Iam surprised that one of the most beloved malayalam movies of all time has so few reviews in imdb..The movie as a tremendous achievement by its creator jijo who went ahead with the project after reading an article about 3d technology in american cinematographer magazine.
It was really a bold decision because he had no experience with this technology . He went to america to study the film making process and bought equipments from there.When released it was the first 3d movie in India.
The movie was and is still is one of the biggest box office hits in the history of indian cinema. It also won the national award for best children's film. Many film makers since then tried to make 3d movies in its wake but none succeeded likewise..
What was the reason? Maybe it captured the imagination of the kids of that time..It was a time before cable television , computer games and mobile phones invaded our homes and children use to spent their leisure times playing and exploring their sorroundings..
Every such exploration were an adventure for them. I being myself a kid of the 80s could relate well to the kids in the movie..A film in the same vein was manu uncle .Which also won the national award for best children's movie
The movie is about 3 kids who release and then befriend a demon/chaathan..A deity who is worshipped throughout kerala..There is a kanadi madom in thrissur who have been worshipping kutti chathan for centuries and they have a temple where devotees visit regularly..Chathan is somewhat similar to the genie of arabian nights who can be enslaved by the black magician and can be made to satisfy his every wish.
The kids are frightened by the initial shapes in which the chathan manifest himself..Finally they ask him come in the image of a drawing done by the artist father of one of the kid ..The scene where he appears is one of the most memorable scenes in the movie..
The black magician from whom the chathan escapes is played brilliantly by kottarakkara sreedharan nair (father of saikumar) who is really scary in his portrayal.
Despite being a children's movie it does not hesitate from showing the reality of life..The drunkard father who neglects his child, the repressed sexuality of the malayali male who secretly vists a striptease club where the children go in at the insistence of chathan.. the hilarious scene where the spectators become the one who are stripped is great.
It is also whom that despite his friendly child apperance the chathan is still the deMon who enjoys liquor ..The scenes where the child artist drink liquor at the bar would not have passed muster with the censor board of today...
The song alippazham perukkan is a commendable effort even today in the way it was picturised.one wonders how they achieved the sequences where the children walk on the roof upside down without any special effects or computer wizardry..
The movie was re released number of times since the 90s with some newly added scenes bit i feel they have not worked well..They said have either done a remake or a sequel instead of tinkering with the original .
I watched the 1st rerelease in the 90s where the movie had the soundtrack in DTS. It was good but they changed the original songs to new ones which put off many of is who were kids and had watched the original...
The movie may not appear even remotely fascinating to the kids of today who are saturated by 3d hollywood movies but for the men and women who in their late 30s and early 40s, it's a bit of nostalgia of those wonderful time bygone..
