Paris Laxmi – Movies of the Soul

What is the movie about? :: Pattabhiraman Giri (Indrajith Sukumaran) is living a happy and normal life with his wife Amba (Ananya) and his only daughter, Arya (Nakshatra Indrajith). They belong to a small group, including Malayalis who reside in a small village, somewhere in North India. He comes from a long line of Brahmins who have a huge legacy. But the respect and the admiration that he has in the village due to his good nature, closeness to God and kindness lands himself in trouble as Mahashay Bhagavan (Murali Gopy), a famous godman with millions of followers wishes to build an ashram there. While a number of people are forced to run away from the village in one way or the other, a few others like Jayanthan Nair (Suraj Venjaramoodu) decides to become the poweful godman’s latest disciple, and find a place to stay within his ashram after selling his assets to the spiritual organisation and being assured of some monthly earnings.

So, what happens next? :: Mahashay, whose original name is Remakant, was a disciple of the great spiritual guru, Vasundhara Devi (Padmapriya Janakiraman) who was found dead in her ashram, after which the man has been everything about the organisation. He is so powerful that almost every V.I.P. in the belt worships him – the Chief Minister himself visits him so often, and has declared his victory even before the election began as he has the blessings of this godman. With all these people in his pocket, the police is also helpless, focusing more on dealing with smaller cases, or those which will make the politicians happy, making the common man suffer in the absence of law and order. He has branches of his ashram in different parts of India, and has spread abroad a lot during the recent times. He has everything planned all the time, and keeps getting what he wants.

And, what is to follow next in this tale? :: Pattabhiraman is determined to keep his ancestral home at any cost, and he finds it his duty and privilege to do the same. Mahashay provides him with time until Shivaratri to come up with the right decision, which is to leave his place and go back to Kerala after accepting the compensation and the blessings from him; otherwise, there is only the curse that will await him. Almost everyone who is left in the village has accepted this new godman as their new saviour and guru, as they feel that it is the only option as well as the right choice for the future. It is during these troubled times that he comes across Aslan Mohammed (Prithviraj Sukumaran) who offers him help. One day, while looking for Aslan and not finding him, Pattabhiraman is told the tale of Aslan by another man, Jameel Askari (Shine Tom Chacko). Aslan might not be the man whom Pattabhiraman thought he was, but can he be of help?

The defence of Tiyaan :: The thought-provoking moments of Tiyaan are intense, with that intensity like never before. The dialogues are stronger than ever, and we feel all the correct emotions in each of them, whether it is anger, hate, fear or grief. There are signs of what is to come from the beginning itself, and we feel how this is going to be something different, and it is. The whole thing remains a thought-provoking saga, and we are left with hope in a world which doesn’t have much of the same with almost everyone being hypocrites. There might be complexity within, but the final message is rather too simple, with all religions leading to one God, and love being the path. There are only some people who use the name of God in vain, and use it to hate and kill others; but our culture has always been in favour of diversity, and in our world, we have always been one. It is only the corporate side and the rest who are seeking mileage political or social, spreading the hate, as it is shown in the movie – it is all for the rich and influential as the rest suffers. The visuals are really good too.

The claws of flaw :: Tiyaan is too long a movie, and this much of a length doesn’t work in favour of such a flick. It is predictable at parts, and the flashback story is not that interesting. There are those parts of the movie which could have had more focus on them than the rest, but the movie just leave some of them behind. The philosophical side just hesitates to go any deeper, and the mass takes over when things could have been rather natural and realistic. One can only wonder what more this flick could have achieved with the material that it possessed, and considering the way it began and set everything ready by the interval. The final scene about the link between the two protagonists from the past might actually be the lowest point of the movie, and it was never needed to exist. Even though this is a Malayalam movie, there is less presence of the language, and the common audience will have trouble with the same.

Performers of the soul :: The movie focuses on Indrajith in the first half and on Prithviraj in the second. While the former returning after Lakshyam has quality time on screen in those beginning stages, the latter returning after Ezra finishes off in style, and also brings something for the mass in the second half. The fact that even after the performances, considering our common nature, some fans will also have to write imposition to remember the message for daily life. There is one dialogue from Indrajith about what is spoken by God and what is added by humans for their convenience – that one stays for so long. Then there is Prithviraj talking about selfish people and the rest of the world, so much charm there. Murali Gopy’s godman act is something that will be remembered for his way of bringing that character to its full strength right from the beginning. We also see Indrajith’s daughter Nakshatra doing so well, and Ananya is there in a short role done fine. Suraj Venjaramoodu does nice when he is there, and the same can be said about Shine Tom Chacko.

How it finishes :: On one side, we get those movies made in a hurry as if they have just got the dates of superstars and there is no time – on the other side, there are movies like Tiyaan which seems to be well-thought, and made to suit the times. They could have done without those overdone action sequences and the larger than life flashback which serve as nothing less than road blocks on a long journey. It is the messages that balance the equation, and when they rise above the rest, brings the thoughts that our world needs, and our people have been waiting for. As the message that all religions are one, leading to one final destination, spreads, there is no longer the need for change of faith, for it is replaced by change of mind – there is no more conversion, but transformation of the soul. There are the good and evil in each religion, and then there is God who plays no part in the terrible acts of people who claim to be like the Almighty One, or as following his path. There was Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, and now there is this movie – divergent ways are surely back!

