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Manichithrathazhu (1993)
An old man walks into a palatial mansion/palace calling someone’s name. From the look of things, the building is undergoing renovation. He is shouting the name of the painter shouting instructions to complete the work. There is no answer from the painter and the man walks to the first floor. Suddenly he stops on the first floor lobby when he realizes that the person he is searching for is not present in the palace. At the same time, a big broom kept against the wall falls down. Nobody has touched it but the position was such that it could have fallen by itself. The man panics and is scared. He start to walks out of the house only to find the rocking chair near the door is rocking on its own. The man is terrified and he runs out of the house.
On watching the scene again, as the man walks into the house shouting the painter name, he stands near the door behind the rocking chair keeping the hand on the rocking chair. As he moves away shouting, he unconsciously rocks the chair but we do not notice it because we are concentrating on his dialogs.
The Malayalam movie, “Manichithrathazhu” starts with these scene to set the mood for a good horror psychological thriller. It was the movie which was remade as “Apthamitra” in Kannada. This movie was made as “Chandramukhi” in Tamil and revived the career of Rajnikant after the disastrous “Baba” and is remade again by Priyadarshan as “Bhool Bhulaiya”
Manichithrathazhu means the decorated lock. The story revolves around Nakulan and his wife Ganga who come back to stay in their ancestral palace. The palace has dark history which involves a landlord forcibly keeping a dancer who is in love with another dancer. The cruel landlord do not allow the two lovers to meet and the dancer vows revenge. After living in the palace, strange things start happening in the house. Everybody is sure that it is because of the spirit of the dancer, Nagavalli.
The husband Nakulan does not believe in ghost and believes that all the problems are created by his Uncle’s daughter who he refused to marry. He believes that she is mentally ill so to solve the problem he calls his psychiatrist friend, Dr. Sunny Joseph who is as eccentric as his patient.
The rest of the story is how the doctor finds out if there is indeed a ghost or is the uncle’s daughter doing all this due to some mental illness or is it Ganga who is possessed by Nagavalli’s Ghost?
The movie succeeds because of the story. The story shifts from horror to a psychological thriller. The director takes you on a journey and leaves clues along the way. Some of the clues are revealed in the climax. It deserves more than one viewing because then you catch the finer point of the story and the clues. Added to it the movie is shot in Kerala and is deeply rooted in Kerala’s history and culture. Nagavalli is a Tamil dancer and speaks in Tamil while the movie is Malayalam for other parts. The climax offers a detailed scientific explanation and not like any short story that you realize the efforts the writers have gone through to write the story.
The movie is directed by Fazil and Priyadarshan was the 2nd Unit director for the movie. I really don’t know what that means but it would be interesting to see how he adapts the story for the Hindi audience. As I said that the story has deep Kerala roots and a reference to its history and dance form, it will be interesting to see the same in Hindi. Fazil uses the story, music and props to make it haunting and scary.
The movie belongs to Shobana as Ganga and she had acted quite well. She is also quite scary at times. The body language, the eyes and language changes when she switches from being Ganga to Nagavalli. No wonder she won the National Award for the role.
Mohanlal plays the eccentric doctor Sunny Joseph and offers some good comic relief without making the story too heavy. I saw the movie with subtitles and still I think Mohanlal has a flair for comedy which was quite good. The scenes between Mohanlal and Shobana are worth watching especially when he explains the behavior in the climax.
Suresh Gopi plays Nakulan, Shobana’s husband.
The success of the movie is how the viewer is made to think it as a horror and then made to think on a total different aspect. At two and half hour, the movie is slow but perfect by Malayalam standard. The movie starts slow but becomes interesting as it progresses.
The movie is unique and worth watching even if you don’t understand Malayalam considering it was remade in three languages although the fine points of the Kerala culture could be understood by Malayalis more.
Rating: 8/10
22 Responses to “Manichithrathazhu (1993)”
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@Full2Faltu..Where can I get Manichithrathazu on DVD or anywhere else along with the Subs…I am in desperate search of good regional cinema. Used to watch relegiously regional cinema on DD on sunday afternoons along with Eng Subs as child.
