Malayalam movie experiments that added fuel to the New Generation Cinema movement of the 21st century

Malayalam cinema had done its share of experiments since the previous century with the introduction of fresh concepts and unconventional film making techniques by master craftsmen like Padmarajan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Bharathan, and John Abraham, where they created opportunities for regional cinema to reach a  global audience. With realistic plots, subtle performances and unique storytelling, malayalam cinema travelled through the 80s golden age with ease. However by late 90s, the momentum changed as cinema became more mainstream and the medium started to get attention as mere business rather than a work of art. The audience lauded the larger than life characters that overshadowed realism until some filmmakers and fans realized that a change was inevitable, and therefore rushed to create a second wave of experiments that fortunately directed Malayalam cinema back on track. With that being said, I shall take you through some of the movies that added fuel to the 21st century New Generation wave in malayalam cinema.

1. 4 the people (2004)

Released in 2004, the Jayaraj directorial is a trendsetter, that emphasized on a new breed of filmmaking by demonstrating unusual camera angles, editing techniques, fresh faces and unheard musical styles. The movie pulled of a great run at the box office on the shoulders of its soundtrack composed by then debutant music director Jassie Gift. The track "Lajjavathi" sparked a festive mood in cinema halls across the state that became the anthem of the flash mob culture, which stated to gain fame by the end of the decade. The movie's Cinematography played a huge influence on the action flicks created by directors like Shaji Kailas and Joshiy in the later years.

2. Salt n Pepper (2011)

Salt n Pepper ,directed by Aashiq Abu, is arguably the first malayalam movie to introduce food as an emotional fictitious character. The movie that drew a contrast between human emotions to the sensitivity of our taste buds treats its characters to a blend of both, to which they respond naturally to the circumstances-be it sweet, sour or bitter. This movie could have started the relatively new cliché of the "five minute candid scene culture" often shown at the beginning of most movies that we see today, where random people are shown enjoying their favourite snack, to the music of their preference. Film companion's Anupama Chopra may admit that Lijo Jose Pellisery's use of meat in his movies these days could be attributed to the success of Salt n Pepper.

3. Traffic (2011)

A movie that appreciated the efforts of real life people and made it 'reel'. Traffic created a new dimension to the malayalam cinema culture by proving that  great film making is so much engaging and changes the entire mood and contrast of the movie and further goes on to prove that plot is sometimes secondary to the former. Movies that talked about 'a day in the life' should give credits to this wonderfully orchestrated gem of a movie. A must watch for all movie fans, irrespective of language or culture.

4. Double Barrel (2015)

Perhaps, the most underappreciated project in recent times. Prithviraj Sukumaran himself, who served as both actor and producer to the movie, has dubbed this movie an "experiment" for the ages. The comic infused spoof genre and its associated plot and humour elements were indigestible, especially for the viewers who approached the movie with realism. However, retrospective reviews , have started to shower praise on the movie for its impressive use of the movie camera, lighting, colour tone & graphics, one of a kind characters, and for being well ahead of its time. The movie that could have  brought the idea of a Marvel and DC culture in malayalam cinema had obviously shown the courage in introducing an alien concept to our viewers. Enter....Tovino Thomas as Minnal Murali.

5. Premam (2015)

The movie that made Nivin Pauly, a superstar, was indeed experimental, given the kind of treatment done by its director, Alphonse Puthren. Every element that played a a part in the usual teenage fantasy/ romance genre of our movie culture was presented with full honesty. All exaggerations were kept aside, chocolatish vibes were washed off, and over the top scenes fully erased . The former statement holds true and that is why the youth are still able to relate to all the elements of this movie, including the ones in Tamil movie 96 starring Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha, eventually earning them both blockbuster status.

Do you agree with this list. What other movies do you think should have been included in this list. Kindly drop your comments.

How foreign music shaped the Kerala pop culture !!!!

