MALAYALAM CINEMA -A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

Cinema is the popular art form that has proved itself to be a good entertainer and a strong means of mass communication in Kerala since the last century. It has the elements of different art forms including architecture and sculpture in it.

Moreover, Malayalam films have their own existence in Kerala and is the most popular form of art enjoyed by the masses. Hence cinema has its own influence on their culture.

The viewers in Kerala enjoy the films while comprehending the reality in it. They possess a high degree of insight and intuition and distinguish reality from fiction in the themes of experimentalism. Malayalam Cinema has contributed much to the creative and critical analysis sectors of Malayalam literature.

Kerala has a very rich art and cultural background. Its films are unique in several aspects. Unlike the other linguistic films, which have started off taking themes from the Puranas, Malayalam films have taken relevant social issues as its theme from the beginning.

The Beginning


The first cinema hall in Kerala was established in Trichur by K.W.Joseph in 1907 and it had a manually operated film projector. The first electrically operated film projector too was established in Trichur by Jose Kattukkaran in 1913 and was called the 'Jose Electrical Bioscope'. Soon such cinema halls were established in other major cities of Kerala. At the initial stage only Tamil, Hindi and English films were exhibited in these theatres; it was, however, Tamil cinema, which dominated Kerala. The Malayalee audience welcomed Tamil films because of the cultural similarities between the two states.

The first Malayalam movie was released in 1928. It was a silent film titled Vigathakumaran, produced and directed by a businessman, J. C. Daniel who had no prior film experience. However this film was a commercial failure . The second film Marthanda Varma, produced by B V Rao in 1933 was based on a novel by C. V. Raman Pillai. But it was never released due to some legal issues.

Balan released in 1938 was the first talkie in Malayalam. It was produced at Chennai (then Madras) in the neighbouring state of Tamilnadu by S Nottani . Malayalam movies continued to be made almost exclusively by Tamil producers till 1947 when the first major film studio, Udaya was established in Kerala. With this more Keralites entered the field of films.

The progress of production of Malayalam films was very slow during the next few years. One film each was produced in 1940, 1941, 1948 and 1949

Successful Malayalam Cinemas of the Early Period
Jeevithanouka (The boat of life)
Jeevithanouka (1951) was a turning point for Malayalam cinema. This highly dramatic musical film, which narrated the story of ego clashes in a joint family, was mainly directed towards the women audience. Jeevithanouka was a huge success, and can be considered as the first 'super hit' of Malayalam cinema. Thikkurishi Sukumaran Nair, an actor from the stage, became the first 'superstar' of Malayalam cinema after the success of the film. But this success had also an adverse effect on Malayalam cinema. Films that were produced after Jeevithanouka were made according to this success formula, and nothing creative was seen for a long time. Superstars took over the driver's seat and directors were forced to the background


Neelakuyil
Neelakuyil (The Blue Cuckoo)
Through Neelakuyil (1954) Malayalam cinema for the first time had an authentic Malayalam story. The story for Neelakuyil was penned by renowned Malayalam writer Uroob and directed by the duo of P Bhaskaran and Ramu Karyat. This melodramatic film dealt with the issue of untouchability in the society. Satyan and Miss Kumari were elevated to stardom after the huge success of this film. Malayalam film music which till then were cheap imitations of Hindi and Tamil film music, also came up with original Malayalam tunes through this film. K Rghavan arranged the lyrics written by P Bhaskaran. The music scored for the movie was to a great extent influenced by the Malayalam folk music and the tunes were an instant hit among the masses. This was also the first Malayalam film to be shot outdoors. Neelakuyil heralded the arrival of a mature Malayalam cinema on the Indian film world.




Newspaper Boy (1955) was the reflection of neo-realism in cinema, which became popular all over the world. This film was a result of extreme hard work by a group of college students. P Ramadas, who was totally new to cinema, directed newspaper Boy and almost all technical works were handled by amateur students. This film was released a few months before Satyajith Ray's classic- Pather Panchali hit the silver screens. Newspaper Boy narrates the sad story of a printing press employee and his family reeling under extreme poverty. He dies of extreme poverty and illness, which forces his children to stop their education. His elder son Appu leaves for Madras in search of a job. Failing to secure a job there, he returns and decides to take up the job of a newspaper boy.

