Malayalam Cinema 2000: A Flashback

Indriyam , the George Kiththu directed horror film with Vani in the lead proved to be a hit and so did India Gate , directed by T.S.Saji, in which Vani was cast in an action role. But the film worth mentioning as far as Vani is concerned was Susanna , the offbeat film directed by T.V.Chandran, which too did good business at the box office. National award winning director Harikumar of Sukritham fame tried to make a film in a lighter vein and this film Swayamvarapanthal too proved to be a hit. Vinayan's Deivaththinte Makan , Lohitadas' Arayannangalude Veedu , Rajasenan's Naadan Pennum Naattu Pramaaniyum and some soft porn films like Neelathadaakathile Nizhalpakshikal , Priye Ninakkai , Raakilikal and Priyankari were among the 'also-ran' films. Among the latest Christmas releases, the Suresh Gopi-Lal-Dileep starrer Thenkaasipattanam and Vinayan's Mammootty-starrer Dadasahib seem to be on the way to become hits. On the other hand the major flops of the year were Millenium Stars , Snehapoorvam Anna , Pilots , Satyam Shivam Sundaram , Ingane Oru Nilaapakshi , Ee Mazha Then Mazha , Manassil Oru Manjuthulli , Warrant , High Range , Mazha , Kallu Kondoru Pennu , Mera Naam Joker , Rapid Action Force , Varavaayi , The Gang , Ayyapan, High Range , Mazha , Kallu Kondoru Pennu , Mera Naam Joker , Rapid Action Force , Varavaayi , The Gang , Ayyapantamma Neyyappamchuttu , Madhuranombarakaattu , Summer Palace , Kannadikadavaththu and Aanamuttathe Aangalamaar. Some super-star films like Shradhdha , Life is Beautiful , Dreamz and Cover Story too bombed at the box office.

Coming over to the artistic side of the cinema, there are of course a handful of films to boast of. T.V.Chandran's latest release Susanna with Vani Viswanath in the lead could succeed in satisfying the viewers too. Vani was, for the first time, cast in a really meaningful role, which she did to perfection. Jayaraj's Karunam , the first in his nine-film series based on the Navarasas, won for him the Golden Peacock award in the Delhi Intentional Film Festival. Karunam , released in limited centres only, managed to emerge without incurring too many losses by the collection from the releasing centres and also by way of being premiered on ASIANET. The second in Jayaraj's nine-film series Shaantham was released during Christmas and is currently doing its rounds in the theatres. The film, with footballer I.M.Vijayan is a brilliant statement on political violence, viewed from a human perspective. Mazha , directed by Lenin Rajendran and based on a short story by noted writer Madhavikutty, was indeed one of the best films released this year. Brilliant theme, brilliant photography, good songs, and good performance-all these made viewing the film an unforgettable experience. But the film failed to draw enough people except in the cities where it did somewhat well. Satyan Anthicaud's Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal , though it did not turn as well as his earlier films, was better compared to the usual stuff released these days. Oru Cheru Punchiry , directed by noted filmmaker and Jnanpith award winning writer M.T.Vasudevan, was premiered on Asianet and is yet to be released commercially. Other films worth mentioning as for their artistic merit were V.K.Prasad's Punaradhivaasam , Rajeevnath's national award winning Janani , Lohitadas' Joker , Shyamaprasad's Kallukondoru Pennu and Kamal's Madhuranombarakaattu. Now coming to the other aspects of filmmaking. Screenplay writing is perhaps an area where only few can prove their mettle. It was Renjith, who had earlier scripted hits like Devasuram , Aaraam Thampuran etc, who hogged the limelight with the two greatest hits of the year-Narasimham and Valiyettan. Renjith has also, in the process of scripting such hit films, made the decision to turn director with Ravanaprabhu , which will be made this year. Another person who made an impact as a scenarist was S.Suresh Babu, who has made his debut with Vinayan's Dadasahib . Suresh Babu has hogged the limelight by being a scenarist who, with his first script itself, got a remuneration which even established scenarists started getting only years after they started.

Lohitadas delivered really excellent scripts for his own directiorial ventures Arayannangalude Veedu and Joker . Sab John, who scripted the hit film Priyam , too ranks among the hit scenarists of the year. Sreenivasan had done a good work out of the script Swayamvarapanthal , directed by Harikumar. Sibi.K.Thomas and Udayakrishnan, who had done the script of the hit film Darling Darling have turned out to be sought after scenarists after the success of the film. Coming to cinematography, it was K.P. Nambiathiri who did the camera for the most number of films, 4 to be exact- Naadan Pennum Naattu Pramaanimaarum, Melevaaryaththe Maalaakhakuttikal, Darling Darling and Aanamuttathe Aangalamaar . Sanjeev Shankar, M.J.Radhakrishnan, Venugopal, Salu George and Ravi Verman were active too. Regarding music, it was Mohan Sithara and Vidyaasagar who hogged the limelight with the accompaniment of Yusuf Ali Kechery, S.Rameshan Nair, Gireesh Puthencherry, O.N.V. Kurup, etc on the lyrics side. Though many Malayalam films couldn't make it big at the box office, it was mainly Hindi and Tamil films that did brisk business in Kerala. Tamil films like Thenali, Khushi, Kandukondein Kandukondein, Vallarasu, Alaipaayuthe etc and Hindi films like Kaho Na Pyaar Hein, Mohabattein, Fiza, Mission Kashmir etc did fare very well, perhaps on account of hit songs, excellent photography and maybe deficiency of Malayalam films which could satisfy the viewers. Anyhow, though 2000 didn't do much good for Malayalam Cinema, there are promises of a good innings at least in 2001. Many films like Lal Jose's Randaam Bhaavam , Joemon's Unnathangal etc, to be released soon are likely to do good business in the next year. Many other ventures that have been announced and likely to start soon, like Shaji Kailas' new films, Renjith's Ravanaprabhu , Joshi's Praja (shooting for which has already started), Fazil's new film, Priyadarshan's Kaakakuyil etc hold promises for the box office. While art-house movies like Shaji.N.Karun's new film based on noted writer T.Padmanabhan's short story Kadal (with Mohanlal and Jaya Bachchan in the cast), T.V.Chandran's Mammootty film etc and some other films like Satyam Anthicaud's new film, Lohitadas' Chempoththu , Noornaadu Ramachandran's Angulimaala (which has got the blessings of the Dalai Lama), etc give ample scope to expect much out of the new year.