With the K-pop band BTS having the time of their life,having reached #1 on the Billboard US hot 100 singles chart with their hit single Dynamite, folks all over the world are spreading messages of positivity that the song carry; especially during the ongoing pandemic. It is truly remarkable,especially for a band having neither US nor UK origin, to achieve such a glorious feat in the shark tank we call the entertainment industry. Recently, I heard my brother say that he got to see some malayalis sharing their opinion on the boy band in a private malayalam channel,talking about how their music add value to their lives-t'was a bit overwhelming at times to say the least but definitely inspiring.Well, this ain't something new ;we have always welcomed a global phenomenon that sets the gold standard-a force that modifies our taste and our culture.

Now, if you go to anyone in their 50s or 60s and ask them about foreign music, it is likely that you get to hear these two names: Boney M and Abba. The 70s disco era certainly did its share in the ears of the casual Malayli listener in the form of some all time hits like "Rasputin", "Daddy Cool",and "Dancing queen".

This is pretty much the artistry pulled off by the legendary malayalam actor Jayan-the malayali flagbearer of the disco revolution, setting the trend of disco infused swag,suits,shades and bell bottoms.The hippie movement ever so present in the Woodstock concerts of the late 60s headlined by acts like Jimi Hendrix became a thing of beauty,where people jammed to the relatively new world of psychedelic music. Much like the music,the intellectuals of our society embraced the hippie lifestyle-the same being hilariously portrayed by Maniyanpilla Raju in the movie Sarvakalashala. 

The withdrawal of the disco era saw the emergence of the powerful 80s pop headlined by the likes of  Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince Nelson Rogers. If you search "Indian thriller" (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x81iip6psks)  in Youtube, you get to see Telugu Mega star Chiranjeevi dressed up as Michael Jackson doing the Indian version of the thriller dance .Such was his impact that you could find Mohanlal jamming to "Beat It" (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkHvgf-DxPE) after winning a confrontation with Nadia Moidu in the movie Nokketha Doorath Kannumnattu. Legendary musician A.R. Rahman adapted to the changing musical taste and developed hits such as Chikku Bukku Raile and Mukkala Mukkabula;both songs having their videos influenced by Jackson's music videos for "Bad" and "Smooth criminal". The songs became more faster,beats more emphatic,the funk got even louder and the entire groove and feel of our music evolved.

Tamil actor-director and choreographer Prabhu deva owes his entire career to the Michael Jackson phenomenon; as he became the quintessential Indian version of the King of Popular music. B-boying/break dancing became the next gen stuff. Fun fact:There is even a song Break Break dance (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwfcCG_uhY) in the malayalam movie "Mookilla Rajyathu" where we can see the great actor Thilakan shaking his leg quite possibly for the very first and only time in front of a movie camera alongside actors Mukesh,Jagathy,Siddique and Suchitra. With the release of Jackson's album Dangerous in 1991, it became a common sight among teens and adolescents to include a dance performance of the Michael Jackson song of the same title in almost all cultural festivals and TV shows across Kerala.If you haven't forgotten Nivin Pauly's second intro in the movie "Premam", you might dig what I am saying. Jackson changed the entire fabric of the entertainment industry as people still do remember his persona in every way possible. Just ask Malayalam movie director Aashiq Abu who gave a moving tribute to Mr Jackson during the opening of his movie "Daddy Cool", which I myself had seen in Cinemas.; and then later would go onto refer the latter's musical beginnings in one particular scene of the movie Idukki Gold. Though, a bit alarming and controversial it is for portraying him in white face paint, ie. at least in today's perspective, who could ever forget Michael alias Jackson alias Vikram alias phu phu phu in the malayalam movie Chathikatha Chandu.  However in reality, keeping aside the music, the iconic pop figure is still indeed a topic of controversy, especially in the west.