The Growth: 1960s
After the success of Neelakuyil, films with authentic Malayalam stories set in the backdrop of Kerala villages, started arriving. Minnaminingu directed by Ramu Karyat and Rarichhan enna Pouran by P Bhaskaran were noted films produced during the late 1950s. Takazhi Shivashankara Pillai's famous novel Randidangazhi was also seen on the silver screen.
In 1961 Kandam Bacha Coat, the first full-length colour film in Malayalam was released and was an adoption of a famous social drama. Bhargavi Nilayam (1964) directed by A Vincent is a notable film of this period. This was a cinematic adoption of renowned Malayalam writer Vykom Muhammad Basheer's novel. Vincent also directed some of the best films of early ages like Murapennu, Nagarame Nandi, Asuravithu and Thulabharam. Irutinte Athmavu directed by P Bhaskaran, based on M T Vasudevan Nair's story, gave a new face to superstar Prem Nazir, who till then was seen only in romantic hero's role.


Chemmeen
Chemmeen (Prawn)
Chemmeen (1965) directed by Ramu Karyat was the first South Indian film to bag the President's Golden Lotus Award for the best film. Based on a famous novel with the same name by renowned Malayalam writer Takazhi Shivashanakara Pillai, Chemmeen pioneered the growth of Malayalam cinema in technical and artistic aspects. It brought together some of the best technical talents then available in India, Salil Chowdhari (music), Markes Burtly (cinematography) and Hrishikesh Mukhargee (editing). It also had a huge star cast.

Post-Chemmeen Era

Ramu Karyat
The post-Chemmeen Malayalam cinema arena saw an upsurge in quality films, mainly based on literary works of some of the best writers of Kerala. After Chemmeen, Ramu Karyat directed Ezhu Rathrikal which narrated the story of the down trodden. The renowned Malayalam writer M T Vasudevan Nair made his film debut by writing screenplay for Murapennu. Directed by A Vincent, Murapennu was a landmark film. Oolavum Theeravum by P N Menon announced the revolutionary changes Malayalam cinema was about to witness in the early 1970s. A new generation of filmmakers who realized the uniqueness of the language of this medium, ventured into a different kind of cinema.

The Malayalam New Wave



Adoor Gopalakrishnan
The growth of film society movement and the screenings of world classics forced a drastic change in Malayalee film sensitivity during the early 1970s. A new movement often termed as the 'New Wave Malayalam Cinema' or the 'Malayalam Parallel Cinema' emerged. Adoor Gopalakrishnan made his first film Swayamvaram in 1972, which made Malayalam cinema noticed at International film arena. G Aravindan through his Uttarayanam in 1974 accelerated this radical change in Malayalam cinema.
Another major stream of Malayalam cinema that appeared during the 1970s, which was a synthesis of the highly commercial popular cinema and the parallel cinema from which the masses always stayed away, was the 'middle-stream cinema'. These films, mainly from directors like K G George, Padmarajan and Bharathan, had meaningful themes but had popular forms of presentation and had influenced a generation of film viewers.

Golden Age of Malayalam cinema


Most critics and audiences consider the period from (late 1980s to early 1990s) as the golden age of Malayalam cinema. The Malayalam cinema of this short but beautiful period is a culmination of the malayali ethos and south Indian life. It is characterised by detailed screenplays, excellently directed by master-directors, dealing with everyday life with a lucid narration of plot intermingling with humor and melancholy. This was aided by brilliant cinematography and lighting as in motion pictures like Perumthachan (1990), directed by Ajayan with Santosh Sivan as the cinematographer. While the movies were made expressive with warm background music by composers like Johnson, as in the motion picture Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal (1986) directed by Padmarajan.
Many of the movies released during this time narrowed the gap between art cinemas and commercial cinemas in the Malayalam film industry, as in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989). These were paralleled with movies like Kireedam (1989) directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Lohitadas, Mathilukal directed by Adoor gopalakrishnan (1989), 'Amaram'(1991) directed by Bharathan and 'Sargam'(1992) directed by Hariharan.
The period had an abundance of movies rich in creative humour from directors like Priyadarshan, Akkare akkare akkare (1990) and Sathyan Anthicad, Nadodikkattu (1987). The era also saw well crafted comedy by the Duo Siddique-Lal, (Ramji Rao speaking (1989)) and In Harihar Nagar (1990). Other notable contributions of this period include His Highness Abdullah (1990) directed by Sibi Malayil, Piravi (1989) by Shaji N. Karun, Abhayam (1991) directed by Sivan, and the motion picture Daisy (1988) an expressi

Malayalam cinema in the first half of 1990s
Later movies followed in the essence of the golden period but lacked in freshness. However they still stand out for their brilliance in storytelling and appeal. These include 'Bharatham' (1991) by Sibi Malayil, Kaalapaani (1996) by Priyadarshan, and the award winning 'Manichitrathazhu' (1993) by Fazil. 'Sphadikam' (1995) directed by Bhadran was well received by the viewers as was 'Desadanam' (1997) by Jayaraaj. Some works stood out as strong in evocative power reminiscent of the earlier period, like Swaham (1994) directed by Shaji N.Karun the first malayalam film entry to the Competition in cannes international Film Festival in 1994.

