Pazhassi Raja – worthless lives, priceless freedom
Pre-empting a scriptwriter like MT Vasudevan Nair is futile, as he wanders the creative landscape like an un-reined white horse. Committing that error, I walked into Audi 05 of PVR cinemas for the initial show, with ‘Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha’ and its memories still fresh as a blooming lotus petal in the mind. What showed in the screen was entirely opposed to my expectation; there were no explosive dialogues and very little dramatic performance from the lead actor. I felt instantly cheated, till the genius of the guru-shishya duo elated the audience and my passion for the medium. They, along with the director, Hariharan and an accomplished team have delivered an unique film in the century long History of Indian cinema, a period-action adventure par excellence.
When trying to re-organize historical data and creative pieces, a writer always faces the challenge of where to begin, as the ending is readily available and is most often the stimulus. Pazhassi Raja begins with the British officers trying to coerce local chieftains into collecting the long pending dues of taxes from the public. Here MT cleverly sets platform for the subsequent events. Historically, Tipu Sultan had invaded North Kerala, in his infamous ‘Cap or Sword’ campaign, forcing religious conversion, looting and iconoclasm. The Malabar region, in the last half of the 18th century, was subjected to plundering by the Tiger of Mysore. The East India Company’s armed forces joined hands with local Hindu chieftains, a prominent one among whom was Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja to drive away the Sultan from occupied regions, against promises of Free Trade. Once Tipu was done away with, Malabar changed hands to the Company instead of the chieftains. So the tyranny continued, religious conversion stopped but taxation increased, and civil rights such as free passage, ownership was curtailed. So Pazhassi Raja who once stood along with the Company to fight Tipu, was now against them seeking justice. This recorded fact, is the underlying crux of the first scene and reveals as part of a natural flow of conversation, avoiding forced feeding.
Any opportunistic endeavor, whether it is communal, economic or social, thrives when the incumbent establishment struggles with internal issues of ego and power mongers. The same was the case of Mughal and British India; the infighting of the royalty and regional bias ensured that unity of local forces was impossible. In such context, the opportunistic East India Company which took either side for business benefits emerged the victorious manipulator. Pazhassi Raja, finds similar adversaries in his own uncle Veera Varma and one time lieutenant Pazhayaveedan Chanthu. In a region ravaged by Tipu’s army, such people saw opportunity to rise up the ranks by securing available land and wealth, if only they sided with the British, whom they had by now acknowledged as the new rulers. They plot the destruction of only remaining opponent to the British atrocities, Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma.
Then ensues a tale of valor and resolution, where some individuals driven by unflinching devotion and commitment to their land, people and traditions, rise up in revolt to question the basis of colonial rule. Pazhassi Raja, who loses his palace, wealth and unborn child in a company raid at his palace, questions- ‘How can some people who came here trade pepper and cardamom, rule us?’ He then goes about organizing a large scale opposition against the East India Company in Waynad, the Malabar region of Kerala.
Having setup the premise, this movie then continues to envision the revolt, with amazing finesse. Each and every rupee spent from the budget shows up the nook and corner of the screen. Exclusively original battle sequences, from then on, form the back bone of this action drama. The film is mostly a recreation of how, a bunch of highly motivated courageous men and women, under a focused strategist, can stand up and bring down forces superior in organized violence.
Those familiar with Kurosawa’s films would remember the ‘Mountain Monkey’ planning and executing battles without even moving an inch in ‘Kagemusha’. Here, Pazhassi Raja is a similar warrior; he does not hog the lime light, during the guerilla ambushes. In fact, he is not even around most of the time. It is up to his trusted lieutenant, Edachena Kunkan (the best performance in Sarathkumar’s career) to lead the army of Nairs and Adivasis. He is supported by the valiant Kaitheri Ambu ( Pazhassi’s Brother in law played credibly by Suresh Krishna), and the resourceful duo, Adivasi leader, Thalakkal Chandu ( a fiery Manoj K Jayan) and his fiancé Neeli ( a superb Padmapriya). It is these four, who do the exploits. They all come together at one point, their unquestioned devotion to the great Raja.
Mammootty proves that he is indeed a director’s delight. He plays the Raja, who is supposed be in his fifties, with such gait and maturity that we are astounded at the resourcefulness of this actor. There are very few moments where he gets emotionally disturbed, very few words he speaks. Strikingly different from what we expect out of such an actor, who delivers fireworks most of the time. That, in fact, is why we love this medium, isn’t it? When such creative geniuses turning the table, and setting their own terms of engagement with the audience. A shot where Pazhassi watches from atop a hill, far away from the site of the battle, as the British barricades fortress explodes in the midst of dense green forest. Yes, Mammootty, MT and Hariharan declare, this is our interpretation of Pazhassi, leave yours at home.