 

With the late 90s , boy bands like Backstreet Boys and Westlife became a sensation much like One Direction and BTS today. If you had done your schooling in an English medium institution towards the dawn of the 2nd millenium, then you probably would have seen your colleagues singing songs like "Everybody" "I want it that away","My love" in the corridors. The same applied to the music scene in movies starring Kunjacko Boban, where the songs got a bit slower,but more romantic and catchy.Songs like Oru Rajamalli poley, Mizhi ariyathey vannu nee and Walking in the moonlight garnered heavy rotations.However, haters labelled his movies "chocolatish" at the time only cause it may have been well ahead in terms of the kind of presentation it brought.The electronic music layered with the cream of bubble gum pop took over with artists like Vengaboys and  Fat boy slim. "Darude" by Sandstorm passed the test of time;often played in any kind of a public gathering like office parties,celebrations, cinema halls,super markets,auto expo, and fashion events,,etc just to name a few, with exceptions to religious gatherings and funerals.

Just like the saying "the only thing that never change was change itself", once it was time for the boy bands to got out of the lime light,alternative rock music started to gain popularity in the form of a band called Linkin Park. Their debut album, Hybrid theory captured the pulse of the youth in Kerala.Almost everyone who ever listened to Western music at the time knew them. Alternate rock mainstreamed its way into the hearts of malayalis prompting bands like Avial and Thaikkudam Bridge to take the center stage. They became such a  household name that even  Malayalam film director Vinayan casually took their song "A place for my head" and used it in his movie "Krithyam"where actor Salim Kumar lip synched the Chester Bennington vocals,while Prithviraj did the air drumming or whatever you call it . Linkin Park's use of graffiti in their album titles prompted many of  the teengeers at the time to duplicate the same on their class note books,writing their names alongside their crush's in Graffiti during class hours.On a personal note; I had Linkin Park album "Meteora" gifted to me by one of my close friends on my birthday back in the mid 2000s. However, by late 2000s ,hip hop music became the next big thing with artists like Eminem,50 cent and Jay Z getting huge international attention.We could still see some local folks carpooling  to some of these rap hits,jerking their heads until they reach the signal stop.I am sure by this time most people have made dance tributes to the malayalam hip hop song Panipaali by actor Neeraj Madhav.  All credits to the Godfather of soul "James Brown" for developing rap-hip hop music as we know today.

The 2010-2020 era is the most unique one in every aspect, be it music,movies,fashion,technology and what not.The inception of social media resulted in the discovery of the new generation pop star Justin Bieber. He became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to his manager Scooter Braun who at the time came across Bieber and found interest in his home made cover performances while talent scouting on Youtube. This story was shared worldwide and his song Baby became a world anthem; and was played in almost every music player throughout the world until people finally got enough of it.Yes,we keralites thought no differently,following the same trend,pulling all the efforts to become viral sensations  using social media platforms such as Youtube, Facebook,Tik tok,etc.Some folks got huge recognition, turned out to be vlogers and reality stars.,while some others still struggle to find ways that could potentially make them a social media icon.  Just like Mr Jackson once sang ih his album "Off the wall", we all must" keep on the with the force don't stop, don't stop til you get enough".

Now, as we finally get to the end of 2020,we can honestly say that besides a few exceptions, we got to witness some good, quality content being shared in such platforms most of the times.The foreign music will keep on evolving and so do we. Its influence can never be taken out of the context. Fortunately, our pace in progressing to the changing demographic of the western music industry has reached a whooping high. However, the only thing that has gone out of the window is the astonishment or the awe factor that we once had while trying to adjust to the latest trends brought by globalization..

PS:Credits to all the people who own the images, gif and the youtube video links used in this post.

Let me know what you think about this article. Drop your comments in the comment section below.

10 acting performances of Malayalam superstar Mohanlal that demands further appreciation!!!!

Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair,fondly called Lalettan, by malayalis all around the world has continuously mesmerised us through some of his stellar acting performances.In his own words "Cinema is  make belief" and thats exactly what he has done to the average viewer, be it a commercical entertainer, art house movie or a blend of the two. Here, I have stressed only on the acting performances of Mohanlal,rather than the movie,that requires attention from malayali movie lovers all around the world.The following is a list of such often under looked movies where the actor Mohanlal has effortlessly "lived" in his roles.