Current Scenario (late 1990s - mid 2000s)

Shaji N Karun
After the early 1990s the quality of Malayalam cinema declined. Partly due to the arrival of satellite digital television and film piracy and partly due to the changing interests of the audience. The movies in current period is largely nonsensical comedies primarily aiming at large scale entertainment without much artistic message. These movies include Meesamadhavan (2002) by Lal Jose and Kunjikkoonan directed by Sasi Shankar (2002). However notable exceptions to these were the motion pictures Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala by Srinivasan (1998) and Vanaprastham (1999) directed by Shaji N Karun. Also Narasimham the highest-grossing Malayalam movie as of 2005 was relased during this period, in 2000.

Here comes the place for Jayaraj who acts double role in Direction as at the same time when he receive national awards by running in the tracks of Art films, he makes sincere try to set new trends in malayalam cinema by directing films like “..For the people”.

This is the period where two sequels of previously notable movies came out Mohanlal's Ravanaprabhu the second part of Devasuram and Mammotty's Sethuramayyar CBI the third part of Oru CBI Dairykurippu. Udayananu Tharam, a blockbuster and a trend-setter, was jointly released by the Mohanlal and Sreenivasan.

This period witnessed the migration of Malayalam film technicians to participate in other language films. Among them were Priyadarshan, Santosh Sivan, Sabu Cyril, Ravi K. chandran, Sreekar Prasad and others

Music

Yesudas
In the initial years, the lyricists used to write songs according to the tunes of popular Hindi and Tamil songs. However, the arrival of popular poets like P. Bhaskaran (1950), O.N.V. Kurup (1955), Vayalar Rama Varma (1956) and brilliant music directors like V.Dakshinamurthy (1950), K. Raghavan (1954), G.Devarajan (1955) and M.S. Babu Raj (1957) on the scene changed the scenario.

This welcome trend was followed by poets like Sreekumaran Thampy and Yusaf Ali Kecheri. Among the early playback singers were Kanukara Purushothaman, K.P. Udayabhanu and A.M. Raja. Popular female playback singers included P. Leela, Santha P.Nair, P. Susheela and Janaki.

Even though A.M. Raja, P. Susheela and Janaki hailed from Andhra Pradesh, Malayalis had no hesitation in accepting them as Kerala's own singers. Later on many such singers from outside Kerala, like Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and S.P. Balasubramanian lent their voice to Malayalam films. Even music directors like Naushad, Usha Khanna, Ravi Bombay and Ilaya Raja from other states composed music for Malayalam films.

The uncrowned king of Malayalam playback singers, Yesudas, continues to be the most popular singer of Kerala even at the age of 58 and has, in fact, become a living legend.

Now with the new hip shaking music, Jassie Gift is a passion among the young bloods.

Eminent Directors














Adoor Gopalakrishnan who appeared on the scene with Chitralekha Film Society, directed the film "Swayam Varam' in 1972. Later, he made 'Kodiyettam', 'Elipathayam', 'Mukha Mukham', 'Mathilukal', 'Vidheyan', and 'Katha Purushan', which won national and international acclaim.

Aravindan was another important film director, who started his career with the film 'Utharayanam'. His other films'Kanjana Seetha', 'Thampu', Kummatti', 'Esthapan', 'Pokku Veyil', and 'Chidambaram' also won universal recognition.

M.T. Vasudevan Nair's directorial venture 'Nirmalyam' won national honours. Most of the films scripted by him were masterpieces, like 'Vaisali', 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha', 'Perumthachan', and 'Parinayam'.
I V Sasi entered the film industry by directing a small budget film with Ummer as the lead, Ulsavam (1975), which became a commercial success. He continued this success in most of his later films, Angadi (1980), Ee nadu, Meen, Trishna (1981), Mi>Ragam, Anubandham (1985), Vartha and Avanazhi (1986) being some of his notable films.