The fireworks however are distributed to the lot who are in the action; Sarath Kumar excels as the loyal commander, who looks upon Pazhassi Raja as a father figure. Look out for his body language, when Mammootty is around and otherwise. The actor embodies Kunkan in all aspects and is definitely one of the chief attractions of the film. The pre-climax sequence from Sarath Kumar is sure to win him several awards and recognition, but more than that, will be etched in every movie lover’s heart for a long time to come. Manoj K Jayan proves why he definitely is one of the best actors we have around, this actor easily moulds himself into the fiery jungle warrior, and to his credit are the sequences in captivity, where he explodes in brief histrionic brilliance. Whoa!! Padmapriya, she is extremely agile and likeable as the rebellious Neeli, a career highlight indeed. Suresh Krishna, is much more mature actor than the roles he so far received in his short career, and gets an opportunity to play something worthwhile in this film. He does it with elan. Kanika Subramaniam as Kaitheri Makkom, Pazhassi’s wife, is eye candy.
The baddies, East India Company and their cronies are played by slightly hamming foreign actors. The pick of the lot is, the impatiently arrogant Major James Gordon (played well enough by Peter Handley Evans) who despises natives. The original chronicler of the historical Pazhassi Raja, Asst. Collector Thomas Hervey Baber is played by an incompetent Harry Key, and is just passable. Linda Arsenio, who plays his fiancé, toggles between a few moments worth watching and a few over the top. Suman, as Pazhayamveedan Chandu, Thilakan as the insecure Veera Varma and Jagathy, as Kanara Menon fit the bill, but offer no earth shattering material.
The earth-shattering material however, comes from the technical department of the film. Let’s start from Mr.Pookutty, who loads the DTS system with sounds of marching soldiers, flying arrows, torrential rain, sounds of the forest and war in extreme detail. Thanks to Resul, a discipline in film making gets it due in India, and now, this is his sonorific reiteration. Ilayaraja reminds us why they call him Maestro, during battle scenes; he repeatedly uses a sharp refrain which could double the pace of the already brisk sequence.
Now as you ears are filled, visual delight follows when Ramanath Shetty spans his camera through the beautiful landscape of Southern Indian dense tropical forest. There are many shots which would refuse to be erasing themselves from your memory for quite long time. When Yesudas’ booming voice recites the Shloka to please the deity, Porkali, as Pazhassi performs his ablutions in the river, the divine magnificence of nature is captured in an everlasting strip of celluloid. The art director T Muthuraj fills the frame, with props, architecture and weaponry from a bygone era with splendid authenticity. The Costumes go off the mark, with the British ones ill fitting the actors, otherwise, they are fine when adorned by the majestic Pazhassi and his band. Editing is as good it can be, in this film which is nothing but a correlation of sequential events from written history.
The Action sequences which includes several action choreographers including Thyagrajan for the ‘Urmi’ fight, and several members from CVN Kalari for expertise in Kalari sequences have lent credibility to the scenes. Apart from a few rope tricks, the action sequences are truly splendid.
Hariharan and MT team have tried it all from social issues (Panchagni, Parinayam) folklore (Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha), drama (Nakakshathangal, the magical Amruthamgamaya) and now a Period-Adventure. Kudos to them. MT, this time around, does not focus his writing abilities in exploring the weakness of the being, the haplessness of the feminine, or introspection of the relationships and their basis. In this film, he dons the completely different role, sans any literary bravado, of a chronicler, and pulls it off brilliantly. Hariharan has always had a talent in directing a large canvas, as in OVVG and Olyambugal, which he proves again here. Pazhassi Raja is a kind of film which needs encouragement from pan India audience, made at Rs.25 Crore, half or one third of the average Bollywood multi-starrer nonsense, this one pays back every single paise you invested in the buying the ticket. This film needed more spending for grander execution, but with whatever was made available; the output is nothing short of awesome. Let more producers such as Gokulam Gopalan, be inspired fearlessly fund good cinema.
A crucial factor is the audience from Kerala, who waited forever, supporting the release and accepted this 3hr 20mins relentless behemoth with both hands. It is because of you guys that such films get made. And special mention needs to be made of the crazy fan-boys from forumkerala.com who have already posted over 1300 pages worth information dedicated to this film. To our passion for cinema.
