One of the very few original thrillers we had in Malayalam. Directed by Fazil, the star cast includes Mohan lal, Suresh Gopi, Shobana etc.
The Plot
The movie is about a haunted Bunglaw - Madampalli, where centuries ago, the ghost of a Tamil Court Dancer and the Ghost of the then Ruler was contained. The story goes that Ruler of the province brought in a beatiful dancer - Nagavalli from Tamil Nadu to perform in the court. She was hosted to spend her days at the Palace/Bunglaw (Madampalli) itself. Next to this Bunglaw, lived a man - Ramanathan(who was a quiet talented dancer himself) with whom Nagavalli fell in love. Their affair was very much discreet till one day the ruler finds out about this. The ruler (who is infatuated over Nagavalli’s grace and charm) doesnt want to give her away. So, He decides to murder her. After her death, Nagavalli’s soul lingers around the palace. So, a group of brahmin sorcerers are brought in who contain the spirit in the room(Thekkini Muri) where she used to live and seal it with a ’Manichitrathaazhu’. Thus locking her in for centuries to come.
Cut to present day, Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) the present heir of the bunglaw comes back from the city to his village to stay at Madampalli for some days with his new wife Ganga (Shobana). Ganga - a modern and educated woman shoos away all warnings of the elderly and breaks open the ’Manichitrathaazhu’ and opens the door of the ’Thekkini Muri’. With that starts a chain of bizzare incidents inexplicable within the boundaries of science. Nakulan being a rationalist decides that these incidents are actually pranks by his relative Sreedevi(whom he was supposed to marry as per nair customs). he believes that Sreedevi is mentally unstable and requests help form Dr. Sunny. Sunny is Nakulans buddy as well as a world renown pshyciatrist specialising in para-psychology.
Enter Mohan Lal (Dr. Sunny). What follows is a halthy combination of comedy, suspense and thrill as Dr. Sunny unravels the mystery behind the whole show. Other
Tidbits
Shot in the locations of Padmanabhapuram palace, most of the scenes are truely a treat for the eye.
A Telegu actor was brought in to play the role of Ramanathan.
All the songs in the movie are very good.
Shobana won national award for her performance in the movie.
Soon after the movie was released, a doctor from north india (dont really remember which place) came up with a claim that the story was stolen from a real life incident (a patient of his). But, this controversy died down soon.
NoteI watched this movie around 8 or 9 years ago. Just wrote the review as someone had requested for it. Hope it helps.