Success and controversies are two peas in a pod, at least it’s the case with three of the big grossers in 2015. ‘Premam’, the romcom was no brain-teaser, but fluttered like a butterfly into the hearts of thousands with its quirky logo, even before it went on to rip the collection charts of the year. It courted controversy first over piracy of the censor copies, shrouding the censor board and many top guns of the industry under the cloud of suspicion. Later came the barrage of moral snubs pounding the movie for having a ‘negative sway over the youth’.
The anti-piracy cell of Kerala Police booked three student and three temporary staffers of the Central Board of Film Certification in connection with piracy.
The leak of the film had sent shockwaves across the industry after it was found that the leaked copy, which was available freely, carried the watermark of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Even the blame for the tragic death of a 20-year-old girl student at the College of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram, who was mowed down by a jeep driven by revelling students, was pinned on ‘Premam’.
DGP T P Senkumar, grabbing the moral mantel, had said that it was movies like ‘Premam’ which influenced students to be brash in college campuses.
In the pictures and videos which emerged from the CET campus, where the accident happened, boys were seen sporting the same attire as the lead character played by Nivin Pauly in the movie, a rough and tough college strongman wearing a black shirt and white dhoti, sporting a beard.
Ennu Ninte Moideen was an unusual love story told in a brilliant manner.
However, the real heroine had a different take on the characters on screen as she alleged the writer- director R S Vimal of tweaking her story without her consent. Kanchanamala, whose life story was adapted into the movie, did not go to the opening show and vowed not to watch the movie in the near future. However, the 75-year-old lady, who had a tragic romantic life, watched the film after actor Parvathy, the heroine, assuaged her.
Then came Bahubali, the biggest grosser in India. Just before its release, a section of the film exhibitors began an unprecedented strike by citing trivial reasons.
However, the film, which opened after a string of controversies, did well in the box office in two languages. It received the highest box office collection in the country from a single theatre in Thiruvananthapuram. The film reportedly collected `2.8 crore in 75 days and the Corporation is said to have received `58 lakh as entertainment tax.
In Trolls We Trust
Maybe there weren’t many laugh riots this year. But the announcement of state awards more than made up to it. As if the winners weren’t comical enough, Jury chair John Paul’s justification, or rather ‘reading’ of the performances, tickled many funny bones. His inscrutable language set Malayalam pundits scramble for cover. A social media blitzkrieg soon followed. Trolls thrived. Snipes, jabs, and barbs persisted with vengeance. But little did people know of the cavalcade of goof-up, which was soon to follow. Cinema Minister Thiruvanchoor wallowed in slip of tongues while announcing the award. How he managed to make every sound comical, only he will know.
The honourable minister was trolled big time. Troll sites worked overnight, burned all midnight oil, and churned out highly inflammable trolls.
On A New Role Play
Asif Ali debuted as a producer in 2015. He co-produced the Vinay Govind-directed (Kili Poyi fame) Kohinoor along with Sajin Jaffer and Brijeesh Muhammed under the banner ‘Adam’s World of Imagination’. The film, with an ensemble cast, had generated mixed reviews. However, the movie failed to make sweet returns on the revenue front.
Salim Kumar hit a purple patch with his role in Adaminte Makan Abu. It seems the national award for the best actor has put some ideas in his head. However, his good run has come to a stop and the actor had ventured into the directorial territory. His documentary on Pokkali cultivation caught the imagination of the public. But his feature debut on differently-abled children, Compartment, turned out to be a catastrophe forcing the actor to pull out the movie from theatres.
Naadirshah walked out on his shadow with the release of Amar Akbar Antony. The film not only raked in the moolah, but has launched the careers of the scritwriter duo Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Bibin George along with Naadirshah’s direcorial stint.
Aadu oru Beekarajeevi Aanu had generated a buildup as Om Shaanti Osana writer donned the twin role as script writer and director. The movie did not live up to the hype though.
Vinod Sukumaran Nair, the long-term associate of Shyama Prasad, had turned a director with the movie Haram. The bad run of Fahadh Faasil has rubbed off on the first-time director. Roping in Raadhika Apte didn’t help the matters either. The film’s ubersexual undertones failed to strike a chord with the Malayali audience.
off the beaten track
The International Year of Light saw experiments in the Malayalam industry as well. The much-hyped Double Barrel, the most expensive production till date in Mollywood, tanked in the box office. Be that as may, the ‘making’ of the movie was something new to the Malayali audience. The movie’s non-linear narration, unusual characters, the cock and bull story all added to the mysterious charm. The camerawork, though came off a little jarring, still managed to shock the lay audience but stopped short of amusing the lot.
