Genuine Review on Malayalam Cinema- 2000 to 2010

We had witnessed the most pathetic decade in Malayalam movie industry from 2000 – 2010.

The decade is winding up with just few countable hits that too making no great shakes in the industry.

Biggest Hits in this decade.

• 2000: Narasimham
• 2001: Raavanaprabhu
• 2002: Meesa Madhavan
• 2003: Balettan
• 2004: Sethurama Iyer CBI
• 2005: Rajamanikyam^[1]
• 2006: Classmates^[2]
• 2007: Hallo
• 2008: Twenty:20^[3]
• 2009: Pazhassi Raja^[4]
• ^{2010: Pokkiri Raja}

Beginning of the decade itself was in a very bad shape for the Malayalam film Industry.

In 2000, we could witness only two hits in Malayalam which were Narasimham and Valyettan.

2001 was more pathetic with only one big hit Ravanaprabhu. Kakkakuyil and Karimaadi kuttan were the other minor hits of the year.But Dileep maintained to give above average movies during this period. Ee parakkum thalika and Ishtam were two of his noticed movies during this period. Meera Jasmine, Navya Nair and Nithya Das did begin their career in 2001. The only outstanding movie released in the year 2001 was Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Nizhalkoothu where he casted Oduvil Unnikrishnan as a hangman, dragging his remaining life by consuming alcohol. The movie won many National Awards and was well appreciated.

2002 was a very bad year for Mammootty and Mohanlal with no hits to claim. All their movies were major disasters in the Boxoffice. But Dileep came with a major hit Meesha Madhavan that year, which changed the career graph of himself and Lal Jose as well. 2002 proved to be a great year for Dileep delivering hits like Kunji Koonjan and Kalyana Raman. We could also see few of our stars  emerging in 2002. Jayasurya,Prithviraj, Indrajith and Bhavana started their career in 2002. December  2002 proved to be a good month for Malayalam cinema with big hits like Yathrakarude Sradhakku,Nandanam, Kalyanaraman and Nammal.

The momentum continued in 2003 also with hits for every actor. Mammootty made a come back with Chronic Bachelor, Mohanlal with Balettan.  Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Kunchako,Meera Jasmine and Bhavana contributed to deliver a hit named Swapnakoodu.  Jayaram could also show his presence with two hits Manasinakkare and Ente Veedu Appontem. We could see Dileep taking up the role of a producer for the first time the same year, producing the movie named CID Moosa which did extremely well in the box office. Thilakkam was his also another hit of the year.

Remember, Suresh Gopi was going through the worst time of his career during these periods.

2004 was an year which could not make much great shakes in the industry. The year began with a hit for Mammotty ,the movie was Sethuramayyar CBI, which was a sequel of Oru CBI Diary Kurupp and Jaagrutha. But the movie which was a trend setter was 4 THE PEOPLE. The movie was a big musical hit which gave a break to the music Director Jassie Gift. The song Lajjavathi in the movie can be considered as one of the biggest hit songs of the decade. Another highlight of the year was the director Blessy coming out with his debut movie Kaazhcha. The movie was highly noticed and talked throughout the Indian film industry. Viewers could see mammootty in a totally different role in the movie which gained a lot of viewer appreciation, with this movie he could bag the State award of the year.

2005 again proved to be a good year for Malayalam cinema with hits for every actor. Mohanlal made a strong come back with three big hits this year. Naran was the second biggest hit of the year. In Udayanaanu Thaaram he played the role of a movie director which was one of his finest and précised recitals. But the highlight of the year was the movie Thanmathra which can be considered as one of the best of Mohanlal. Mohanlal bagged the state award for the character he played in Thanmathra. The movie also reached in the national level that in the final stage, due to some unknown mistery, Mohanlal lost his opportunity to win his fourth National Award during that year. Mammotty also had a very big time. Rajamanikyam was his ever biggest hit till 2008 November. The movie collected a gross of 11 crore in 100 days, which was the highest ever till then. Other hits of 2005 were Achuvinte Amma and Ananda Bhadram. Chandu Pottu was another hit movie of the year in which Dileep played the role of a man who had almost all traits of a female. Dileep did a fantastic job in the movie which had no replacement.

Highlight of the year 2005 was that Suresh Gopi made a very strong come back with a massive hit named Bharath Chandran IPS which was a sequel of his 1992 hit movie Commissioner. With this, Suresh Gopi could retain his space in the industry.

2006 was a great year which entirely belonged to Mohanlal who delivered 3 major hits during the year namely Rasathanthram, Vadakkumnathan and Keerthichakra(with all movies running more than 100 days). Keerthichakra was the debut venture of the director Major Ravi. The movie changed the entire military concept among the viewers. The movie was a tribute to the Indian soldiers and was treated with high end respect to them. Mohanlal’s role as Major Mahadevan in the movie was breathtaking and stunning. Mammotty could end up with only one minor hit this year named Thurupp Gulaan. Suresh Gopi could deliver one hit this year named Chinthamani Kola case. Dileep had no hits this year and Jayaram was slowly vanishing from the industry. In 2006, we could see another Trend setter movie Class Mates which was a teamwork of the youngsters Prithvi Raj, Jayasurya, Indrajith,Narein and of course Lal Jose and James Albert.

