Chanthupottu (2005) : A Controversy

                           Chanthupottu is a Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and released in 2005. It tells the story of Radhakrishnan, a man who was brought up by his grandmother as a girl and the social stigma he faces due to his mannerisms and his transformation into the traditional masculine hero beating up a bunch of people at a go..

The movie has become  a matter of discussion in the recent times in the social media. A movie released 15 years ago invoking discussions and analysis right now by itself shows the influence and the success it had made in the industry at the time of its release. The discussions surrounding it show Malayali (local community of Kerala) audiences' drastic change in thought processes and evaluation of movies as a medium of entertainment and also as a medium for propagation of strong ideas which evidently reflects in the changed formula of success of movies. It is safe to say Malayalam film industry can be regarded at high standards when compared to the Bollywood industry in this aspect. Kudos to the demanding local audience of the state.

Lets get down to the discussion

                                  The criticizers of the movie emphasize on the negative impression it can make in a viewer's mind on their approach towards LGBT community and to an extent, it has. The name 'Chanthupottu' has entered into Malayalam colloquial dictionary and since then it had been used to refer (or rather tease) to men with a feminine character or transgenders in general.

                                 The movie was a huge commercial success in 2005 running for over 125 days. It shows how the mindset of the majority audience was back then, who viewed Cinema as a means of pure entertainment without considering their political implications in the society. This meant that the society itself didn't care much about the feelings (might have cared but had never been voiced out loud) and the social status of transgenders or LGBT community as a whole back then. 

                                The Director of the movie, Lal Jose, had responded to the negative comments saying he had not committed any  mistakes and would stand by his work. He also retaliated saying such comments are an intrusion into his right to freedom of expression.

                                On the same note, the scriptwriter, Benny P. Nayarambalam, in an interview stated that he was still sad about how some communities perceived the movie and its subject. He also noted he never meant to target or hurt the feelings of any community intentionally.

                               Though it was bold of the Director (and the actor too) to portray such a never-before-seen protagonist in a movie, he failed to address the real problems of the people the protagonist represents. Rather, he had drawn out a caricature out of them, which itself, is an art. The movie didn't catalyze a perception of transgenders as a joke as such, it probably just marketed on the already existing mindset of the people. The director being from the same society might have created the movie intentionally to capitalize at the sake of the above said mindset of the people or might have never really understood the political implications of the same (which is very unlikely with a Director of his caliber and knowledge). 

                               The protagonist of the movie Radhakrishnan played by versatile actor Dileep is biologically a man with feminine mannerisms. Opening act of the movie show his birth and childhood. Being brought up by a woman might have led to his feminine mannerisms and he not really a transgender. This fact, to some extend justifies the director's take on the character and the journey of his life in the movie. The final act in which the character caves into the society's expectation from him and transform into the 'masculine' hero does send a wrong message. Ultimately, the movie is a product of deep seated patriarch-ism and a social stigma towards the LGBT community. 

Are the filmmakers really the culprit here? Is it the audience they address? or the society they live in?

                             15 years later, Chanthupottu is still being discussed on social media based on feminist ideas and concerns of the LGBT community. The fact that a movie such as this might not be a commercial success right now is definitely an indicator of how the thought processes and perceptive of the audience and society as a whole has changed towards such controversial issues. The reflection of this can be seen in movies like Super Deluxe, Moothon etc. 

Hoping for even more such Indian movies focused on liberation and empowerment of LGBT community.

Cheers!!!

Comment down your thoughts

Lokpal Malayalam Movie Review and Box Office Collection Report

         Lokpal is the first film of superstar Mohanlal that got released in 2013. Joshiy - Mohanlal duo is back after blockbuster Run Babby Run(2012). Also S N Swami is scripting for a Mohanlal - Joshiy film after quite a long gap of 22 years. This troi's last film was Naduvazhikal(1989) which was a blockbuster then. Lokpal is jointly produced by Ruby Vijayan and SL Vimal Kumar. The songs of the movies are written by Rafeeq Ahmed and are composed by Ratheesh vaga. The cinematography is done by cameraman Pradeep nair. The editing work is done by Syam Sasidharan. The movie is as well distributed by Aashirvad cinemas.

PLOT :
         Lokpal is a political action thriller led by Mohanlal as Nandagopal who runs a restaurant Nandoos Foodcourt. In cover he is also a social activist who fights corruption among social and political leaders and police officers.

