Yesterday Manu and I headed off to PVR Cinemas expecting to get tickets for Mohanlal's movie Casanovva. It was not the expectation of seeing a good film that made us look forward to getting the tickets but it was to have a good laugh at the club song 'Hey Manohara Theerame' in the movie and many other gimmicks. Both of us are not anti-Mohanlal but in fact, we are hard-core Mohanlal fans of the 80s and the 90s. So when we compare his recent movies, we tend to reminisce the amazing characters he portrayed back in the 80s and the 90s and wish for the same only to be disappointed with the movies he has been associated with lately. Why does Malayalam cinema have to ape Kollywood and Bollywood? Of course, at the moment, I am being quite unfair by assuming that Casanovva would be a disappointment without seeing the movie or reading the previews and reviews. However, this post is not a movie review on Casanovva so let me get back to the point and not digress further.
We were misled by the 'Now Showing' poster of the movie Casanovva and realised later that the movie was yet to release. (We are movie buffs but not to the extent of keeping track of the dates of movie releases!!). Determined to watch some movie, we decided to watch an English movie called The Descendants. The fact that it got 5 Golden Globe nominations and Oscar nominations was an added plus to look forward to the movie. As the title of this post suggests, this is neither a movie review on The Descendants.
After the movie got over, we stepped out and as usual, I asked Manu for his feedback about the movie. He agreed with me that the movie was interesting and engaging. But he did not feel that George Clooney's acting deserved a nomination for Best Actor. He asked me, "Don't you think Mohanlal had plenty of movies where his acting skills have truly surpassed George Clooney's back in the 80s and the 90s?" Of course, this thought is only regarding George Clooney's performance in the movie The Descendants. Manu felt that Will Smith would have done justice to the role. I too agree on this.
Probably if Malayalam movies like Deshadanakkili Karayarilla, T. P. Balagopalan M.A., Gandhinagar Second Street, Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal, Nadodikkattu, Akkare Akkare Akkare, Yodha, Manichithrathazhu, Pakshe, etc were promoted globally, these movies would get a wider audience and who knows, these movies would have got a nomination at least. Then comes the question - Why do Malayalam movies have to run behind the Golden Globes and the Oscars? The only reason that comes to my mind is that in doing so, it would receive much deserved critical acclaim on a global scale just like many other foreign language movies. Malayalam cinema is a special genre in itself. Nothing should change that.
3 comments:
Agree! Malayalam movies are a whole world apart from mainstream movies and deserve to remain unpolluted as far as possible. But then again, there's a huge audience for authentic foreign language movies, viz Old Boy (Korean),Pan's labyrinth (Spanish). I can imagine that a lot of Malayalam movies have immense potential.
Then again, I haven't met any foreigner who likes Malayalam music. It's probably an acquired taste, just like our movies, and our love for Mohanlal ;)
Agree! Malayalam movies are a whole world apart from mainstream movies and deserve to remain unpolluted as far as possible. But then again, there's a huge audience for authentic foreign language movies, viz Old Boy (Korean),Pan's labyrinth (Spanish). I can imagine that a lot of Malayalam movies have immense potential.
Then again, I haven't met any foreigner who likes Malayalam music. It's probably an acquired taste, just like our movies, and our love for Mohanlal ;)
@sundaytango
Well..that is my point...there is no publicity for these movies in the first place so how is anyone gonna even know about Mal music??
Post a Comment