2007 started with a big hit for mammotty, Mayavi. But he could not continue the momentum that year.Mohanlal started with a minor hit Chotta Mumbai and then a major hit of the year, HALLO, released on July 5, 2007. We could see Mohanlal playing the role of Valiyakath Moosa, an 80 year old man, in the movie Paradesi,which released the same year. Mohanlal won the Kerala state award of the year for his performance in the movie. Dileep ended up with one hit Vinoda Yathra. But Lal Jose and Sreenivasan combined to give classic hit for the year, Arabi Katha which can be considered as one of the best movies of the decade. Chocolate was a campus movie that released in the same year and turn to be one of the biggest hits for Prithviraj. Nivedyam was an average grosser of the year, which was a musical hit. The melancholiest part is that this movie was the last directorial venture of the veteran writer Lohithadas. One of the noticed movies in the end of 2007 was Sreenivasan’s Katha Parayumbol which was produced by himself and Mukesh. Though the movie was a hit in Malayalam, the story could not make any sense in other languages when the movie was re-made. Suresh Gopi could not ensure any hit this year and Jayaram as well.

Screenplay wise, 2008 was a major disaster for Malayalam cinema as none of the movies had a good script to claim except Lal starrer Thalappavu and Renjith’s Thirakatha. Mammootty delivered an average grosser Roudram and a major hit of the year,Annan Thampi. Annan Thampi was the first film in Malayalam which was approved for wide release throughout Kerala hitting 75 screens on the first day. Mohanlal too could not prove much in the year 2008. He ended up with a minor hit Innathe Chintha vishayam and a hit Maadambi, which was a movie with no sense(old wine in new bottle). Jayaram made a solid come back with the movie Veruthe Oru Bharya. Though the movie was female oriented, it did help Jayaram a lot in re building his career. Cycle was another above average grosser of the year.

Biggest hit of the year was undoubtedly AMMA's ''Twenty:20'' which raked in millions, breaking  every box office records.The film released in 110 theatres featruing 72 big stars from the industry ,  got an extended run even to the  Christmas season  where no super star films was in the fray.

2009 was a great year compared to 2008 as we could see 5 movies in the year with excellent story and screenplay. They were Bhramaram, Paleri Manikkyam-Oru Pathira Kolapaathakathinte Katha,  Passenger, Kerala Café and Pazhassi Raja. Bhramaram was a Mohanlal starrer movie directed by Blessy. Though the movie could not shake the box office, it was definitely appreciated by all critics and film makers and Mohanlal’s performance in the movie was outstanding. Passenger and Kerala Café are two movies that had a totally different treatment which malayalees have witnessed never before. Passenger was one of the big hits of the year but Kerala Café sinked in the box office. Major attraction of the year was M T Vasudevan Nair’s, Hariharan directed Multi Starrer movie Pazhassi Raja, in which Mammootty played the title role. The movie was the biggest grosser in 2009. The movie involved almost all legends in the Indian Cinema, ONV Kurup, Ilayaraja, Resul Pookutty, M  T and Hariharan. Though the movie is MT’s biggest hit, the screenplay was loosely bound compared to his sreenplays in other movies. Mammootty starrer movie Paleri Manikkyam was one of the best films released in this decade which told the story of a woman’s murder that took place 50 years back. The movie was directed extremely well and natural. Mammooty was at his best in the movie playing three different characters with extreme perfection. Mammotty was honoured with the state award of the year for his performance in the movie.Another highlight of 2009 was Lal’s debut directorial venture 2 Harihar Nagar. The movie was a sequel of In Harihar Nagar,the biggest hit of early 90s. The sequel collected well in the box office and was a come back for Mukesh,Jagadeesh and especially Ashokan. Other hits in 2009 were Mammoottys Chattambi Naadu,Jayarams Bhagyadevatha and Jayasuryas Ivar Vivahitharaayal. Mohanlal’s Ividam Swargamaanu was an above average grosser of the year.