REVIEW :
               Since this was a film that unites the trio Mohanlal, Joshiy and S N Swami after 22 years, expected a lot from the film. The film lets you down because of it's weak and pathetic script. S N Swami tries to deliver a thrilling script by producing Mohanlal in six different avatars but most of them doesn't thrill you at all. Mohanlal with utmost ease and conviction dons various avatars successfully.
             Veteran director Joshiy brings best out of Mohanlal to make Lokpal a watchable flick. The casting of the film is appreciable with good performances from each of them. Kavya Madhavan is pretty and delivers a fair performance. Meera Nandan hardly had few scenes to do and was disappointing. Manoj K Jayan, Sai kumar and Shami Thilakan has done justice to their respective roles.
            Pradeep Nair’s cinematography was commendable. Some of his frames, close-up shots, cutaways and camera works were watchable. Music by Ratheesh Vaga didn't create any waves as for Run Babby Run though the background score was extremely good. Editor Shyam Sasidharan's editing was suitable to the mood.

POSITIVES :                                            NEGATIVES :
-Mohanlal                                               -Story - Screenplay
-Cast Performance                                  -Dialogues
-Direction                                               -Meera Nandan
-Background Music                                -Climax

Rating : 2/5
Verdict : Average

BOXOFFICE :
             The film was released on 31st January 2013 in around 80 theatres all over kerala. The movie is receiving mixed negative word of mouth. The movie has already got thumbs down from the critics as well. As per trade reports, the satellite rights of the film was sold for 3.40 Crores.
             Last year if it was Casanovva, then it's Lokpal in 2013. The film which received an average opening has widely received negative word of mouth. But with powerful distributors like Max Labs the film is expected to be held in theatres for few more weeks.

First day collection of Lokpal is around 68 lakhs and there was a huge dip in collection in the subsequent days. With around 2,100 theatrical shows, Lokpal's 7 days collection is merely 1.80 Crores.

The movie ended up as a disaster and it's a great set back for Mohanlal, Joshiy and SN swamy. Mohanlal's next project is multi-starrer Red Wine and hopefully Red Wine will bring smile on Mohanlal and his fans.

Karmayodha Malayalam Movie Review and Box Office Collection Report

REVIEW :

                Directed by Major Ravi, Karmayodha starring Mohanlal is mainly meant for Mohanlal fans. This is the first time that director Major Ravi has got out of the military barracks to tell a story. Mohanlal has come up with yet another great performance with some good one-liners and fight sequences. Mohanlal as mad maddy successfully carries the burden of the whole movie. Mad maddy is brutal and uncompromising when it comes to dealing with criminals and perverted anti social elements, who treat women as commodities and objects of pleasure.  

               Casting seems to be imperfect whereas the villain was superb. Cinematography by Pradeep Nair is good. Music by MG Sreekumar didn't keep up the expectations. Background score by Jeffrey Jonathan is really appreciable.

              Karmayodha will not let you down like previous movies of Major Ravi. Theme of the movie seems good and realistic. Scripting could have been better with a better climax. The movie makes a promising start but towards the climax the film loses it's hold as things get predictable.Some sequences reminds us of the movie 'TAKEN (2008)'. 

             Overall Karmayodha is an average movie with many imperfections and primarily made for fans. Major Ravi should refine himself. 

POSTIVES :                                   NEGATIVES :

- Mohanlal                                     - Script - Predictable Climax

- BG score                                     - Presentation

- Dialogues                                     - Songs

- Theme                                                     

                                                     

                                                   

VERDICT : Average

RATING : leaving this stuff for you

BOX OFFICE :
      Karmayodha has released in highest note this Christmas i.e in 87 theaters. But the word of mouth doesn't seems encouraging. The satellite rights of Karmayodha was sold for whooping 3.8 Crores.

Karmayodha has collected 1.65 Crores from first 3 days.....Above Average Opening......Thanks to huge hype and the number of theater releases.
Karmayodha has collected 3.40 Crores in its 6 day run....In total 2,100 theater shows all over india....For the movie to be safe it has to collect around 7 Crores which seems to be impossible.
Karmayodha is estimated to have collected around 3.75 Crores in its opening weekend with a distributors share of 1.8 Crores.
Karmayodha is not expected to have a long run and the collections may fall more than 60% in its second week which will decide its fate.
The Christmas releases' race has shifted from Karmayodha and Bavuttyude Namathil to Bavuttyude Namathil and Da Thadiya.
Karmayodha has collected an approximate 4.30 Crores in its 13 days run. So far the theatrical show count has reached 4,250. Huge number of removals are expected in the third week. The current trend shows that Karmayodha won't reach 5 Crore mark.
Surprisingly, Karmayodha still holds up in 30+ theatres even after an average second week. The film got saved from a huge fall. With 5,200 shows, Karmayodha successfully grossed 4.60 crores in 20 days.
The huge hype and a good initial collection saved Karmayodha from a huge fall. The movie is expected to be an average grosser.