PS: The performances are not ranked in any order.

1.Sethumadhavan in Chenkol(1993):

Story: Lohithadas

Direction: Sibi Malayil

Anyone who has ever watched Mohanlal movies in their lifetime will make sure that his classic Kireedom(1989) and the pivotal character Sethumadhavan is included in almost every all time top 10 movie list. However, not much love is shown to its sequel "Chenkol" which got released in 1993,and  this is something that has become unfortunate in his long spanning 40 year career. The major difference between Kireedom and Chenkol is in the "Make belief" element.In short, Kireedom make the viewer feel sympathy towards Sethumadhavan whereas in Chenkol the viewer develops empathy for the character. Though debatable,one can argue that Mohanlal has performed better in Chenkol;however, the empathy factor could be one of the reasons for the low box office success of the movie as the casual viewer at that time couldn't bear to watch the movie with watery eyes at the cinema.

2.Sidharthan in  Pakal Nakshathrangal (2008):

Story: Anoop menon

Direction: Rajeevnath

Pakal Nakshatrangal  is a movie that treats death as another phase of human life and describes how life and death are just two sides of  the same coin. The central character Sidharthan played by Mohanlal in this movie is loosely based on the legendary writer-director Late John Abraham.Though the movie has some drag and flaws escpecially in engaging the viewer,this movie has one of the most underrated performances by Mr Mohanlal. Through his captivating screen presence and minor facial expressions, he has managed to produce a one of a kind experience for the viewer. In one scene where Sidharthan details how he had helped in the suicide of Raji's husband,one can see the sheer brilliance of acting in the eyes of Mohanlal while he asks Raji "Do you understand what I am saying". This is one of those Mohanlal movies that is often underappreciated and is somehow missed in the midst of his movies like Thanmatra,Bhramaram etc.

3. Jayarajan in Uyarangalil(1984):

Story: M.T. Vasudevan Nair

Direction: I.V. Sasi

The movie Uyarangalil is one of the highlights of his early film career. In this movie Mohanlal plays the main character "Jayarajan"- a twisted individual,shaped by all the negative events experienced from his childhood;Mohanlal plays the role of an estate manager who is greedy and cold enough to lure and even murder people for money. Mohanlal has excelled in his character of Jayarajan-a man who seeks  to thrive in abnormal essence.Released in 1984,this movie shows that one does not need to be the protagonist to be the best performer in any movie.

4.Jeevan in Season (1989)

Story and Direction: Padmarajan

Season released in 1989 is often credited as a movie released way beyond its time by the new age cinegoers. Mohanlal's role as Jeevan is extremely subtle. One can go on to describe his character as emotionless;however Mohanlal has managed to enact what the director had in his imagination-a character that does not express anything-a person full of mysteries;locking up all his thoughts and emotions to the point that no one truly understands what he has in his mind or what he is capable of doing. The movie which deals with the widely talked about smuggling and drug cartels that most believe once existed in the Kovalam beach of Kerala's own Trivandrum is packed with a storytelling that was so unusual at the time of its release.This movie is a cult classic and lal fans still youtube the climax scene of this movie just to see his killer smile;the only emotion that mattered;the one thing that gives a glimpse of the character Jeevan. A must see for all  Mohanlal fans.

5.Sidharthan in Aham (1992)

Story and Direction: Rajeevnath

Before Fahad Faasil started surprising the Malayali audience with his hit movies like Kumbalangi nights, Trance and North 24 Kaadham that discussed the topic of mental instability, there were quite a few movies in malayalam that had dealt with such issues in the past like Manichithrathazhu, Sadayam, Thalavattom, Thaniyavarthanam,Thanmatra and the recently released Mammooty starrer Munnariyipu. However, one movie that failed to reach the masses was Mohanlal starrer Aham in which he nailed the role of a person that suffered from various mental disorders,as a result of the unimaginable pain and trauma he had suffered in his childhood. Mohanlal pulled off this character with finesse as he brought minute advancements in the character,thereby showing the transformation from mere mental distress to complete clinical insanity. The movie,however, went unnoticed due to the various  commercial family entertainers that got released in the same year.

