while watching the movie, for not having gently broken the news of her divorce to her son right from the beginning. But then later thinking back, I thought it quite plausible (as BR would say) that a mother would want to postpone bad news from reaching her child, and in other circumstances it wouldn’t have mattered, her re- marriage being unforseen and unplanned. Also without that plot twist, we would have missed a lot of human drama.
adi kittathe rakshapettathu bhagyam
MANK : I saw him happily pose in another selfie with a bunch of kids and their mothers. Perhaps enney rakshichathu, his chivalry aanu 🙂
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Madhav
April 6, 2017
Reg. I.V.Shashi movies, his movies, except for Devasuram(from early 90s), had become mostly outdated ones especially for today’s generation, unlike movies of directors like Sibi Malayil, Satyan or Priyadarsan (from late 80s) whose works are still repeatedly viewed.
But that is not to deny IV Sasi made quite a handful of excellent movies throughout 80s especially in the collaboration of the great scriptwriter M T Vasudevan Nair.
One of the best works of him from 80s is this 1985 classic with classical dance as background (both Kathakali, Bharatanatyam) – ‘Rangam’. Its an IV Shashi-MT-Mohanlal-Shobana dream combo.
The main actors have all given wonderful acts, but the acting of Lal in this movie is something that can be studied deeply in any era. Especially the scene where Lal’s character gets to see the girl he loves with his master’s son in a situation(at abt 1:05), just the minute expressions can add whole depth and dimensions to the story. And add to that MT’s powerful dialogues. Awesome.
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Jayram
November 19, 2017
Finally watched Take Off today on Einthusan.
Mahesh Narayanan and his team should be lauded for making a taut, suspenseful and heartfelt film. It did shift from the personal to the logistical, but it wasn’t jarring at all as seen in the interval where Ibru runs outside and sees all the danger and runs back to his mother’s arms now realizing he can’t return to his dad and Sameera is all he has. It’s easy to tell from the interval that the focus will shift from the nurses to the rescue efforts by Ambassador Manoj. Yet the psychological still remains throughout the film as it becomes a matter of staying strong mentally and staying alive throughout this ordeal. Of course we know that they will be saved, but two scenes from the second half of the psychological resonating more than the logistical stand out for me:
1) the old man asks the nurses to quote from the Quran (and we know most are non Muslim), but Ibru answers him correctly and the man walks away satisfied.
2) at the border when one of the nurses’ crosses is seen outside her bag and her fear that the terrorist on the bus could see and instantly shoot her. Immediately her colleague shields it with her carryon which is completely closed.
I think one reason why Shaheed’s scenes became almost an afterthought like Navneeth said is because it would just be repeated scenes of operating on terrorists and torture and it would get boring after a while. I feel his lack of presence in the second half actually made the film better, because the hope that he was alive kept Sameera resilient and positively sure that they would reunite despite the ordeal she and the nurses were going through. Plus, it is her story not his.
Though Gopi Sunder’s BGM rouses with intensity (it reminded me of his Telugu debut Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju), it is not overbearing. The songs are nice.
Kunchacko Boban is restrained as BR and others have mentioned and Fahadh was fantastic and badass. Asif Ali and Prakash Belawadi (the Foreign minister) make their presence felt. The little kid and the rest of the nurses do well.
However, the film completely belongs to Parvathy Thiruvoth Kottuvata. Dominant, fiery, yet weary and vulnerable, she commands the screen and I couldn’t look away. I hope she wins the National Award for this heartfelt, magnificent performance. She is one of the best actresses today who mesmerizes me with her acting prowess and her transcendence of the character. She meticulously prepares and analyzes her role before submerging herself into it. She is so superb that you only see Maari, Marathakam, Panimalar, Sarah, Kanchanamala and Sameera. She has come a long way from her role in Notebook and I am intrigued by her choice of films; I have yet to see Qarib Qarib Singlle. Her activism has definitely played a part in her film selection especially as one of the leading members of WCC. I hope she is the change she seeks to be by changing the way women are perceived on film. I eagerly anticipate even more powerful performances from her and I believe she will become one of the legends we will be talking about on this site.
Kudos to Mahesh Narayanan for his fantastic directorial debut. I hope he continues to make great movies with intelligent storytelling.
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