Related Posts :
Top 5 thrilling Introduction scenes of MOHANLAL

Top 5 thrilling Introduction scenes of MOHANLAL

Three decade long career, acted in more than 300 films and Mohanlal is one of the greatest actors ever produced by India. Even in his 50s, he is enjoying a huge fanbase all over kerala. Even in 2012, he had a blockbuster and a superhit in his credit. He was elected as most popular Keralite in a 2006 online poll conducted by CNN-IBN on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Kerala's formation.
I discussed with my friends, Mohanlal well wishers and fans to list the Top 5 introduction scenes from Lalettan movies.



1) Narasimham

                        Narasimham is considered to be an all time highest grossing movie in Malayalam Cinema when the collection is adjusted to inflation, considering the high increase in number of releasing theatres, ticket rates and money value. It stood as the highest grossing malayalam movie for over 6 years. The film completed 200 days in a theatre and 150 days in three theatres. The movie was directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith
                        Mohanlal's introduction in 'Narasimham' as induchoodan is an epic one. Lalettan craze spread all over kerala through this movie. Narasimham's english translation is Lion-man and the director of the movie visually synchronised footsteps of Mohanlal and a real Lion thus made it a wonderful visual treat.

2) Twenty20

                             Directed by Joshiy, Twenty20 will always be a special movie for malayalee film-goers as it brought almost every stars under the same platform. It is much more special for Mohanlal Fans since the introduction scenes of Mohanlal is a blow at Mammootty. As the movie progress there are many interesting encounters between them and finally Mammootty supports Mohanlal to end kinda revenge story in stylish manner. Upon it's release, Twenty 20 managed to break all the box office records. The movie was well received in Tamil Nadu as well. Twenty 20 is graded as an 'All time Blockbuster'

3) Sagar Alias Jacky

                          Sagar Alias Jacky is one of the much hyped movie in the malayalam industry. This action flick was directed by Amal Neerad who did the cinematography as well. The film was produced by Aashirvad Cinemas. It was the sequel of 1987 superhit movie 'Irupatham Noottandu' in which Mohanlal runs a clandestine gold smuggling business. In the Introduction scene, Mohanlal is disguised as Police superintendent preceding Dubai Police Force. The dubbed version of the movie was also released in Hindi.


4) Spadikam

  In Spadikam, Mohanlal is characterised as aadu thoma, sort of bad guy with habits like drinking the blood of goat. Spadikam was released in 1995, written and directed by Badhran. The film was well received by the critics as well as public and the film was a blockbuster.

5) Rajavinte Makan

                           I included Introduction in Rajavinte Makan without considering Naran, NattiRajavu etc because this is a unique one. It depicts the actual status, honour and respect we malayalees give to Mohanlal , our Lalettan - The Prince of Kerala. Rajavinte Makan is 1986 film directed by Thampi Kannanthanam and written by Denny Joseph. One of the earliest hits of mohanlal and it is this movie that turned Mohanlal into a superstar overnight. The film's racy script and hard hitting punch dialogues made the movie a huge success in boxoffice.

Some of the recent best introduction of Mohanlal is in Casanovva(including the song), Run Babby Run, Karmayodha etc

Mohanlal without makeup and hair wig

Have you ever doubt if Mohanlal or any other actor is wearing a wig?
That's true but the fact is that it is not just normal wig, it is called hair fixing.
'The Prince' is the last movie in which Mohanlal appeared without any wig. He has been using this hair fixing from the film 'Rakhta Saksikal Sindabad'.
Not only Mohanlal, most of the prominent actors in Malayalam (including Mammootty, Jayaram, Jayasurya, Kunchacko Boban, Prithviraj etc) and other film industries are following this technique. This sort of hair fixing is normal nowadays when actors having enough hair also uses it for stylish purposes.
          Hair Fixing is done by first of all shaving of the whole existing hair. Then a patch of hair particularly designed for certain shaped head are pasted on the head. This will stay on the head for a minimum of two-three weeks until the sticking property diminishes. This patch of hair will be exactly a look alike of the original hair.

