Kudumbini

P.A Thomas was the Kerala "John Huston" (who was known as JH, in the industry)conceived and executed his vision on a grand Scale. There will only be one "Neelakkuyil", one "Newspaper Boy", one "Chemmeen", one "Olavum Theeravum", one "Swayamvaram" and only one "Kudumbini". The grand scale is evident in the lyrical poetry set into music by music maestro L.PR Varmma, which laid the rich tapestry for this Magnum Opus. Baritone voiced Thikkurishi Sukumaran Nair, was in the same genre as Charlie Chaplin,Ashok Kumar and Uthpal Duth, an actor's actor; a style that was unique and patented. After I watched the movie after three decades, few things stood out-the ornate settings for the Sheela's (Born as Clara, was married to director/actor Kishore Kumar), dance sequence, the rich music, the beauty of the yesteryear actresses and the devotion of the directors to make a statement-not just a movie. For current tastes and standards("Pokkiri Raja" "Chembattu Nadu" "Mayamohini" produced by the Mollywood suvvar directors,) the movie is a drag, but for the masses in the bygone years that starved for class and elegance, this was a treat. I was not too impressed with Prem Nazir, as Madhavan Kutty, most of the time he looked distant and lost. Suffice to say he matured to be good actor ("Pazhashi Raja") in the later years. The two that carried the mantle were Thikkurishi and Sheela.