sandhya-sdr

I miss Manju Warrier so much whenever I watch this movie - what a stellar performance it was! Everyone in Kerala knows her acting prowess, but "Kanmadam" according to me, was her best ever role. Of course, a lot of credit should go to late Mr.Lohithadas for creating this dream role for her. Although others in the movie were overshadowed by Manju's brilliance, their performances are not to be forgotten. Mohanlal as Viswanathan did a commendable job. Siddique, Lal & the old woman who acted as Manju's grandma were quite good too. Lohithadas's brilliant script & direction combined with the rustic charm of rural Palakkad,which was beautifully captured by cameraman Ramachandra Babu make this movie a delight to watch & own. I still remember the mad rush at shops in & around Cochin when it was released on DVD/VCD.

Hugely popular political satire penned by Sreenivasan. The film is equally brutal in its admonishment of both major political formations in Kerala. Veteran actor Thilakan, as always, is brilliant as the Station Master who returns home after retirement to find his sons Prabhakaran (Sreenivasan) & Prakashan (Jayaram) as jobless petty politicians. Their political rivalry spills over & begins to dictate every aspect of family life, this is the central theme of the film. The movie skillfully & hilariously exposes the double-speak & hypocrisy of the Communists and the corruption & sycophancy in the Congress party. No character or situation felt out of place during the entire film. Every character had a message for the masses- be it Siddique, as the upright agriculture officer, Mala Aravindan as the cowardly police inspector, Shankaradi as the Marxist ideologue or even Bobby Kottarakara as the small time party worker. "Sandesham" without any doubt ranks among the best Malayalam movies of all time & is best remembered for its dialogues, some of which have become part of the Kerala folklore. Kudos to Sathyan Anthikad & Sreenivasan for this fantastic creation!

One of the best Malayalam movies of the 1960s. "Murappennu" is the first script of Jnanpith award winning Malayalam novelist MT Vasudevan Nair which was made into a movie. The film itself is a relentless melodrama which very realistically portrayed the decline of the traditional Hindu joint family in Kerala. There were memorable performances all around. The legendary Prem Nazir as the protagonist Balan, who is caught in a vicious whirlpool of the feudal system, gave one of his best ever performances. PJ Anthony as his uncle, Kunhikrishna Menon, was equally brilliant. The supporting cast which included KP Ummer, Madhu & Sharada were all superb in their respective roles. The movie is also remembered for it's melodious songs composed by P Bhaskaran & Chidambaranath. It's a pity that this sixties classic has not been released on DVD, when several films of much lesser repute & quality have been done so.