Comparing the BIG M's - MAMMOOTTY and MOHANLAL

Top 6 Malayalam actresses without Make Up
Jugru Rocks - Best of Jugru from Philips and Monkey Pen 
Dulquer Salmaan Introduction Scene from Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi 

Top 5 Thrilling Introduction Scenes of Mohanlal - The Complete Actor

Mammootty and Mohanlal is considered to be the greatest actors in India. In terms of Acting caliber they are as good as the best in the world. They have been the backbone of Malayalam industry for 3 decades. All these years malayalees loved them and still now have a huge fan following varying from Teen to Old aged.

Everything you should know about Mohanlal
Everything you should know about Mammootty
 
.....................................................................................................................................................................
NOW a brief study of their acting career and judging them with the roles they have done :

Mohanlal is known to be inborn actor ,undoubtedly yes and its clear from his movies.Mammootty is criticized or it can be taken as plus that he isn't a natural actor. Mammootty answers the questioning of his acting capability through his award showcase.It can be noted that Mammootty gives different feel for each of his characters with variety looks and dialogue delivery styles.Some of his characters like Ambedhkar, Varunni ,Putturumees are examples. Mohanlal has his own realistic way of acting and it will be reflected in each of his characters. He manages each character with great ease and have got many appreciation from legends of all time.

LET US CHECKOUT A DETAILED CATEGORICAL COMPARISON :


COMEDY :
                         Mohanlal , he is undisputed king in comedy.His movies in 20th century are evergreen for its comedy.Movies of priyadarshan-mohanlal combo are just few examples. He rose into the current fame through Comedy. Everyone(including me) believed comedy won't go right with Mammootty.Lately he proved he isn't bad at all with few movies like rajamanikyam.


ACTION :  
                      Am totally confused.Leaving this to you guys.


ROMANCE :

                      Mohanlal has hundreds of movies in his credit.Even then there are some favorite characters done by Mammootty.
                 While Mammootty have been a family man in his movies, Mohanlal a romantic hero in their respective old movies.

SONGS :

                           Mohanlal's career is blessed with Classic Songs. Actually we malayalees are blessed :)
Mammootty's rakuyillin raja sadas is outstanding among his movies.


EMOTIONAL SCENES :


                    Vote goes to Mammootty.When he cries something really touches our heart.He has great ability in that. Valsalyam, Palunku, Poo Mukha Padiyil Ninneyum Kathu, Pappayude swantham Appoose, Karutha Pakshikal, Kathodu Kathoram, Mathilukal, Yathra and many more.
But I love the climax scene from chithram which is incredibly awesome.

VOCALS AND DIALOGUE DELIVERY :

                I will eagerly write an essay appreciating Mammootty's dialogue delivery skill. He is having wonderful vocals and best masculine voice in the industry. His dialogues in English are pakka.Compare the difference in dialogue delivery styles in movies like Mrigaya, Vidheyan, Ambedkar, Soorya Manasam, Kottayam kunjachan,, Ponthan Maada, Karutha Pakshikal, Dalapathy, Raja Manikyam,  Amaram, Mathilukal, Sethu Ramayaar CBI ,Pranjiyettan, Loudspeaker, Bus conductorChattambinaadu and..........
Mohanlal is at his best in Narasimham in the above category. Each dialogues had great impact - the way he delivered was unbelievable. And yeah his punch dialogues like 'nee poo mone dinesha' are all time trend setters.

NEGATIVE ROLES :
Mohanlal is better than Mammootty in the above category.


APPEARANCE AND STYLE ICON :

       Mammootty is damn hot in every sense.He was even selected as sexiest actor by a poll conducted by vanitha among its female readers.He is considered as Style Icon
by the present generation too.He is evergreen in his looks.Will u believe that Mohanlal is around 10 year younger than Mammootty.
Mohanlal has his own style.He recent best look is in chandrolsavam and casanovva. He looks best in mundu.


BEST INTRODUCTION SCENES OF BOTH :

            Mohanlal - Narasimham,Sagar Alias Jacky
            Mammootty - Best Actor, PokkiriRaja
Some more suggestions....

DANCE :

OMG....i hate when Mammootty dances and yeah most of malayalees.But the few steps from Best Actor were well choreographed and well picturised.
And of course I love the way Mohanlal dance.

Now its your turn to comment