Subramanian A

Such films are very fresh even now. Raghunath Paleri- Sreenivasan- Satyen Anthicaud. A terrific comedy film of 1988. With Innocent and Jagathy adding booster doses to the comedy along with Krishnankutty Nair, Sankaradi, Mamukkoya and Oduvil, the flavour was beyond our expectation. Many scenes are ever cherished. A film woven in the rural background was an instant success. Can we ever think a goldsmith presenting his lover with 10 sovereigns of necklace as a mark of their love? But, it was capitalised by the lover and her parents and she got married to another man who was a Gulf import. But, there happened an anticlimax towards the end which formed the crux of the film. View the film for your own finding of it.

The film depicts the downfall of Melur Kovilakam - royal line of family - in various ways. The central character, Godavarma Thampuran is played by Atoor Bhasi. Being basically a comedian, such serious roles could not be imagined of Bhasi but, he could meet the challenge with ease and grace and more than our expectations. This is the basic highlight of the film. Of course the film is star studded but, of all, Bhasi and Kaviyur Ponnamma are simply outstanding. A Vincent, the director, has produced a marvellous film.

To plan about such a theme and to make it into a stunning film with enough sense of humour packed into it- I don’t think that other than Srinivasan, nobody else can really think about or venture. Srinivasan is really a genius in many aspects. Even now, I prefer to watch his old films for the sheer joy of entertainment. Subramanian A. Retd SBI official.

Balachandra Menon is a class director who directed so many crowd pulling films. His films contained social messages told in a humourous, satirical way, in a sense of cryptical metaphors. He could handle all the segments of film making in a single handed manner. He is really a talented film maker. All the new male/female faces he introduced in his films later on became reckoning stars. Only a few can claim such a credit. His films were never missed by me in those days. Wonderful era was it indeed.

A film with a message. A womaniser too has his day. This is the message. The theme is told in a humourous way. This is the highlighting point. With Mukesh, the humour is very natural throughout the film. Maniyan Pillai Raju, Innocent, Kalpana and Siddique add flavour to that humour. The film can hold the audience throughout.