Chariots of the Mind: Part 1

The anthology Manorathangal revisits MT Vasudevan Nair’s timeless tales, blending nostalgia with uneven execution in its cinematic adaptation.

Anthologies play a big role in highlighting the unique vision of a director. In fact, more than a single film. When you see multiple films as a part of a larger whole, you tend to compare. And the differences in visions become much more stark. Unfortunately, this means that anthologies don’t work. They can’t; because they are already at a handicap.

This is the endeavour that has no parallel, at least in Malayalam. You have the doyen of Malayalam literature, the who’s who of performers, and bunch of active directors who have never directed any of his works. It has been awaited by a lot of people for the better part of a decade. Finally, it is here. How does it fare?

Manorathangal or Mindscapes is based on MT Vasudevan’s short stories. I intentionally didn’t read any of the stories before seeing the films, as I wanted to experience the final product, instead of trying to find the differences between the stories and the films. There are nine films, from eight directors. Showrunner Priyadarshan directs two.

Olavum Theeravum (Ripples and the River Bank)

Golden rule of anthologies: Do not start off with the worst one. 

This was the only film that I went to knowing the story. That was because I had recently watched the movie version from 1970 starring Madhu that is commonly acknowledged to have started the art film movement in Malayalam. 

Bapputty (Mohanlal) travels a long way across the river to deliver the news of his friend Abdu’s death to the latter’s mother Beevathu (Surabhi Lakshmi) and sister Nabeesu (Durga Krishna). He falls hard for Nabeesu. Knowing that he needed to make some money before marrying her, Bapputty decides to undertake a perilous journey transporting timber across the river in the middle of the rainy season. In the village, Kunjali (Harish Peradi), a rich man, also has his eyes set on Nabeesu.

Priyadarshan decides to shoot Olavum in black and white, for some reason. He gets ace cinematographer Santhosh Sivan to assist in this endeavour. There are a lot of extreme close-ups, which look good on HD, but which also highlight how terrible Mohanlal’s wig is for the character.

There was a time when Mohanlal could disappear into almost all of the characters he played. Unfortunately, not anymore. Among the performances, Surabhi stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Olavum is in black and white except for some red bangles, which show up in unnatural crimson. All adds to how the whole thing feels really unrealistic. 

Kadugannawa, Oru Yathra Kurippu (Kadugannawa: A Travel Note)

You should not agree to replace Lijo Jose Pellissery.

When the project was first announced, one of the most intriguing segments was the one LJP selected. Some reports mentioned that it was not from a short story, but from a travelogue. It was quite exciting to imagine Mammotty playing MT. And Lijo had become one of the most unique voices to come out of Malayalam cinema for a long time. 

Unfortunately, that dream did not materialize. Venugopal (Mammootty), a veteran journalist, gets a chance to visit Sri Lanka for a conference. He wants to travel to the distant town of Kadugannawa. Through a series of short flashbacks, we see how the land plays an important role in Venugopal’s childhood and the relation with his father (Vineeth). A small childhood toy connects the past to the present.

Mammootty completely deglamorizes himself to get into the role of the common man. Sri Lanka has been part of our myths and history. MT’s story shows how what is considered to be a distant land actually is more like us than we know; how the people are just like us.

As a story, Kadugannawa does not offer anything new, other than the locale. Ranjith is an excellent scriptwriter with some of the most famous movies of the 90s to his credit. He became a very efficient director in the 2000s. But his heydays are definitely behind him. He brings nothing unique to the story. Something, LJP definitely would have.

Kazhcha (Vision)

There is nothing wrong with a completely feminist viewpoint.

I read that the initial plan was to make the anthology with all stories being women-oriented or from a woman’s gaze. That changed later. Kazhcha is probably the strongest reminder of the original plan.