Release date: 7th July 2017
Running time: 168 minutes
Directed by: Jiyen Krishnakumar
Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Shine Tom Chacko, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Murali Gopy, Ananya, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Ravi Singh, John Kokken, Mridula Sathe, Rahul Madhav, Ranjeet, Amit Tiwari, Nakshatra Indrajith, Manasa Radhakrishnan, Paris Laxmi, Bhavika, Anand Attukal, Adesh S Nair

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl :: You had talked about a movie with this kind of a combination.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, about that popular funny dialogue from Mohanlal in the movie Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam.

Vampire Owl :: I remember the comedy scenes. Memories come back to me from the hidden spaces of immortality. I hope none of them stay to haunt me forever.

Vampire Bat :: It had also won the National Film Award that year for Best Film on Other Social Issues.

Vampire Owl :: I need to watch that one again.

Vampire Bat :: You should. It should be the best movie with a satirical side from Sibi Malayil.

Vampire Owl :: What about this movie and the possible relation to that flick from the eighties?

Vampire Bat :: The educational system seems to be related, and there are kids, teachers and parents as it seems.

Vampire Owl :: And why did we choose this one over Hotel Transylvania 2?

Vampire Bat :: Well, Biju Menon might create another Vellimoonga here; so this might be the nice and interesting choice! There is also a chance that we might find the animated movie sequel offensive to vampire-kind.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: Aravindan (Biju Menon) runs a medical shop in the city while his wife Priya (Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli) is working as an accountant. The only thing which they think about is to get their son Ashwin (Master Varkichan) admission in one of the best schools in the city. As the two become more and more obsessed with this, they arrange English tuition for the boy, try to ask everyone if there is any chance for the admission one way or the other, and even try to change themselves to become the modern parents. The Malayalam medium or state syllabus doesn’t seem to work for them, but a person named Kumaran (Sunil Sukhada) promises to try to help them. With the admission for only one of those big schools in the city left, can they finally do this?

The defence of Salt Mango Tree :: There are three things that this movie does have, and they are the comedy, messages and the feel-good factor in the end – even with not that much of an effective presence as expected, they are all present. We can say that it is a good attempt at dealing with the modern Malayali aversion for Malayalam, considering it not useful at a time when English and Hindi are running strong outside the state; this love for mother tongue and the message that good score in examinations won’t make one a better person is fine. The fact that nobody becomes a better person by speaking English in style or with fluency, and studying at a school which takes more fees doesn’t make a child something more, is the right message. There are some nice jokes in this movie too, and Biju Menon’s skills once again elevate them to a higher level. The movie is also short in length, and that is also good.

Claws of flaw :: There is nothing that deep in Salt Mango Tree, and its elements are not used to its best advantage. The feel-good factor is just too late to arrive, and a lot of incidents are overdone instead of keeping things realistic. There are parts of the story which were kept believable and without being preachy. The message also struggles to become the moral which it could have been. The songs are not that much making an impact, but can work depending on individual tastes, while the scenes in the village are just half-baked, and so is the attempt at the career guidance school. The story could have focused on its core, and should have brought the significance of learning one’s mother tongue, as well as letting the children following their dreams as a step by step procedure, but this one doesn’t. Even the title itself is not explored as it should have been!

Performers of the soul :: You know the person to look out for! Biju Menon has been the one cool actor whose movies are loved by the people without giving him that superstar status; it is more of the love for simple and funny moments from him which are so much memorable, and he is also one actor who never disappoints within his fortress of simple and family-based entertainment. In his most recent performances, whether it was about providing support in Madhura Naranga and Bhaiyya Bhaiyya, bringing the best of a cameo performance in Kunjiramayanam or leading the way in Vellimoonga, he was right there, strong in the comic side in all these flicks which came right before Salt Mango Tree. In this movie too, things are not much different as he manages the character with ease, and connects to the audience.

Further Performers of the soul :: Biju Menon is undoubtedly the man who saves this movie from going low, as he is in charge of all those dialogues for which the audience provided claps; he often lifts the movie out of nowhere when it gets close to spoiling its main idea with the weak story-line; this is still quite a step down from Vellimoonga for him. Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli was last seen in the Malayalam movie industry in Angels with Indrajith Sukumaran; even though she was paired with him, she was not really the leading lady on screen. She has managed her first leading role in Malayalam very well and has excelled in the emotional sequences. The rest of the cast lead by the one who played the character of assistant in the medical shop are all good, including the child actor Master Varkichan and Suhasini who comes late and makes an impact in the climax. But most of the situations focus on to our two leading characters, and the rest has less to do. Maybe a better story could have widened the focus, but the cast manages to be good.

How it finishes :: The attempt here might have been to create another comedy flick with satirical elements as we had earlier seen in the big solo hit featuring Biju Menon, Vellimoonga. Salt Mango Tree does try and only somewhat reach there. Just somewhere there in its own field, Salt Mango Tree achieves what the other movie of a similar theme Jilebi completely failed to do; to be funny with the message even though everything not coming together reaching the expectations. Taking the title from the literal translation of the food “Uppumavu” which was used by Mohanlal in the 1986 movie Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam, the movie should work in a weekend which has less to offer otherwise. Do not expect another Vellimoonga and things should be just okay.

Release date: 6th November 2015
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Rajesh Nair
Starring: Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Master Varkichan, Suhasini Manirathnam, Indrans, Saiju Kurup, Sarayu, Sunil Sukhada, Sudheer Karamana, Pradeep Kottayam, Paris Laxmi