6.Veerapalli Sreenivasan in Company (2002)

Story: Jaideep Sahini

Direction: Ram Gopal Varma

Quite possibly the movie that made Mohanlal a popular figure in the northern parts of India was Ram Gopal Varma directorial Company released in 2002. Mohanlal played the role of Veerappalli Sreenivasan, donning the role of the  Police Commissioner of Mumbai. Unlike all the other stints as a Police officer, Mohanlal showed a very unconventional acting style for this role that garnered lauds from critics and viewers alike. Ram Gopal Varma was highly impressed by  Mohanlal's performance to the point where he even cast him in his movie Aag.

7.Shambu in Rajashilpi(1992)

Story and Direction: R Sukumaran

This movie depicts the story of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi in a unique way. Mohanlal had effortlessly embraced the aura of Lord Shiva, wherein he showed the majestic Shiva Thandava with respect to the plot of the movie. The role of Shambu had the perfect composure, and all the varying emotions that he expressed from anger to love to sadness shared similar vibes to that of the real legend of Lord Shiva. Rajashilpi is most noticeable for the Shiva Thandava dance, performed by Mohanlal's character. However, unfortunately it is safe to say that his performances in Kamaladalam and Vanaprastham overshadowed this one. 

8. Dr P.K Haridas in Amrutham Gamaya (1987)

Story: M.T. Vasudevan Nair

Direction: Hariharan

Mohanlal as Dr P.K Haridas is surely an unforgettable experience. The story revolves around the life long guilt that he had to experience as a result of an immature act of bullying that he once committed on a junior student. Mohanlal's character had a great character arc,starting from being a student bully who celebrated ragging on his junior students, to a doctor who becomes psychologically affected by the death of a junior student as result of his ill actions in the past.He is spot on in being this merciless bully as well as the vulnerable soft spoken doctor in the later phase. Mohanlal performs brilliantly in the final character transition as a drug addict where he has not at all gone"over" by doing any cliched "drug addict screaming and throwing stuff" performances.

9. Valiyakathu Moosa in Paradesi(2007)

Story: P.T. Kunju Muhammed

Director: P.T. Kunju Muhammed

Paradesi, released in 2007, Mohanlal plays the character of Valiyakathu Moosa ,an Indian Muslim who at the time of the post partition tries to return from Karachi to settle in Malappuram. The movie reflects on the three different phases of Moosa's life. Mohanlal showed excellent acting performances for each of these three phases-from being a normal adult to an old timer. Though he won Kerala state best actor for his performance in Paradesi, the movie got unnoticed in the era of the Mass entertainers.

10. Soap kuttapan and Maathu Pandaram in Padhamudhra(1988)

Story: R Sukumaran

Director: R Sukumaran

Most movies where an actor plays multiple roles can take the disastrous route. Only a few movies have stood apart from this phenomenon-the most recent being Mammootty starrer- Paleri manikyam oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha. Padhamudhra released in 1988 starring Mohanlal in dual roles belong to the latter category. In this movie, Mohanlal plays the role of both the father-Soap kuttapan and son-Maathu Pandaram. Soap kuttapan is a womanizer character who goes on to have an illicit relationship with a married woman. Pandaram becomes the one to pay the sins of this affair,facing ruthless remarks,tease and taunts from the society. Mohanlal has done a tremendous job in performing both the role of the womanizer drug junkie Soap Kutappan  as well as the frustrated character- Pandaram in this often forgotten movie.

Do you agree with this list. Kindly mention your opinion in the comment section.