Sudha (Parvathy Thiruvothu) works in Chennai. She earns a living as an accountant, but is passionate about singing and her programmes are occasionally shown on TV. She comes home to visit her mother. The news of her marital problems has already reached the small village. Sudha listens to the expected admonishments and advices, but also gets support from the most unexpected quarters. 

Shyamaprasad is a director who did not fulfil his early promise. Agnisakshi, which came out in 1999, remains his most famous work. Here, he takes a short story that is built around Virginia Woolf’s concept of ‘A Room of One’s Own’ that is a cornerstone of feminism and independence for women.

He weaves a story around a woman’s need for independence, but takes a muted approach. There are multiple timelines, but the non-linearity seems more like an accident than intended. One is left with a feeling that this could have been a much more powerful film than what it finally came across as.

Shilalikhitham (Inscriptions)

Sometimes, one needs second chances.

One may never find out how Priyadarshan ended up directing two segments. Maybe he is filling in for someone who pulled out at the last minute. Maybe he bullied his way to two credits on account of being showrunner. Maybe he accepted the showrunner role only after being offered two segments. Maybe he was specifically requested to by MT after seeing how well Olavum Theeravum turned out! Anyway, Shilalikhitham gives him a second chance to prove himself after Olavum.

Gopalankutty (Biju Menon) is a history professor who came with his daughter Renu (Nila Bharathy) to evaluate and tabulate some recently uncovered stone inscriptions. Since the location was near his family home, he decided to spend a couple of days with his mother (Shantikrishna).

While there he hears the news that the body of a young woman had been found at the riverbank. It was presumed to be suicide. Turns out there is history between the girl’s family and Gopalan’s family. But has too much water flown under the bridge?

Shilalikhitham is right up MT’s wheelhouse. You see family dynamics, an ancestral house, secrets in the family and characters who could be you or me. Priyadarshan shies away from theatrics and makes the kind of movie he would have in 80s; if he were a different type of filmmaker and he was working off MT’s script.

Biju Menon and Shantikrishna are more than efficient, but debutante Nila surprises in whatever small screen time she has. There is one part of the movie that I found hard to believe and that was how people reacted to the discovery of the dead body. I know people can be cruel and they are capable of indifference on a psychopathic scale. But this seems a little out of believable bounds. 

Shilalikhitham is not the best of the anthology, by any stretch. But its success lies in it not claiming to be that. 

Vilpana (The Sale)

Dialogue matters 

Sunil (Asif Ali), a young man, sees an ad about a garage sale in the paper. He wants a typewriter that is listed and goes in search of the house. He meets Gita Parekh (Madhubala) a housewife who is planning to relocate with her husband to a different city. The two get talking as other buyers also come to check out the items of sale. Mr Parekh, who put up the ad, is nowhere to be seen.

The story is quite extraordinary as it takes on multiple interpretations. The ennui of a lonely housewife who seems to have finished living her life, how a piece of furniture would mean the end of a life for some, but the beginning for another; or is it actually dreams that are being sold, and not furniture? There is a deep connection that forms between the two of them. Is that based on pity or envy or is there a semblance of sexual attraction?

The house, with its many rooms and varied furniture, becomes a character of its own. Asif Ali is his effortless self. Unfortunately, that is one of the problems. Considering that the movie is essentially a two-hander, the naturalism of Asif’s performance jars with that of Madhubala.

Best known to Indian audiences as Mani Rathnam’s Roja, she looks fabulous. But her performance is very stilted. Whether it is an attempt to bring her out as a Malayali born and brought up in another land, or bookish dialogues written for her or the unfamiliarity of the artiste dubbing for her, there is a layer of artificiality around the performance and that completely distracts the viewer from the complexities of the storyline.

Ashwathi S Nair, a well-known dancer and the younger daughter of MT, was the one who came up with the idea of the anthology. She makes her directorial debut with Vilpana. She gets the atmosphere right. The location, as I mentioned before, is perfect. She will definitely get better with more projects. After all, she has the best teacher.

To be continued…..