On Rathinirvedam, published in The Hindu Metroplus on June 18
By Prema Manmadhan
As I entered the multiplex screening room, all eyes followed me to my seat somewhere in the middle. Wondering if I had forgotten some part of my attire, I looked around stealthily and suddenly, there was a Eureka moment. I was the only female in the packed cinema on the first day first show to see the remake of ‘Rathinirvedam'!
I realised that even in a multiplex, catcalls can happen.
The Bharathan-Padmarajan movie of the late seventies was BOLD in that age, when soft porn sold. But this was not soft porn. It dealt boldly with a topic not publicly discussed, that Padmarajan wrote sensitively about and Bharathan made intelligently.
Comparisons
The new ‘Rathinirvedam,' under the banner of Revathi Kalamandir, is directed by T. K. Rajeevkumar. Suresh Kumar (the man behind Revathy Kalamandir) also produced ‘Neelathamara', a remake, which Lal Jose directed. But its script was rewritten by MT to include the present too.
Comparisons are always unwelcome, yet, looking at what was a topical film in 1978, ‘Rathinirvedam', which is today, a period film, can be interesting.
‘Rathinirvedam' is P.Padmarajan's script all over again, with very few changes in the dialogues: the locale has been shifted from the hilly areas to the plains. One crucial change is that the young adolescent, played by Krishnachandran, with a tell tale moustache, and shorts, has changed to a young man, wearing either a ‘mundu' or trousers, whose clean shaven face gives away his age.
While Krishnachandran's new discoveries of life and the sexual awakening in his mind looked natural, for a chap who is older, that is, Sreejith, (though he gives of his best) it hardly looks natural. The simple reason is that in the script that Padmarajan wrote, the boy is younger, adventurous adolescence personified. That's why. All those capers that the boy gets involved in, is natural for a boy that age, but looks strange in an older guy.
Svelte Shwetha
A calendar in the hero (Sreejith Vijay) Pappu's room of the Dreamgirl, Hema Malini, pronounces the period loud. The sepia tinted credits, along with a handwritten letter on the sidelines, are a great opener. Shwetha Menon, svelte and big built, with lovely long hair, too thick to be realistic, has the come hither look of ‘Rathi Chechi' but her body language is urban and the dialogue delivery is not realistic. Cut to the first ‘Rathinirvedam' and Jayabharathi's ‘naadan' beauty, her natural behaviour and dialogue delivery. The half sari on Jayabharathi looked lovely, while on Shwetha, it is more of an appendage.
The Central Travancore dialect is best spoken by Shobha Mohan who takes the role of Pappu's mother, and of course KPAC Lalitha. She used to take a cameo role in most of her husband's films and played the hero's aunt then. In the new version, she plays the heroine's mother. She is the only artiste featuring in both.
Coming to the crux of the film: the climax that made the headlines then. In an age when the Net had not taken over our lives, it was a draw for young men of all shades. These scenes were crisply picturised, with emotions dominating. The pain in Jayabharathi's face tore your heart. In the new one, the scenes linger longer, but the result is not the same. Sreejith's performance in the last scene, after the climax, deserves much credit.
Padmarajan's script is tight and every dialogue and scene has a reason. Editing out some scenes and dialogues to shorten the movie will only harm the total effect. For instance, there is a drama scene. After that an incident happens, which plays a big role in how the hero's mind works later. This is edited out here in the new version.
The songs could have been better placed in the film. One is still awaiting T K Rajeevkumar's streak of brilliance in ‘Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu' to recur.
Showing posts with label Bharathan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bharathan. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Monday, November 30, 2009
Scripts, books and more (on John Paul)
(This was published in the Hindu Metroplus dated November 30)
What sets John Paul apart from many of his tribe is the ability to call a spade a spade in decent language, be it cinema or a book. He does not sandpaper over faults in bombastic euphemisms, neither does he even call them faults, but qualities that humans possess.
What would one choose to call him? A scriptwriter or a writer? Both hats suit him well. In the eighties, most good Malayalam cinema had one thing common: John Paul. Be it P.N. Menon, Bharathan, I. V. Sasi, Mohan, Balu Mahendra, K. S. Sethumadhavan, Fazil, Kamal, they all made movies with John Paul's story or script. Films like ‘Marmaram', ‘Kathayariyathe', this love affair with words, which started in the late seventies, continues in different avatars today.
“One MUST change one's attitude to cinema with the times. Reading the pulse of the audience is important,” says John, whose latest book on Bharat Gopi (‘Adayala Nakshatramayi Gopi', published by Green Books) is being released tomorrow. He did not have to do much research for this book, for his association with Gopi went back to ‘Palangal' days. This movie had Gopi playing the brother-in-law who coveted his wife's sister. “We would sit on the banks of the Bharathapuzha and talk about various subjects till the wee hours of the morn. There was a certain chemistry between us which lasted till the end. There was really no need for me to do much. This book was already within me, it just needed to be documented. His attitude to any role was so intense, taxing, that it would take a toll on his health. It was spiritual as much as it was physical. He always said ‘Every character is the first and last for me'.”
While doing the role of the tabala player, Ayyappan in ‘Yavanika', he told K.G.George that he did not know how to play the mridangam. “George told him, ‘but Ayyappan does'. And that was it. While shooting, he played as if in a trance, getting into the skin of Ayyappan's role, it was a sort of super reality,” remembers John.
John's earlier books on cinema and people he was close with like Bharathan, was honest and appreciated precisely for that, for not sensationalising the truth. That is not to say John has distanced himself from what he is best known for, scripting. His next movie, ‘Swapnangalil Hazel Mary' is directed by George Kithu. And that will be his 99 {+t} {+h} film! What about the 100 {+t} {+h}? “Maybe next year. There are a few ideas but nothing has been decided,” says John.
