I had stopped seeing Malayalam movies after the industry started spewing out a series of superman-superhero movies during the last couple of years or so. There were some crude attempts at comedy too, which didn’t appeal to my tastes much either. We had a festival holiday during the last week of August and I, out of sheer boredom/exhaustion of working from home, plunked myself on the couch to watch a movie – after a lot of surfing through Malayalam channels, I chose the best movie being aired. Oh boy ! have I ever chosen so right ? Mazha was a real treat.
The Movie “Mazha” means rain in Malayalam. The film is based on a novel, ”Nashtappetta Neelambari” by the controversial Malayalam novelist Kamala Suraiyya a.k.a Madhavikutty. The name for the novel was taken from the raga “Neelambari” which is the favourite of the female protagonist of the novel.
Cast, Credits
Character: Star
Subhadra a.k.a. Bhadra: Samyuktha Varma (for the info of non-malayalis, she is the Julia Roberts of the Malayalam movie industry and was recently in news after being detained in a US airport for suspicious behaviour)
Chandrasekhara Menon: Lal (he is a director-turned-actor, usually cast in the roles of an anti-hero/villain)
Ramanujam Sastrigal: Biju Menon
Director: Lenin Rajendran
Music: Ravindran Lyrics: O.V.Usha
Cinematography: S Kumar
The Plot The movie begins with teenager Bhadra getting infatuated with her music teacher Sastrigal. Her creative talents for poetry start to flourish, under his influence. But then the usual villains in Indian movies appear – the parents. Her parents whisk her off and he is obliged to marry a village belle. Next we see Bhadra becoming a doctor (like her father) and married to Chandran, a well-off computer engineer. Chandran happens to see her diary one day and the relationship goes for a toss. Of course, there are no names in the diary. So he goes off to doubt every male in her life – including the elderly senior doctor (played by Thespian, Thilakan). He becomes a victim to his drinking and dies of related illness. Bhadra sets out in search of her old flame to Madurai where she discovers that Sastrigal also has lost much – his wife is a basket case by now, and the final shock is when she finds out that he has lost his beautiful voice to cancer too.
Highlights Lenin Rajendran is known for making “different” films. Mazha is a welcome departure from his usual style of direction. He is successful in bringing out the best in the three stars. Samyukta’s award-winning performance in the movie is a treat to the eye of a connoisseur. She lives as the character. Lal is at his best as Chandran and really comes out with the dark side he is known for. Biju Menon as the restrained lover also gives a great performance. Thilakan and Urmila Unni turn out a good performance. The music of the film is melodious, the lyrics are just fabulous – a lot ghazal-like. The cinematographer is very successful in catching the mood of the film – be it the tranquil villages of Madurai or the hustle and bustle of the city life.
The Bottomline This film is for the movie-goer who is on the look-out for substance.