Fazil is considered as the biggest money-spinning director of present day Malayalam film industry. He started his career with the film Manjil virinja pookal, which introduced Mohan Lal who later became a super star of Malayalam cinema. Ente Mamatikuttiammakku, Nokatha doorathu kannum nattu, Pappayude swantham Appus, Aniathipravu and Harikrishnans are some of his commercially successful films.

Balachandra Menon, who entered Malayalam cinema in the 70s is miraculously surviving even today, and has even won a National Film award for best actor. Menon makes his films almost single handedly, looking after direction, editing, writing, music direction and so on. Tharatu, Kelkatha shabdam, Karyam nisaram, Samantharangal and Krishna Gopalakrishna are some of his major films.

Srinivasan who entered the cinema industry as an actor later proved his talent in writing screenplays and also direction. The two films he directed, Vadakkunoki yantram and Chintavistayaya Shyamala could be considered among the best commercial films ever produced in Malayalam. These films had in-depth study of middle class family relationships and also human psychology.

Now it is Mr. Blessy doing the trick and his two films yet has given his own identity. His two pictures, kaazhcha and Thanmatra are big hits. And he is writing a new formula to invite the family to the cinemas.

Among other important film directors are Padmarajan, Bharathan, Shaji N. Karun, Sibi Malayil, K.G. George, T.V. Chandran, K.R. Mohanan, Lenin Rajendran, Pridyadarshan, and John Abraham

Actors and Actresses

Prem Nazir
Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair was a father figure of Malayalam films. He was a script writer, lyricist, director and versatile actor. The heroes who ruled over Malayalam film kingdom were Sathyan and Prem Nazir. Raghavan, Sudheer, Vincent, Sukumaran and M.G. Soman came later. Some of the popular heroes of the present day are Mohan Lal, Mammutty and Suresh Gopy, Jayaram and Mukesh . Among the earlier notable heroines were Padmini, Madhu, Ragini, Sheela, Sarada and Jaya Bharati. Then came Ambika, Menaka, Manisha, Sobhana, Manju Warrier and Divya Unny.

There has been no dearth of brilliant character actors and comedians in Malayalam films. The very concept of romantic hero was shattered to pieces by the appearance of Gopi as the hero in 'Kodiyettam'.

Governmental Support

The State Government has instituted annual film awards, and provided concessions in the form of tax exemption for deserving films, and subsidy and package programmes for films shot in studios. The State-owned Chitranjali Studio has all facilities. A State Film Academy has just been started to help the film industry in the State.

Central Board of Film Certification and the National Film Archives of India, Pune, have their Regional Offices at Trivandrum. The Films Division and the National Film Development Corporation also have branch offices at Trivandrum. The State Government owns three theatres in the capital city and a few in other towns.

In addition to the Kerala Film Chambers, film artistes have an association called 'AMMA' and film technicians have an organisation called 'MACTA'. These organisations look after the interests of the film industry in Kerala. There are a number of popular journals in Malayalam.

National Recognition







Some of the best films in India have been produced in Malayalam. National awards for the best film were won by 'Chemmeen'(1965), 'Swayamvaram' ( 1972), 'Nirmalyam'(1973), 'Chidambaram' ( 1985), 'Piravai' ( 1988), and 'Kathaporushan'. Malayalam film actors P J Antony, Balan K Nair, Gopi Premji, Mammutty, Mohan Lal, Suresh Gopi and Balachandra Menon have won national awards for best acting, while Sarada, Monisha and Sobhana bagged best actress awards. Yesudas, Jayachandran and Chitra have won best singer awards and Vayalar and O.N.V. Kurup , best lyricist award at the national level. Aranmula Ponnamma, Santha Devi, Nedumudi Venu and Tilakan have also won national awards in acting. Best cameraman awards were won by Santhosh Sivan, Mankada Ravi Varma and Venu while Sound recording awards were won by Devadas and Krishna Unni.

Children's films like 'My Dear Kuttichathan', 'Kummatti' 'Manu Uncle' and 'Kochaniyan' have won national awards. The awards for the Best Director were won by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Shaji, T.V. Chandran and Jayaraj.

Many persons working in this field are men of eminence. Prem Nazir was a recipient of Padma Bhushan Award and Thikkurissai had received Padma Sree. Padma Sree was also conferred on Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Gopi, O.N.V. Kurup, and Mammutty. M.T. Vasudevan Nair is a Gyan Pith Award winner. Even though Cable TV has made strong inroads in Kerala, the number of theatre audience has not shown any significant decline. Malayalam films have come a long way since 1928 by providing wholesome entertainment and meaningful cinema to its viewers.