Saturday, June 25, 2005
A Satire on the Malayalam Film Industry
Whenever actor, writer Sreenivasan picks up the pen and writes a script, one expects the movie to turn out well. His stories are simple and more often than not, there are characters that one can identify with. Udayananu Tharam (UT), the latest film penned by Sreenivasan is no different. One of the very few good films to come out in Malayalam in recent times, Udayananu Tharam is a satire on the film industry.
The story is about a struggling assistant director Udayabhanu (Mohanlal), who has ambitions of directing a film himself. He writes a winning script and is just about ready for the venture. Sreenivasan plays Rajappan, a struggling actor, who steals and sells Udayan's script to a top producer on condition that he will play the hero. The film creates wonders at the box office and Rajappan becomes a movie icon. Udayabhanu in the meantime, nurtures his hatred against Rajappan and gets the opportunity to exact revenge when ironically he gets to make his first film with Rajappan as the hero, thanks to the kind hearted producer Baby Kutty (Mukesh) who has faith in the abilities of Udayabhanu. Rajappan becomes impossible to direct thanks to his superstar tantrums on the sets. Will Udayabhanu complete his dream film and will he succeed in doing so? These answers form the crux of the latter half of the film.
UT succeeds in showing the intricacies of movie making. It depicts the struggles and travails of the producer and director from the time they decide to get the right stars to work in the film, managing the film without it going over budget, keeping a regular check on the dates of the actors involved so as to finish all their shots before it is too late and a final race against time to complete the film and get the movie shown in the theatres on the promised date. UT also works showing the idiosyncrasies and the colossal egos of the stars and how they become difficult to manage. It attempts ample digs at the mallu film industry and succeeds because of the refreshing humor, which only Sreenivasan can so convincingly tell in his scripts.
Newcomer Rosshan Andrrews makes an impressive debut as a director. I particularly liked the way he handled the climax of the film that could easily have gone awry. The music of the film by Deepak Dev is hummable although UT lacks any one great track. A special mention for very good camera work by S Kumar.
Coming to the performances;Meena as the female lead is not half as convincing as the male leads but she does a fair job of looking the part. Mukesh is his usual pleasing self and shares a great on screen camaraderie with Mohanlal. Jagathy Sreekumar in the brief cameo is brilliant. Probably one of the best character actors in India today, Jagathy proves that it doesn’t always take a large role to leave an impression. Mohanlal in the title role is very convincing and brings back some of his old magic. Although the performance is not in the same league as some of his earlier films, I am thankful that he has come out of the “larger than life hero" image which was becoming impossible to bear with each passing film. Very rarely does a supporting actor steal the show from the lead actor and I think the movie belongs to Sreenivasan. As the obnoxious struggling star that steals the script to the superstar whom everybody loves to hate, Sreenivasan delivers as only he can. To call him brilliant would be an understatement. If as a scriptwriter, he is innovative, then he tops this with a superlative perfomance as an actor.
Don’t expect a masterpiece in UT; watch it just to convince yourself that good films are still being made in Malayalam although not with the same frequency as a few years back.
The story is about a struggling assistant director Udayabhanu (Mohanlal), who has ambitions of directing a film himself. He writes a winning script and is just about ready for the venture. Sreenivasan plays Rajappan, a struggling actor, who steals and sells Udayan's script to a top producer on condition that he will play the hero. The film creates wonders at the box office and Rajappan becomes a movie icon. Udayabhanu in the meantime, nurtures his hatred against Rajappan and gets the opportunity to exact revenge when ironically he gets to make his first film with Rajappan as the hero, thanks to the kind hearted producer Baby Kutty (Mukesh) who has faith in the abilities of Udayabhanu. Rajappan becomes impossible to direct thanks to his superstar tantrums on the sets. Will Udayabhanu complete his dream film and will he succeed in doing so? These answers form the crux of the latter half of the film.
UT succeeds in showing the intricacies of movie making. It depicts the struggles and travails of the producer and director from the time they decide to get the right stars to work in the film, managing the film without it going over budget, keeping a regular check on the dates of the actors involved so as to finish all their shots before it is too late and a final race against time to complete the film and get the movie shown in the theatres on the promised date. UT also works showing the idiosyncrasies and the colossal egos of the stars and how they become difficult to manage. It attempts ample digs at the mallu film industry and succeeds because of the refreshing humor, which only Sreenivasan can so convincingly tell in his scripts.
Newcomer Rosshan Andrrews makes an impressive debut as a director. I particularly liked the way he handled the climax of the film that could easily have gone awry. The music of the film by Deepak Dev is hummable although UT lacks any one great track. A special mention for very good camera work by S Kumar.
Coming to the performances;Meena as the female lead is not half as convincing as the male leads but she does a fair job of looking the part. Mukesh is his usual pleasing self and shares a great on screen camaraderie with Mohanlal. Jagathy Sreekumar in the brief cameo is brilliant. Probably one of the best character actors in India today, Jagathy proves that it doesn’t always take a large role to leave an impression. Mohanlal in the title role is very convincing and brings back some of his old magic. Although the performance is not in the same league as some of his earlier films, I am thankful that he has come out of the “larger than life hero" image which was becoming impossible to bear with each passing film. Very rarely does a supporting actor steal the show from the lead actor and I think the movie belongs to Sreenivasan. As the obnoxious struggling star that steals the script to the superstar whom everybody loves to hate, Sreenivasan delivers as only he can. To call him brilliant would be an understatement. If as a scriptwriter, he is innovative, then he tops this with a superlative perfomance as an actor.
