Good Old Malayalam Films. Where have they gone?

I went home for Onam and as always stood in the queue to get tickets for almost all the Malayalam movies in almost all the theatres in Kochi .The bugs were there , bugbites were there , theatres were full of people and some of these films may turn to be hits. But numbers may not tell the whole story on what I missed at least .

AliBhai - Mohanlal does a Suresh Gopi in Lalettan style . A lead character as a goonda in Kozhikode market. He beats up all villains and at the end walks towards us in slow motion (Courtsey:Shaji Kailas) . Bombastic dialogues and thattupolippan dance , masala , Action , Slow motion sequences - everything that you expect in a Shaji Kailas Movie other than one thing a story line with characters we can identify. It was better to go to Kozhikode and shop for vegetables in Palayalm market instead of watching this movie.

Halo - Mohanlal is an advocate and is always in a bar. A lead character who is seeking Vodka and Rum. An instant comedy that may or may not give you instant satisfaction with some unimaginable , unrealsitic situations as always happening in the story. It was better to go to a bar and have a small instead of watching this movie.

Kitchamani M B A - The value of MBA's in general would have plummeted after this movie was released in Kerala . After watching this movie , I thought it is high time Comrade Achu banned all the Suresh Gopi films along with Cococola . Such a time waste . What a pity they have put my post graduate degree in the name of this movie ?.


Nivedyam - Thought it should be good because it was from Lohitadas , had new actors and all that. Not exactly a Sargam but comparitivelty better.


I was in a state of shock after this and seems that I have missed out on the only nice film that was released this onam , Ore kadal according to Varnachitram.

I had been in love with Malayalam movies ever since I can remember .

People look at me like a moron with a hollow head and sometimes have scorned @ me when I say I like Malayalam movies. People think it is too country or is an extremely bad taste. What Nonsense? . I like watching movies in my mother tongue as much as watching movies in Hindi and English .What a pity that even though the regional film industry is strong in India , many people in my generation just looks down on the regional movies, be it Mallu,Tamil or Telugu?. Everything western is not so great , buddies . There is lot of good things all around that entertain you and you can enjoy.


Good Old Malayalam movies make me as involved, as enchanted and as fulfilled as an Onasadhya which is followed by a pappadam , pazham and payasam. I do not watch Nadodikkattu for any other reason but that I enjoy watching it .I enjoy watching the sequels too - Pattanapravesham , Akkaraakkareakkare (Sadanam kayyilundo) Everytime I watch these movies I pick up something that I missed out last time.

There is a long list of movies that you love watching over and over and over again. Just as Nadodikkattu I enjoy watching Thenmavinkompathu, Chithram Thaniyavarthanam ,Kireedom , Bharatham , His Highness Abdullah , Ramjirao Speaking , In Harihar Nagar ... you can complete the list yourself. It is such a long list that any person who can understand Malayalamn and watch movies for enjoyment and entertainment will remember.

There is something about this genre of films in late 80's and early 90's that connect with us in a unique way. These films are full of characters are from real life who have a genuineness on screen which make them exceedingly likable and easy to identify with ourselves. But there is a deeper reason why they appeal to us so much after such a long time. These films are the best advertisements for what can be described as our middle class values.Isn't there a shade of our parents in the character played by Tilakan in the film Kireedom who wants his son to become a police inspector, is the film Thenmavinkompathu we see Nedumudi Venu trying out all his tricks to get his lasy love by cheating his friend . These are typical episodes from real life of real people we encounter in our daily life.

The characters in this genration of Malayalam films were a far cry from those old Malayalam movies which always had a Jayan , Soman and Sukumaran uniting with their mother in the end through three parts of the same necklace or Madhu searching for his lost love in a beach or Premnazir rowing on a boat singing a love song with Jayabharati and Sharada standing at a window wearing a Mundu with a blouse or Saree. Please note that there was no churidar at that time at least in movies ;)


The characters were etched from the scenes in real life .There was this good natured Mohanlal's character trying to save his daughter by acting as a husband in Chithram , Mammooty's character as an intelligent Brahmin trying to solve mysteries in CBI range of movies, Mohanlal's character who turns a goonda when he tries to save his father from a don in Kireedom ,Mammootty being ditched by his lady love and being mistaken for a killer in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Mukesh and others running after a girl in Inharihar Nagar.

In doing so when they provide free entertainment they showed us the importance of family values , on the joy of the simple things in life .These films showed Joie De Vivre through very gentle lessons with out giving instructions to the audience or without having heroes shouting bombastic dialogues in one breath on why the humanity has been under the attack of corrupt and immoral police inspectors since time immemorial like Mohanlal's character does in Alibhai.

These films never had item dances with seductive females displaying the fairness of lady skin with a perfect X-Y-X body or for that matter dance at all . Heroes sang and heroines at least expressed real life emotions on screen . As the world becomes more monetised, and when we chase the materialistic pleasures and life is inundated with SMSes and Emails and the nostalgia for yesterdays simplicity is growing and these films remind of those good old times.The fondness for the characters who exhibit the middle class struggle and simplicity on the screen is likely to remain evergreen at least for me.

When we read stars opening up new business ventures everyday or encashing the popularity to the highest level when they sign up for new films, we think of all those people who sweated it out for making Malayalam films what it is as Mohanlal's character says in Udayananu Tharam.May be when others are moving ahead we are losing out on the same quality that Malayalam films once had at national level when they had those simpleton chracters and real life storylines.

PS:Inspired from an article that I read long time back about how Hindi films are improving day by day.