Tags: Hariharan, Ilayaraja, M T Vasudevan Nair, Malayalam, mammootty, Manoj.K.Jayan, Padmapriya, Pazhassi Raja, Review, Sarath Kumar, Suresh Krishna
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Long live Hariharan. Though our country is young, we can search inwards for stories, and people like Hariharan to present it the way it should be. Asoka flopped, but Lagaan prevailed. and a figment of imagination, Gadar prevailed. This movie can add more feathers in its cap, if it touched upon topics like religious conversion, hiterto banned due to secular governments
no such issue is touched upon, it is safely secular :-).. This historical context of Tipus raids happens quite long before the time when the movie starts, I was just setting up the underlying info for prospective audiences
if the movie is secular is the reviewer being otherwise. if the movie doesn’t touch Tippu’s campaign in N Malabar, why is the reviewer interested in highlighting it ?
There no question of adopting secularism while quoting history. Truth is truth.. Tipu’s raid happened, whether or not I highlight it..and it is the backdrop of this film, and as I said underlying crux of the first scene… When I say the movie was ‘Safely Secular’, you would realized if and when you see it.. If you already seen it and not realized, then we are on different pages ..any discussion will be pointless..
Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja has made it. Hariharan and M. T. Vasudevan Nair have teamed again to show us what Malayalam cinema can do. Not a moment of boredom, edge of the seat-power packed action sequences with larger then life moments, razor sharp dialogues… wow! Yea, could have been better at places, but the movie has made it and made it Big. Kudos everyone who worked to make it.
Am just back after watching it am WOWed the way it worked as a chronicle to me this time… Waiting for tomorrow’s noon show to take another look – more to check how it works on a psychological level. Ram, very well written! But somehow I think this is a movie which will make us come back to write more and more about it every time we watch it giving it multiple viewer hats. The film is as close a world class war movie that I have seen to come out of a regional indian industry like Malayalam movies. On a post note, yeah Kurosowa’s big canvasas definitely comes to mind (is it Ran/Seven Samurai?) when we watch some of the scenes… Kudos to MT/Hariharan/Ramanath Shetty/Mammotty/Sharath Kumar/Manoj/Padmapriya… This is why we passion for cinema!
Super review/ tribute to such an outstanding movie. Will catch it again soon! I just wish more people from pan india watch and encourage such movies. And worth mentioning people like mohanlal kamal hassan, srk lending their voices for the intro.
how badly i want to watch this movie.. MT & hariharan ! chathiyan chandu wud never have dreamt of being hailed as a hero if not for MT. chandu was a cheater in life but not after MT decided to pen his story. amrutham gamaya is a personal favorite. and its nt surprising that this team has delivered again..thanks for the detailed write up.. any news abt overseas release ?
A very good review.
A very detailed and well written review. Thank you – as it such reviews too that help in promoting good cinema.
As usual, nice review Ram. I always had high hopes from this one (its been a long wait). Not because it has Mammootty or its 28 cr budget or its large canvas or its subject. But because its scripted by MT Vasudevan Nair. I don’t think any movie he has written have been failure, except art movies (if you look from commercial aspect). Amgutham Gamayam, Aaranyakam, Panchagni are my favs.
But looks like this movie is not just an MT show. All the technicians seem to have done a great job. This is the .Waiting for overseas release.
Sorry, accidentally got submitted before I was finished. Just wanted to add that this is the 1st time I seeing reviews mentioned sound mixing :-)
Great review.
I also understand why you needed a short introduction at the initial part of your review. It helps those who does not know of Pazhassi raja or that part of the world to quickly familiarize with the film’s backdrop. Both Tipu sultan and his confrontations with the British are already part of our text books and people could connect to the character and incidents in the movie that way.
Let us also as a duty make sure we let authorities know if any one is pirating this movie….. that would be a service to the Malayalam Film Industry and encourge future magnum opuses
Thanks guys…one of you had enquired on the release details..this is the info I got..planned to release on Nov 6 in US, and Oct 30 in TN, dubbed in tamil…
Fabulous review, can’t wait to watch this movie. Great to see Mammooty back in a meaningful role, as opposed to the pretty mediocre stuff he was doing of late. Sarath Kumar has been a good actor, and its nice to see him in a role that does justice to his talent. I guess people who blow up 100cr on making movies, should watch this to understand how a period-epic, actioner should be shot.
Ram- very well written and this should make more and more people here to make note of this movie.I have been patiently waiting for this
( and Kutty Shranku to an extent ).We need more of such movies- referring to the quality of the output here.Its only good content which will make us all stop lamenting the deterioration of Malayalam cinema.Looking forward to watching this movie the coming weekend.
Wonderful post on a wonderful movie. I am really going crazy, I donno when I would get a chance to watch this movie. Hope it releases in hyd….