2010 was very much better compared to all other years of the decade, in fact 2010 was the best year of the decade for Malayalam cinema industry with all good directors stepping in with a variety of stories and screenplays. The first hit of 2010 was Happy Husbands, which starred Jayaram,Jayasurya and Indrajith. Body Guard was the movie released with lot of expectations among the audience. Director siddique made a come back to Malayalam cinema after a huge gap of 7 years with this movie. Though the movie was not a disappointing one and had a good climax, yet the film failed to amuse the audience and ended up as a major flop of the year. Lal magic worked out again in 2010 when he released the movie In Ghost House Inn which was again a sequel of 2 Harihar Nagar. Janakan was a noted movie of the year starring Suresh Gopi with Mohanlal playing a supporting  role. The movie dealt with the current social issues and movie is marked as a hit. Mohanlal delivered one big hit this year,Shikar. Mammootty joined hands with Prithviraj to deliver the biggest hit of the year Pokkiri Raja. Independently, Mammootty’s Renjith directed Pranchiyettan was also a hit. Dileep could deliver two hits this year, Pappy Appacha and Karyasthan, though both movies were below standard. Dileep’s Christmas release Merikkundoru Kunjaadu is also turning out to be a hit of the season. Prithvi Raj,s Anwar and Jayaram,s Katha Thudarunnu are also above average films in terms of collection.

Interesting thing in 2010 was that many directors experimented with their movies in 2010 and could succeed in their venture. Mummy N Me is the biggest example for it. With no credibility,except that the movie was a Max Lab release, the movie is one of the biggest hits of the year. Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Malarvadi Arts Club was one of the good movies released in 2010(Though the movie reminds us few scenes from the Bollywood movie Rock On).Siby Malayils 50^th movie Apoorva Ragam, released this year, was a low budget movie which narrated the story in a campus, this movie was also a hit. Another experiment done was by Lal Jose by casting a new actress named Ann Agasthyan(D/O actor Agasthyan) directing a female oriented movie named Elsamma Enna Aankutty,which also casted Kunchako Boban, Indrajith and Mani Kuttan. Cocktail is a movie released in 2010, which gained lot of appreciations from viewers  as well as critics, could do a fair business in the box office. Anoop Menon has penned the script for the movie casting Jayasurya , Samvrutha and himself. Though the movie was a remake of one of the English movies, it was well written and directed. Total number of movies released in 2010 is 90, which is a good number compared to previous years and more than 15 movies have made a huge business in the box office. 2010 was an year of experiments, which is the highlight of the year.

In this decade we could see few good directors emerging into Malayalam cinema and many good actors as well. But what malayalam cinema lacks now is many talented supporting actors like Oduvil Unni Krishnan, Pappu,Shankaradi, Murali, Sunny, Aseez, N F Varghese, Narendra Prasad, Karamana etc.

In this decade, we lost many great actors, directors and lyricists of Malayalam cinema whose space can be never occupied. Lohithadas, Kochin Hanifa, Rajan P Dev , Subair, Sreenath Girish Puthenchery were the active people in the industry who passed away recently. We would miss Lohithadas and Kochin Hanifa very badly in the coming years, who were two scholars in their area of interest.

Malayalam cinema was once known for its best stories and scripts among the world cinema, which most of the movies lack these days. For Malayalam Cinema, market is very narrow, so we cannot afford to make big films without proper scripts, which is the basic point every director, producer and script writer should understand. We have witnessed many visiting NRI producers recently who come for their vacations, produce a cinema with lot of blunders, movie flops, they go back after vacation. Even when the producer is not bothered about the money he is spending, atleast the director has to guide them, especially the experienced one’s, before starting the work. Producers and Directors have to be conscious about what they are doing. Too much of gimmicks does not help in making a hit movie. Even when some of the movies with good scripts fail to impress the audience, I wonder how can directors like Shaji Kailas think of making big budget movies with blunder scripts and only stylish scenes. Even piracy is one of the biggest concerns in every industry. But piracy is only one of the reasons for failure of few films. In fact, piracy is the reason for failure of movies with good scripts only, rest all movies fail due to the lack of good script. Instead of fighting within and between associations, it would be good if the association heads sit in a round table and discuss what can be done to retain the value and respect that Malayalam cinemas once had in the Indian film industry.

Attempting for a venture without any plan is the biggest blooper which happened in this decade. Let us hope this would not happen again in the coming decade. As told, 2010 was a good year for Malayalam cinema. If this momentum continues, we would be able to enjoy many good movies in the coming decade. It would be good if more  multistarrer movies happen in malayalam cinema. Young actors can try it out so that we can watch many good movies with all stars under the same umbrella. Even then, good screenplay is the major issue that the Malayalam cinema is facing which is the real basic component. Every actor, director and producer should understand that screenplay is the basic element in every cinema. We should not deviate from the basics. People often forget while buying a mobile phone that the basic purpose of a mobile phone is to call somebody and receive call. While busy checking the other features like Bluetooth, memory etc, they forget to check whether the speaker and mic are working. This should not happen in Cinema. Director has to show some loyalty to the producer and viewer, after all he is the captain of the ship.

I conclude by expecting to watch many respectable movies in the coming years. This is only a genuine review I have posted, which I personally felt as a viewer. I don’t even expect my review would change the whole strategy of Malayalam cinema. I do not represent the whole viewers of Malayalam cinema, my review is very much personal and I apologize if has hurt anybody. My best wishes for each and everyone in the Malayalam Movie Industry.

I wish everyone a very HAPPY 2011.

Thanks and Regards,

Sony Chandran.

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