Spoof? What? Well, Chirakodinja Kinavukal rendered the idea perfectly in celluloid. The Kunchakko Boban-Rima Kallingal starrer opened the fan-fiction genre in Malayalam industry. Directed by debutant Santhosh Viswanath, the movie breathes life into a spoof story Sreenivasan’s character narrated in ‘Azhakiya Ravanan’.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is the new daredevil in the town. Proof: he managed to bankroll his much-acclaimed feature film ‘oralpokkam’ through online crowdfunding. The film had a good run in festival circuits reaping awards and honours.
The expression ‘New Generation’ lost currency in 2015. Though many youngsters, both on and off screen, made waves through the year, the term failed to stick. The sensibilty attached to the term had turned tame.
Many Malayalam titles including Premam, Ennu Ninte Moideen, and Pathemari among others upended the English title trend, which became a rage a couple of years ago.
Bash Mohammed’s Lukka Chuppi had its share of experiments in the making. Shot almost in a single location, the ad man’s directorial debut held a lot of promise.
Basil Joseph’s ‘Kunjiramayanam’ saw the rise of a new director. The boy-wonder, with no film background whatsover, showed good control behind the camera. The efforts he put into the movie paid off in the box office.
The debuts of Sreebala Menon (long term associate of Sathyan Anthikad, Movie - Love 24X7), Preethi Panicker, Jenuse Mohammad (Director Kamal’s son, movie - 100 days of love), Mohsin Parari (KL 10), and R S Vimal (Ennu Ninte Moideen) leave a lot to look forward to,
Vinod Bharathan’s ‘Karma Cartel’, was shown across PVR through ‘Director’s Rare’ programme, blazing a new trail in the release of arthouse cinema.
On the actors’ front, Ottal, Kari, etc featured first-time actors. The response it evoked among the audience exposed the cracks in the actor-driven industry.
downers
The first downer was the over-hyped ‘Laila O Laila’ with the ‘Run Baby Run’ star troika- Mohan Lal, Amala Paul and Joshiy in the lead again. ‘Double Barrel’, a spoof on gangster movies was a commendable experiment but the mass had other plans. Though the director made a few cuts, it failed to save the the film from sinking. It may be ironical that that a film which had two successful lead actors bombed at the Box office. ‘Ivide’ by Shyamaprasad with Prithviraj and Nivin Pauly in the lead failed to make any impact, may be swallowed by the same day release of Premam. ‘Lord Livingston 7000 Kandi’, the third film by Anil Radhakrishna Menon too was a disaster, but the visual beauty stood out. Fahad Fazil continued his dud show with two major releases - Mariam Mukku and Haram - sinking without a trace. Mammootty’s ‘Ache Din’ failed to live up to its title. ‘Utyopiyayile Rajav’ by Kamal, touted as a political satire, too lost somewhere. While the first film directed by his son Janus had to content with ‘100 days of Love.’ The pair of Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menon had a blockbuster in OK Kanmani (Tamil) in the same period. ‘Love 24/7,’ which tried to narrate the life in the vernacular visual media, could not make any appeal to any class of viewers and ‘Life of Josutty’ from mega director Jeethu Joseph too could not live up to the expectations.
‘Satellite’ shocker
The dwindling rates for Sateliite rights came as a shocker to the industry. The restriction for availing telecasting rights imposed by Kerala Television Federation made a severe dent in the hotchpotch productions. Now, with the decision enforced, high-grosser films would get a higher rate from the channels, whereas the, low grosser movies will find no buyers.
boost for off-beat films
The initiative by the KSFDC Chairman Rajmohan Unnithan to provide screens for off beat films with limited shows as a package was well- received and lauded. Nine films got bigger wider reach and bigger screenings due to this policy. Thus, ‘Cr No 89’, ‘Asthamayam Vare’, ‘Kanyaka Talkies’, ‘Alif’, ‘Kaliyachan’, ‘Oralpokkam’, ‘Ottal’ and ‘Kari’, to its credit got a wider audience.