Every time I watch the sequence where Mohanlal explains Sobhana’s schizophrenic attributes to her husband I am overcome with this strange feeling… every single time… For me the movie as a whole stands out as the bible of commercial movies in India…
And I strongly detest the ‘he has a flair for comedy’ statement that comes out in this write-up.. I dont understand why people have to dissect a movie or a per4mance and partition iton the basis of the various emotions that define it…
Dr. Sunny is someone who is on a higher pedestal than any other character in the movie when it comes to his analytical and observational skills…
The sequences which introduce him show him as this playful, nonchalant individual who seems to perfectly understand the futile nature of the happenings inside the palatial house and the way it is intepreted by those residing there.. hence, we see a heavy amount of laidbackedness in the character..
When, the once playful Sunny adjusts his eyeglasses and states with a heavy heart to a pensive Nakulan that its his wife who is repsonsible for the strange incidents in the palatial house, the viewer alongwith Nakulan is transported to a dimension thats akin to experiencing an avalanche..
Every incident that defines the movie’s first half now unflods thru Dr. Sunny’s eyes. every action of his seems to discover a reason for its existence…
The construction of the movie is more of a display of the director’s skill over the medium and his intricate understanding of the viewer- director relationship than of his deep understanding of human pyshce…
Also, one of the most heartening aspect of the movie is the self-gratification that it provides..
Its been 14 years since it released in Kerala, and I know of people there who still think Sobhana’s character in the movie was posessed by a ghost. I, just this morning saw a preview of the movie on Rediff and the writer too seems to have got it wrong..
But the brilliance of the movie is that it still works.. u can interpret it the right way( the actual schizhophrenia part) or u can let the demons story gratify u..
To each his own.. and yet the movie works..
My great grandmother who passed away just recently at the age of 88 never understood the schizhophrenia part… she always thought that Sobhana’s character in the movie was possessed. And yet, she loved every nanosecond of this one…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l9J3UHqIdEs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5GQca51FlQ0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7LY1CeIaeJ4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I64acIebgc8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DmJKihkeAkM
For me the movie is more of a display of the director’s understanding the medium than his understanding of the human psyche.
He understands people through the movies than people themselves…
One of the most heartening aspect of the film is its its self-gratifying nature.
Its been 14 years since the movie was released in theatres across Kerala..
I know of people who still dont understand the schizhophrenia part…and yet they seem to harbour a great love for the movie..
I, just this morning read a description of the movie on rediff and the writer too seemed to have got it wrong..
That is why the movie works.. U can either interpret the movie the correctly( the schizhophrenia part) or u can let the demons and witches story haunt u.. but,either way u enjoy it…
My great grandmother who passed away an year back at the age of 88 never understood the schizhophrenia angle in the movie. She untill her death was of the impression that Sobhana’s character in the movie was possessed. And yet she enjoyed every nanosecond of the movie..
Self-gratification is the concept that worked in Manichitrathazhu…
Filmmakers galore who have copied the movie in various langauages over a variety of cultures need to understand exactly that..
Sreehari.. rags here.. I guess Full2Faltu isnt aware of what/who Mohanlal is.. otherwise such a line wud have never appeared in an artcile in PFC..
“he has a flair for comedy”…
I jus felt plain angry when I read tht but am really laughing now… lol……..
“Definitve Mohanlal”
For me, MCT is Mohanlal’s best ever role..
the eccentricities, tomfoolery in some scenes.. dead serious in the latter half… that was some acting man !!!!!!!!!
Also, those who remade the film in kannada, tamil (and 99% Hindi) simply fail to understand the subtleties of the film..
Nakulan - Ganga - Mahadevan - too many subtexts.. not even one of these angles were even realised by the other filmmakers…
One more thing : Fazil was the director of the film - full 100 marks for him..
but for me, Manichitrhathaazhu (meaning ornamental lock) is also a supreme “writer’s movie”..
Completely forgotten now, Madhu Muttam, took 10+ years to complete the script…. Tamil & Kannada versions just plainly ignored him.. Heard tht Priyan had given story credits to Madhu in Bhool….