Don’t expect a masterpiece in UT; watch it just to convince yourself that good films are still being made in Malayalam although not with the same frequency as a few years back.
Comments:
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Srinivasan is my all time favorite. His portrayals of a bumbling simpleton is so convincing and hilarious. He has great timing when it comes to comedies and I for one hope to see him in many more films to come. I have seen UT and have enjoyed the movie very much.
excellent review. i have not seen the movie yet but will get the cd as soon as its out. I luv srinivasan. he has got that understated sense of humor, particulaly when he presents social issues with a flavor of sarcasm. he is probably the most versatile person in the mallu movie industry. I luv his acting, scripts and especially directing. I just wish he directs more often.
Nice post...I wanted to review the film but somehow never got around to doing it.I loved UT for Mohanlal's restrained performance. After many years, I feel Lal got a chance to underplay a character.Its sad Sreeni is getting older...he has begun to look his age...i wonder whether we will have a talent like him anytime soon in the industry.Did u feel Sreeni wrote this move with great effort and not his signature free flowing style? Roshan Andrews deserves praise for the care with which he crafted each scene.
My room mates tell me, "We would never have a hero who looks like that"; pointing at Srnivasan.
"Your loss", I tell them...
"Your loss", I tell them...
JITHU: Sreeni is indeed a genius. The best writers around in mallu, i must say.
SILVERINE: sreeni is among my favourites too. I guess the best films of his have been with Sathyan Anthikad. The best film of this combo was "Sandesham", a great political satire.
THENNAVAN: Thanks for Blogrolling me :)
MATTER_OF_CHOICE: Thanks for the compliment. Sreenivasan is definitely among the most versatile actors. I wish too that he directs more often. Just 2 films in about 25 years is a pretty bad ratio.
SACHIN: Thanks dude, hope you watch the film soon and I hope to see a review of this on your site :).
JIBY: Mohanlal has performed well and its come like a breath of fresh air for his fans. As for Sreeni, definitely he has written better scripts, but if he can give a nice film like this without a lot of effort, then I wonder what he might produce with more effort.
POORNIMA: Thats an apt statement to make. There arent many actors like Sreeni and there are definitely very few actors who look like Sreeni :).
SILVERINE: sreeni is among my favourites too. I guess the best films of his have been with Sathyan Anthikad. The best film of this combo was "Sandesham", a great political satire.
THENNAVAN: Thanks for Blogrolling me :)
MATTER_OF_CHOICE: Thanks for the compliment. Sreenivasan is definitely among the most versatile actors. I wish too that he directs more often. Just 2 films in about 25 years is a pretty bad ratio.
SACHIN: Thanks dude, hope you watch the film soon and I hope to see a review of this on your site :).
JIBY: Mohanlal has performed well and its come like a breath of fresh air for his fans. As for Sreeni, definitely he has written better scripts, but if he can give a nice film like this without a lot of effort, then I wonder what he might produce with more effort.
POORNIMA: Thats an apt statement to make. There arent many actors like Sreeni and there are definitely very few actors who look like Sreeni :).
Praveen, this is the finest piece till date that i have read from your pen... now i am convinced that i have to frequent this place more often... the wholre review reads very professional... keep them coming.
When I had gone to Tcr recently - my mom dragged me to the theatre to see this movie - it is a really nice movie
Same could not be said about the theatre i sat in - was dripping with sweat - thanks to the fact that it was a matinee and a non AC hall!!!
But I sat through it - speaks volumes of the quality of the film :)
Same could not be said about the theatre i sat in - was dripping with sweat - thanks to the fact that it was a matinee and a non AC hall!!!
But I sat through it - speaks volumes of the quality of the film :)
I also don't think UT is a masterpiece or anything! A good movie, nevertheless! I'd say the era of good mallu movies is back, with the new group of directors led by Roshan, Blessy and the likes. For Mallu cinema!
KRISHNAN: I am glad you got dragged and did watch the movie :).
NEIL: Yes, Blessy,Rosshan etc have made an impact and hope there are other promising directors around.
NEIL: Yes, Blessy,Rosshan etc have made an impact and hope there are other promising directors around.
For a movie the theme of which is piracy, it is certainly ironic that the plot itself is a copy of "The Big Liar" [I may have gotten the name wrong a bit, but the plot is a straight lift of from a hollywood movie]
Sorry.
Sorry.
Hi Praveen
Loved the review ! And loved the movie as well. Those scenes whr Srini starts his own pappadam / porotta business etc were hilarious. Somewhere along the way the narratve shouldve been more taut i thought tho'
And the climax..It is a lift of BOWFINGER ; starring Steve martin and Eddie Murphy. Well as the previous commentator said; its is ironical tht a film on script lift is lift itself
Well yes it is ironical!!But well it kindof fitted in the scheme of things..maybe we can 4give Srini for tht ;-))
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Loved the review ! And loved the movie as well. Those scenes whr Srini starts his own pappadam / porotta business etc were hilarious. Somewhere along the way the narratve shouldve been more taut i thought tho'
And the climax..It is a lift of BOWFINGER ; starring Steve martin and Eddie Murphy. Well as the previous commentator said; its is ironical tht a film on script lift is lift itself
Well yes it is ironical!!But well it kindof fitted in the scheme of things..maybe we can 4give Srini for tht ;-))
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