The poster of ‘Manorathangal’
MT. Two letters which have virtually grow to be synonymous with Malayalam literature, conjuring up photographs, feelings and characters which are on the identical time common in addition to consultant of Kerala of a specific time interval. So when a few of Malayalam cinema’s greatest filmmakers, actors and technicians come collectively in Manorathangal, an anthology to have fun 91-year outdated M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s works, the expectations are certain to be excessive.
Whereas journeying from one episode to the subsequent within the anthology, every of them launched by Kamal Haasan, one can’t assist however surprise about all of the movies made within the Seventies and ‘80s based mostly on MT’s scripts, most of which have aged effectively. The pure ease with which the performers (a few of whom are a part of this anthology too) delivered the strains, the natural evolution of the narrative, and the sheer ease with which filmmakers of that period with comparatively restricted sources effortlessly pulled us right into a vortex of advanced feelings, are in sharp distinction with atleast a few of the works of this anthology.
Mammootty in a nonetheless from ‘Manorathangal’
Showrunner Priyadarshan, whose movies bookend the anthology, finally ends up with successful and a miss. Shilalikithangal paints the unappealing image of a person (Biju Menon) who’s devoid of the final ounce of humanity, somebody who’s able to turning away remorselessly from a dying particular person’s cries for assist. Armed with a narrative which reveals the person’s true nature with each passing line he utters, contrasting it together with his daughter’s pure humaneness, Priyadarshan shows nice management in giving the required mild touches.
Manorathangal
Administrators: Priyadarshan, Shyamaprasad, Mahesh Narayanan, Ranjith, Jayaraj, Santosh Sivan, Aswathy V.Nair, Ratheesh Ambat
Forged: Mohanlal, Mammootty, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy Thiruvoth, Nadiya Moidu, Biju Menon, Madhoo, Asif Ali, Nedumudi Venu, Indrans, Indrajith Sukumaran, Aparna Balamurali
Storyline: An anthology of 9 tales written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, exploring completely different themes and feelings
However, the identical can’t be mentioned of his try at remaking Olavum Theeravum. Whereas the unique one directed by P. N. Menon (1970) was a transparent departure from the sort of movies that had been being made then, and have become one of many earliest makes an attempt at sensible cinema in Malayalam, the newest try seems a bit anachronistic. It leaves one questioning concerning the want for a remake when a brand new method of claiming it isn’t even thought of. The age-mismatched casting makes it even worse.
Kadugannava, Oru Yathra Kurippu, a narrative with some autobiographical touches, has Ranjith within the sort of type that he was in in the course of the Kaiyyoppu days, with a pared-down narrative which flits between journalist Venugopal (Mammootty)‘s present-day go to to Sri Lanka and his childhood reminiscences of his father’s stormy go to house with a Sri Lankan woman. One wished this episode had been slightly longer.
Fahadh Faasil in a nonetheless from ‘Manorathangal’
Mahesh Narayanan’s Sherlock, with its intriguing remedy of an equally intriguing story, seems to be the perfect movie of the anthology by a mile. Even for somebody aware of the story, the unusual exchanges between a down-and-out Balu (Fahadh Faasil) attempting to reorient his life in an alien land and a seemingly mind-reading pet cat will be fairly amusing, by the best way it’s pulled off on-screen. The story of alienation and loneliness of Balu and his sister (Nadia Moidu) away from their homeland resonates effectively with modern instances too.
Shyamaprasad’s Kazhcha additionally speaks to the current by way of its character of Sudha (Parvathy Thiruvothu), craving for a room of her personal, to pursue her pursuits, away from her philistine husband (Narain) and the judgmental eyes of society. Aswathy V. Nair, MT’s daughter, is unable to completely utilise the fascinating premise of Vilpana, wherein a middle-aged girl (Madhoo) finds an creative strategy to overcome her angst and loneliness. Rathish Ambat’s Kadalkattu concerning the interior turmoils of a person (Indrajith) main a double life and his spouse Bharathi (Aparna Balamurali)’s struggles in his absence additionally seems to be underwhelming.
Parvathy Thiruvothu in a nonetheless from ‘Manorathangal’
Essentially the most pointless movie of the lot can be Santosh Sivan’s Abhayam Thedi Veendum, which fails in making even a coherent narrative out of the story, whereas Jayaraj’s reimagining of Aalkoottathil Thaniye is saved to an extent by transferring performances by Indrans and Nedumudi Venu.
A streak of irreverence and a touch of daring will be helpful instruments within the armour when one is confronted with the daunting process of recreating on-screen the phrases of a towering literary large like M.T. Vasudevan Nair. The author who created a few of the most advanced characters in Malayalam literature would most likely have relished such an method.
However it seems that at the least just a few of the makers behind Manorathangal had been too intimidated to even barely reimagine the bottom tales of the celebrated author in a brand new setting, or to tease out the story’s essence into creating one thing new and modern. In some movies, the dialogues sound stilted, not because of the method they’re written, however because of how they’re delivered.
Manorathangal finally ends up as an uneven anthology, with just a few hidden gems and a few main disappointments. The tales nonetheless stand the check of time many years after they had been written, however solely a few of these movies would accomplish that, just a few years from now.
Manorathangal is at the moment streaming on ZEE5
