Vaanaprastham - Der letzte Tanz

I am luckier since I didn't miss Vaanaprastham the latest movie from Shaji N Karun when it was in box office.

The movie talks about the identity crisis of Kunjikuttan the Kathakali dancer facing in his life. Although he is accomplished dancer his family life is a failure. His wife advises his Krishana( his daughter) keep away from the Poothana because he is full of poison and it might kill her.

His character "Arjun" in "Subra arohanam" makes Subhra ( Shuhasini ) attracted towards him. Subhra breaks away later when she have a child in him. She tells " I Love the Arjunan Not Kunjikuutan". Kunjikuttan love and passion towards his son which in turn is a search for his identity makes him dance a beautiful love scene in Kathakali (Subhra arhohanam) with his daughter.

Kathkali dances performed in the movie gets slow, fast , violent, romantic and even ugly with movie!!!!!!!! As the other two shaji's movies(Pirvai & swam) it also have to tell a lot about father son relationship.

Vanaprastham was already told, reviewed, judged and all and it seems inappropriate to talk now. I went through the film some years ago and now without any reason, I want to revisit and that was the purpose for me. One thing with no compromise and no objection I can entirely see Kunjhikuttan and his each Kathakali character. The films blend in his character he performed as Arjuna but it begins with his shifting from female character and then other shift from Arjuna to a Villian character (kathakali character). Overall it is completely a shifting of Kunjhikuttan along with Kathakali characters to his behavior. Shaji N Karun, a well-crafted filmmaker who is so much cared about the assembly of all other flavors for the film. Especially the Cinematography, Music, etc are so peculiar and all are done by the Veterans.

A very good movie, that rarely occurs in Indian cinema. A striking aspect about the movie is its cinematography. All the colors associated with the dance form KATHAKALI were shown in their true form, giving that real, authentic look to the movie. Hats off to Santhosh Sivan and Renato Berta.

The story is about a Kathakali performer(this is a dance form, where performers enact a play or story from mythology), who is the illegitimate son of a higher caste brahmin. From birth, he is refused his right as a son to his father(although the father secretly prides his son who is a rising Kathakali performer). He has a discontented family life(with an unhappy wife), parallel to his rising Kathakali career. In the midst of all this he happens to meet Subhadra during one of his performances, who is enamored by the character that Kunhikuttan plays, Arjuna, and not Kunhikuttan. An affair ensues, and Subhadra gives birth to Kunhikuttan's son. But now that the magic of his performance is over and Subhadra gets to see the real, exhausted Kunhikuttan, and not the character that he played, Arjuna, she disavows him and refuses him to see his own son. Kunhikuttan was refused his right as a son, now he is refused his right as a father. What ensues is best watched, with all the agony the protagonist feels in him, depicted so powerfully, yet subtly by the performer who reverts from hero characters to negative ones...

One very important part that made this movie memorable was the stellar performances given by everyone in the movie. Mohanlal as Kunhikuttan has performed so well(and shown his CALIBRE), that i wonder, why hasn't he got the respect that is due to him? He is one of the best performers i have ever seen in cinema, although his talent has rarely been tapped. A terrible waste... Suhasini as Subhadra is also a treat to watch(as expected). All other actors in the movie have contributed in their own respect to make this movie WORK.

And last but not the least. The director has performed so well, that you don't feel his presence in the film at all. Shaji N. Karun has given us a very good movie.

P.S. I would have given it a 10 had it not been depressing.

About a week ago I saw the movie "Vanaprastham"...........

The movie has been with me for over a year now.....but I did not watch it because I thought it to be a slow movie depicting the poverty of Kathakali artists..........and I could not find the mood to watch that film............

But somehow one week ago I watched it...........and oh God, what a movie it was.............one of the best movies ever in Malayalam........actually in my opinion, one of the best movies I have ever seen in any language..........it stands a class apart from an average Indian movie..................hats off to Shaji N Karun, Mohanlal and Zakeer Hussain for his soothing background score...................

