Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Karutha Pakshikal..........birds without a sky!


...............what should I say!! Choking ...I feel some weight on my heart which I can't throw away, something pressing against my chest..that makes my lungs heavier!! Yesterday morning, one of my students told me about the movie..that its such a touching story.. and the camera is superb..and no words to talk about Mammootty's performance. He was in a festive mood after his project viva voce and I would have never expected him to talk about something so melancholic then. Thats what set me thinking.

I reached Kozhikode Kairali Theatre at 4.15 pm, the show was already on, but tickets were available. It hurt me actually, not that I was late..but it hurt me bad that the movie was not housefull! Then and there, I decided to give it a try at 7 pm. Even with all the negative effect of expectations, I should confess that the movie made me think and cry...really! More than the tears, it leaves a lingering feeling of uneasyness in your heart that refuses to go away, an uneasyness which you cannot fathom..you cannot express in words.

A simple story told in a touching and beautiful way, thats it. Students...go and learn from a master of the art! And the same advice twice to students of acting too..I actually never felt that Mammootty was there in the movie. Oh, you won't have an iota of doubt that its the same Murukan who comes to your colony every week to collect the rubbish in return for which he gives you plastic vessels and such. The emotions, the dialogues....nobody can match the performance. Especially when he narrates the fate of his wife to Suvarna...what should I say! I felt the same helplessness myself when the politician asked him about his identity. Feeling miserable and helpless was never so elegantly portrayed. You really deserve something for this, Mr. Mammootty!

You might have watched all her movies, but never saw a Meena like this one before. There is something in the character which sets it apart from her other roles. A character you are seeing on screen for the zillionth time, but isn't it so different?!! As Velu Nair, a fellow blogger pointed out, I was never a great fan of Meena, but this film made me stop and think.

And about Padmapriya and Malavika...better watch it! The Padma Priya you saw earlier was an elegant beauty, did you ever expect her to BEG...and that too in style?!! The child Malli, though blind by birth, is full of optimism and it oozes out through her eternal smile and spreads everywhere like the fragrance of the red flowers that she so dearly loves. "Kelabham tharaam..." made me laugh my heart out.

The background music has been so effortlessly woven in to the movie which makes you feel that you are among them and one of them, those Annaachees you earlier despised. And the songs are very good too, though not exceptional.

The thing which was exceptional was the camera; Sukumar, I should confess that I have never thought such angles exist...the first song was the pinnacle of your photography.

How many characters can you count in the movie...ten..or twelve? But how many you forget after the movie..NONE! Even the patient who waits in vain in the queue at the hospital has done his part well! Kudos to Kamal for such a heartwarming movie and kudos to Mammootty, Padmapriya, Jagathy, Meena, TG Ravi, Malavika, Salim Kumar, VK Sreeraman, Suvarna's husband, the Police Man, the Finance Agent, Karikkada Ayyappan chettan, Saramma police, Aashan, Seema G Nair, and all those whose names I don't know...and to the other two kids, Suhaila (Mayil) and Thejus (Azhagu)! Your performances were just unforgettable.

After Kaazhcha, I haven't seen a movie so powerful, but Kaazhcha had a slightly greater impact as I didn't have any expectations about that movie. Hence I resist the temptation to compare the two. Mammootty's performance, but, is far better than in Kaazhcha. Thanks Mr. Kamaludheen, for ending the story so elegantly! And thank you very much again for making me write this much. I really want to tell people about the movie. I know its working..the balcony was full for the show. But...I expected better reviews for this one, not the usual whimperings of the reviewers about the movie being "depressing and slow"! Is it your fault, my know-all reviewer?! I really don't know.

Appaaa.....

Aen kannae?!

Those voices still ring in my ear.

Riyan.

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Cool..so u enjoyed it really well naa..and thats very clear from the write up.. :)

    Dont you think that the industry is making the audience cry at the hall..!! which ofcourse is not a good practice as it melts the peoples sympathy for real life as they tears it out in cinema halls.

    Do enjoy

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  3. @ Ayoob,

    Thanks for dropping by! I really enjoyed it...as I enjoy every moment in life.

    You are right abt the tearjerkers. But I won't put this movie in that category. As somebody rightly pointed out: this movie does not make you cry, but takes you there to share their sorrows as one of them.

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  4. Wonderfully penned, Riyan. Simply wonderful!! :)

    Somehow I felt that Perumazhakkalam was a fine way of marketing tears, and I was disappointed by that Kamal film, and least moved. Now Nagesh goes ahead and makes Dor, the remake, and its even worse. Perhaps the best thing abt KP is that it doesnt attempt to make u cry, it just leaves those pangs here and there, that just refuse to go away, even after the film is long over.

    :)

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  5. Thanx Velu, its always nice to hear good words from better men!

    I too felt the same about Perumazhakaalam..that it was created with the tears in mind. A pleasant escape from such stuff...a nagging feeling or discomfort which makes you think rather than cry: oh, cinema is a wonderful medium!!

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