Sridhar- this has been dubbed in Tamil,Telugu,Hindi & English.So you should find the Telugu version ( and maybe Hindi also ) releasing in Hyd in some time.But if you still want to watch it in the original Malayalam version- check out Prasads, I’m sure they’ll play it sometime soon.
Sethu, checked in Prasads and they have no clue about the movie. So sad dude….but, I really waiting with bated breath….IB on Screen 5 was amazing….hope for PR now…..I wanna watch it in Malayalam only….
Are Sridhar – yaar when I meant check out, I was suggesting that you keep a watch on them.The people you spoke to there wouldnt know even whats releasing this coming friday.The movie sourcing team is different from the front end operations team.Anyways I’ll be on the lookout & keep you posted.
Thanks da…and also lemme know how was the experience this weekend…
this probably is the most hyped movie in malayalam. if MT wanted to go down in history as chronicler of a sensational piece of kerala history, this was not the vehicle. at 3:30 hours this is as loose as it can get. i personally feel that MT has not directly written this script because this is not him. note that the credits just show “rachana” which is different from “katha/thirakatha” the script almost goes like a history channel biopic. a series of events, with no escalation in conflict and characters who don’t add anything to the plot. maybe the creators wanted it to be true to history. couldn’t get the logic of the asst collector and his wife’s character’s. Likewise close to 40 minutes in the final conflict where 10 each was spend in the killing of each of the core pazhassi team. was there anything of a climax ? few things that worked for me. 1. acknowledged the key role of advasis in India’s freedom struggle 2. Sarath Kumar.
I am hoping that the discerning malayalm audience will see beyond the 25 cr budget and hype.
Salil, its a lovely take, greatly appreciate… Malayalam audiences are like Hornbills hoping for a drop of water to fall from the heavens and they would lap up anything remotely good.. PR is one such drop.. Give MT his due, ‘Rachana’, ‘Katha/Thirakkatha’ are just words.. MT wrote this, no doubt, and is passionate about it.. don’t make the mistake of framing him into a particular level of standard, high or low… cause he is a man who wrote something as diverse as Adiyozhukkukal and Sukrutham…
not able to find the movie. not going to release in my town. any suggestions?? want to see it.
@ sujoy- where do you live dude?without knowing that how does any one offer any suggestion?
Any idea if the Hindi version will be released in Bangalore? I don’t know why such films don’t get released with English subtitles…it makes it so much easier for the larger India audience to watch these films…if we can watch European films with English subtitles why not films like Pazhassi Raja/Kanchivaram? I recently read a translated short story of MT Vasudevan Nair titled “Enemy”…I think it is one of the most powerful short stories I read in recent memory…
@Ram,
Very well and detailed written.Eagerly waiting to catch the movie
Dear ram its the best review ever i read bout this majestic cinema…
Hi Ram, I have not seen the moview yet. want to see the same in a calm theatre ambiance. Your review is most balanced and one without prejudice. I believe It sincerely inspires me to go and watch the moview asap. I will come back with my opinion after watching the moview.
I am very much optimistic about the future of Malayalam Cinema, since we got excellent directors like Hariharan, Shaji.N.Karun, Jayaraj, TV Chandran, Priyadarshan, Madhupal ( the latest to name ), and writers like MT, and actors like Mammootty, Mohanlal Prithviraj and Manoj.K.Jayan
Hi,
Great review, pleasant surprise.
In fact I thought, the film might fall flat..
Haven’t seen the movie yet, this review fuels my desire to watch it :D
And one thing chetta,
Ur mention of amruthamgamaya.. I want to get a CD badly.. its not there in most of the cd shops.. Any help..
Latest update on the release front- Pazhassi Raja is releasing in Mumbai,Pune & Delhi on 23rd Oct ( coming friday ) and the Tamil version in T.N is releasing on Nov 6th.
No Hyd again …grrrr
Thanks guys..
Arijit,
I am not sure, it might, lets see on Nov 6, the slated Tamil release happens then… more info on Hindi will come out later
Rahul ,
PR will not disturb us or affect us like Amruthamgamaya (Itti Varky, angane oru doctor undaakane padilla.. Lallettan at his best, even thinking of the versatility of this actor gives me goosebumps.. and what a screenplay, MT is a master at perfection) or for that matter OVVG or Vaishali did.
PR is total new Historian Avatar from MT and in turn inflicted his mutation on to Mammootty as well.. I loved the way they managed to switch modes and came out with this excellent outcome..
It available here in a Saina VCD..
http://www.sainavideovision.com/vcd14.htm#173_1