From what I knew, even some of the serious movie watchers have failed to watch this movie.......may be because of the similar attitude, I do not know......I seriously urge anyone who wants to see a good movie to see this movie if you have not yet............

The movie is about a Kathakali artist Kunjikkuttan portrayed by Mohanlal.........but the director is showing the life of an artist in that movie, be it a Kathakali artist or a painter or a movie artist, whatever........Kathakali is just a setting...............The name itself speaks about the movie........"Vanaprastham"............it is one of the four ashrams of life........."Brahmacharya" "Grihasthasram" "Vanaprastham" and "Sanyasam".............the movie portrays the different stages of an artist........................evolution of an artist, may be you can call it that way................

To me the stand out performances have been from the director Shaji N Karun himself, the great tabala maestro Zakkeer Hussain who composed the background score and the acting legend Mohanlal..............hats off to the director for making a complex storyline such as this into a movie which never bores the viewer...........not even for a second..........that is the main success of this movie.........It grips you from the start to the very end like in another world..........a world of Kathakali.........a world of art.......................and when the movie finishes, it haunts you....................the characters never fade..........they are still with me, every scene is being replayed over and over again in my head..........

The background score by Zakkeer Hussain plays a big part in setting the mood..............the music is really gentle and soothing..............what should I say........heavenly, may be

The supporting artists are also good......................the likes of Suhasini and Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar have done a great job........................but the real star of the show is Mohanlal himself................he made the character "Kunjikkuttan" alive....................I could feel him walking, breathing..........I did not at any time feel that there was any sort of acting going on...................there are some instances in the film when Mohanlal, being in the Kathakali Chutti makeup had to act with his eyes only................and oh, my God.........that was simply amazing...................Mohanlal is surely one of the greatest if not the greatest actors ever to have walked our planet earth............

The movie did win many awards including the best picture and best actor award and best editing award also in the national film awards....................the movie was greatly critically acclaimed but I do not think it was that much appreciated by the common folk, ie, us..........It is really sad actually...........................It is actually movies like Vanaprastham that should get popular acclaim instead of the unrealistic movies that we all love because we want to enjoy rather than appreciating reality.............................Really sad, really.

Do people view cinema as an art form?...you cannot give a definite YES as an answer.....But, Watch Vanaprastham and you simply cannot resist calling it a wonderful piece of art. The movie belongs to the forgotten era of art that affects you. And the effect is so pleasant and elevating, that the movie is sure to stay with you forever if you can appreciate it. Like a book you will remember for your lifetime, like a painting that you can never erase from your mind, like a song that comes to your head at least once a day, everyday.

The director has blended Kathakali and Indian Mythology into the storyline like milk and honey and the product is a treat to the senses. No words to describe Zakir Hussain's score and Santosh Sivan's camera..They just elevate the movie to a totally different level. The message that Dance is a form of self-expression has been very elegantly and poignantly told in the film, yet, there is a subtlety about every aspect in the movie that gives you something more in each and every frame than what actually is conveyed in each scene. The actors are tailor-made for their roles, with Mohanlal giving an almost flawless performance. He plays the role of Kunhikuttan with the right body language, emotions and expressions. He is impressive in those scenes where his dialogues are few because the actor knows just how to speak with his facial expressions. Suhasini as Subhadra is perfect with her performance.

The movie does not have a narrator yet you can sense a mute voice narrating the life of Kunhikuttan. This is primarily due to the acting and the Background score which deserve a lot of acclamation. After watching the movie you sense a deep heavy feeling which leaves a lasting impression on you. The story can very well be summed up in a line, but it is a lot more. The movie is slow-paced and rightly so because it also tells you that nothing happens suddenly in life. There are always a series of events leading to every minute of your life. And the life of Kunhikuttan is explained thus. At the end, you cannot help but wonder at the poignant performance, the message you never knew was being sent and yet you perceive all this in a span of 2 hours. One of the best movies ever to be made in India !!