All the script writers in PFC shd try to learn from the mistakes of Madhu Muttam.. he has been fighting a losing battle all alone in various courts of India, for the last 4-5 years, jus to restore the pride of a writer.. He has been fighting to get the “credits” of the story… and he has also said tht “I dont even need 1 rupee out of it, but I jus need the credits coz its a story written by me”…
Also, for those who want to order this film..
http://www.moserbaerhomevideo.com/movies_catagory_nt.aspx?id=2047
((( Admin Note : Rags, the info is fine. But plz dont advertise here. ))
Here’s some interesting discussions on this movie:
1)http://varnachitram.com/2007/10/09/can-manichithrathazhu-be-remade/
2)http://varnachitram.com/2006/04/24/review-manichitrathazhu/
Looks like Bhool Bhulaiyya is a fiasco, in that light the former article is a very interesting read.
8/10???!!!!!
maaaaaaaaan….
this is nothing more than a spunky masala mix with all the right ingredients (yes schizophrenia too) and a terrific 5 minute show by shobhana…
@rags…mohanlal’s best performance? oh my god!!!
plus i seems to remember siddique-lal team credited as the third unit directors
it wasnt schizophrenia man.. it was MPD…
all ex-assistants of Fazil worked in the 2nd unit..
Sibi Malayil, Priyadarshan and Siddiq-Lal, all directed atleast a few scenes …
Sreehari,I think even you should write an article on this movie because ur comments made for good reading :)
[...] LINK [...]
Thanks for the review. Been trying to get my hands on this for ages. CHANDRAMUKHI I enjoyed for different reasons(Rajni is the guiltiest of all pleasures) though I understand it’s nothing like this film.
I saw BHOOL last night and it’s decent
A.Shah
“Mohanlal has a flair for comedy which was quite good”
It seems ‘Full2Faltu’ is not aware of mohanlal’s work. He is such a great actor that we never feel like he is trying hard to make you laugh. Through his simple movements and face expressions he will take you to a different level where you can forget everything and laugh to the core.
Watch his talent in performing comedy
nadodikkattu
sanmanassullavarkku samadhanam (thera ghar mera ghar-hindi)
yodha (dharamayodha -hindi)
varavelppu
dhasharatham
thalavattam (kyonki….hindi )
kilukkam (mushkurath…..hindi)
chithram (this too remade in hindi)
vellaanakalude naadu
and many more
Oh! It seems there are many Mohanlal fans, who have been offended by my remark or Mohanlal having flair for comedy.
I don’t know Malayalam. I have not seen many Malayalam movies. The only Mohanlal’s hindi movie was Company (I think thats the one) and he did not do comedy there. I would look at him like any actor from another language film.
However I would still say he has a flair for comedy and then it also means that he is good in comedy. I guess it should not be offending coming fom a Maharahstrian who has very little idea about Malayalam movies.
Hope I am forgiven :)
-Punds
hi f2f…i m happy that pfc community’s attention is moving towards regional cinema. bollywood is indian cinema…watch more mohanlal movies ….for eg…sadayam (by sibi malayil)
that wud be your penance for a frivolous renark abt our dear lalettan…..hahahaha
sorry i made a mistake…i actually wanted to write..that bollywood is not indian cinema ….
hi,
1st of al very nice 2 c non-Malayalees commenting on my all-time favourite cinema. I’m not Malayalee by origin. But I must say, Malayalam movies are the best every time in its story, acting, everything. & I’m not at all trying to create regionalism. Every languages will have some nice films and actors.
I stongly support Mr.anoop’s quotes “Bollywood is not Indian Cinema”. Next time, when it’s time to consider for Oscars, or Indian Film Awards, please do keep that in mind!
We have some “the best” films and performances happening outside Bollywood. Let us support classic films without looking to star cast/ language. Then only our Indian Cinemas will earn some name in minds of foreigners. Till now, they know Indian cinema as “Nach Gana” films
Guys and malayalees,
I have on my blog, an interesting story of another film being remade by everyone (click on my name). I have also sent it to desitrain and PFC, but if you can’t wait, it’s blogged.
what a film?????????????//
:”>>-)