Passion for cinema
Though John's philosophy of life is very different from the present crop of filmwallahs, he has learnt to be take life as it comes. “For our generation, money was not the only aim. Cinema was a passion, it still is and we thrived on learning more and more about cinema, discussing cinema and making them as best as we could. We all helped one another. When Mohan's grandmother passed away, it was K. G. George who directed some scenes for the movie ‘Vida Parayum Mumbe'. That was the kind of relationship we shared.” Though John has not done a single script for K. G. George, he remains a very close friend of his. Teamspirit was also very strong in those days, he reminisced. Aravindan was someone who was unparalled in creativity, John says, who was a very strong influence.
The film society movement initiated John into tinselworld. Else how would the Economics post graduate who worked in a bank be in cinema today? The passion for cinema brought him close to many in the field. Once I. V. Sasi asked him to recraft the script of ‘Njan Njan Mathram'. And that was thespian Thoppil Bhasi's script. He was shocked. But he did it without changing anything. “I just rejigged it with 27 flashbacks and that was my first brush with scripts. Mankada Ravi Varma helped me a lot when I worked with him in my early days, in documentaries.”
Is a good script the ticket to a successful film? “No,” says the veteran scriptwriter. “No good script can be made into a good movie, unless it is directed well. Likewise, the very best direction cannot make a bad script into a good movie. I didn't say that, Kurosowa said it,” he says smiling.
There is a lot to be documented in the Malayalam film world, which will be lost if not done soon, John feels. He is busy teaching about cinema at various intitutions and says he is surprised at how much he enjoys teaching. At the back of his mind is a play, an academic play. On Thespis, who is credited with putting up the first play.
Prema Manmadhan
What sets John Paul apart from many of his tribe is the ability to call a spade a spade in decent language, be it cinema or a book. He does not sandpaper over faults in bombastic euphemisms, neither does he even call them faults, but qualities that humans possess.
What would one choose to call him? A scriptwriter or a writer? Both hats suit him well. In the eighties, most good Malayalam cinema had one thing common: John Paul. Be it P.N. Menon, Bharathan, I. V. Sasi, Mohan, Balu Mahendra, K. S. Sethumadhavan, Fazil, Kamal, they all made movies with John Paul's story or script. Films like ‘Marmaram', ‘Kathayariyathe', this love affair with words, which started in the late seventies, continues in different avatars today.
“One MUST change one's attitude to cinema with the times. Reading the pulse of the audience is important,” says John, whose latest book on Bharat Gopi (‘Adayala Nakshatramayi Gopi', published by Green Books) is being released tomorrow. He did not have to do much research for this book, for his association with Gopi went back to ‘Palangal' days. This movie had Gopi playing the brother-in-law who coveted his wife's sister. “We would sit on the banks of the Bharathapuzha and talk about various subjects till the wee hours of the morn. There was a certain chemistry between us which lasted till the end. There was really no need for me to do much. This book was already within me, it just needed to be documented. His attitude to any role was so intense, taxing, that it would take a toll on his health. It was spiritual as much as it was physical. He always said ‘Every character is the first and last for me'.”
While doing the role of the tabala player, Ayyappan in ‘Yavanika', he told K.G.George that he did not know how to play the mridangam. “George told him, ‘but Ayyappan does'. And that was it. While shooting, he played as if in a trance, getting into the skin of Ayyappan's role, it was a sort of super reality,” remembers John.
John's earlier books on cinema and people he was close with like Bharathan, was honest and appreciated precisely for that, for not sensationalising the truth. That is not to say John has distanced himself from what he is best known for, scripting. His next movie, ‘Swapnangalil Hazel Mary' is directed by George Kithu. And that will be his 99 {+t} {+h} film! What about the 100 {+t} {+h}? “Maybe next year. There are a few ideas but nothing has been decided,” says John.
Passion for cinema
Though John's philosophy of life is very different from the present crop of filmwallahs, he has learnt to be take life as it comes. “For our generation, money was not the only aim. Cinema was a passion, it still is and we thrived on learning more and more about cinema, discussing cinema and making them as best as we could. We all helped one another. When Mohan's grandmother passed away, it was K. G. George who directed some scenes for the movie ‘Vida Parayum Mumbe'. That was the kind of relationship we shared.” Though John has not done a single script for K. G. George, he remains a very close friend of his. Teamspirit was also very strong in those days, he reminisced. Aravindan was someone who was unparalled in creativity, John says, who was a very strong influence.
The film society movement initiated John into tinselworld. Else how would the Economics post graduate who worked in a bank be in cinema today? The passion for cinema brought him close to many in the field. Once I. V. Sasi asked him to recraft the script of ‘Njan Njan Mathram'. And that was thespian Thoppil Bhasi's script. He was shocked. But he did it without changing anything. “I just rejigged it with 27 flashbacks and that was my first brush with scripts. Mankada Ravi Varma helped me a lot when I worked with him in my early days, in documentaries.”
Is a good script the ticket to a successful film? “No,” says the veteran scriptwriter. “No good script can be made into a good movie, unless it is directed well. Likewise, the very best direction cannot make a bad script into a good movie. I didn't say that, Kurosowa said it,” he says smiling.
There is a lot to be documented in the Malayalam film world, which will be lost if not done soon, John feels. He is busy teaching about cinema at various intitutions and says he is surprised at how much he enjoys teaching. At the back of his mind is a play, an academic play. On Thespis, who is credited with putting up the first play.
Prema Manmadhan
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