I had been toying with the idea of preparing a movie review of Aamir Khan’s Taare Zammen Par. Anyway I never got the oomph… to do that. So I decided to wait for the next inspiring thing to happen and it materialized last night. Some local cable network was telecasting the Kannada version of the Malayalam landmark movie Manichitrathazhu. Being a so called Malayali I should feel emotional and should feel the rush of blood in my veins. Surprisingly I did not have any emotional outburst. Malayalis themselves are so fragmented in their cultural identities that they least bothered about the word ‘culture’. The ‘Nair tea shop’ has become a universal illustration of this fact. Let me conclude my describing my cultural identity as an ‘assimilated one’.
Manichitrathazhu was a landmark in Malayalam cinema. It is also a significant movie in my life because that was the last movie we as a family watched together. The movie had a powerful script and a team of directors – who were the best from the Malayalam industry. The script was penned by Madhu Muttam. The directors were – Fazil, Priyadarshan, Siddiq Lal, and Sibi Malayil. The actors in the lead were Mohanlal and Shobana.
Manichitrathazhu was a landmark in Malayalam cinema. It is also a significant movie in my life because that was the last movie we as a family watched together. The movie had a powerful script and a team of directors – who were the best from the Malayalam industry. The script was penned by Madhu Muttam. The directors were – Fazil, Priyadarshan, Siddiq Lal, and Sibi Malayil. The actors in the lead were Mohanlal and Shobana.
The same movie was made into three other languages first it was the Kannada version starring Vishnuvardhan and Soundraya. The title of the movie was Apta Mitra
Then there was the Tamil version titled Chandramukhi starring Rajani and Jothika.
The latest version of the movie was Bhool Bhuliya starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan. I do not know whether they have attempted the same in Telugu.
Then there was the Tamil version titled Chandramukhi starring Rajani and Jothika.
The latest version of the movie was Bhool Bhuliya starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan. I do not know whether they have attempted the same in Telugu.
The point I would like to make is that all these three versions of the same movie has failed to do capture the charm and exquisiteness of the original. They are all a foiled attempt to do something. The creative seriousness that was there in the original is lost somewhere. I feel there were unpardonable compromises made on the casting and the special effects. They are all examples for future film makers on how not to make a movie. the remakes have failed in their attempt. They all became money spinning mechanisms rather than artistic attempts.
