Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja

Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja--WOW!!!..Brilliant movie

About the move: No words 2 describe such a magnificent piece of work....It's a masterpiece....Superb movie....Very diff 2 find any -ve points...Malayalam cinema coundnt be better....every aspect of the movie is mind blowing...

Direction was excellent...hariharan took such a pain 2 make each scene so perfect...Now the script from M.T....wow!!!hats off 2 M.T sir who gave such a wonderful script...Dialoges were superb & meaningful...

Among the cast everyone rocked...Sarath kumar was brilliant...his best performance ever...Manoj.K.Jayan & padmapriya coundnt have been better...Suresh krishna,Suman,Jagathy all wer good...

Now coming 2 the mega star.....Mammooka...Wat 2 say about ikka...no words 2 describe his performance...He was absolutely perfect...He lived the role...dialoge delivery was exceptional...During the last 30 min of the movie he rocked.....No 1 could have done it better...Chance of another national award...Climax scenes were so great...Wat a feel the movie has.....Mamukka was simply awesome......

Rating : 9.5/10 Mamukka: 101/100 MT- 10/10 Hariharan - 10/10 Sharath kumar - 10/10

Must watch movie...please don't miss it...

The long anxious wait is over and the classic movie Pazhassi Raja has released in all the major theatres with much enthusiasm.

The Hariharan – MT Vasudevan team is back with their historical venture with Mammootty at the helm. Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha was a novel venture and Pazhassi Raja can only heap laurels on the makers for their creative endeavor.

Mammootty has proved once again that he has more mettle than anyone can vouchsafe for. Mammootty with his royal looks and majestic voice shows us why he is considered as the best in Indian Cinema. Tamil actor Sarath Kumar is a pleasant surprise and Manoj K Jayan is back with a bang. The manliness of these three characters is a novel sight for the audience. Kaniha as Pazhassi Raja's wife Makkam, Suresh Krishna as Kaitheri Ambu, Lalu Alex as Emman Nair, Captain Raju as Unni Mootha add to the meaning of the cinema. So also Peter Evans as Major James and Harry Key as Thomas, the representatives of the East India Company deserve special credit for their performance

With the music by Ilayaraja and special sound effects by Resul Pookutty, which is very evident in the war scenes, the movie is a treat for movie lovers. This film is technically several notches above the standard fare offered in Malayalam cinema. It would not be an exaggeration if we say that it is comparable to the best in Indian cinema.The camera work by Venu and Ramanath Shetty give the film a sleek look. The action sequences remind us of the internationally acclaimed Chinese martial art movies of recent times like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero.

Gems like these happen only once in a while and when it does, never give it a miss. Two big thumbs up for this masterpiece of our times!

I have to say, I was taken by surprise. Something as Grand and Majestic as this could pop out of Malayalam film industry!! I am proud, being a Malayali myself. I loved it.

The movie begins with the British's decision to take heavy taxes from the local people under the Rajahs. Pazhassi who belonged to the Kottayam Royal family of Thalassery region oppose this and becomes the first ruler to resist them and fight it out. Pazhassi who is forced to flee from the his palace starts a carefully planned counter action, with the aid of Edachena Kunkan(Sarath Kumar)and Kaithery Ambu Suresh Krishna). He gets the full support from the kurichiers and tribal people headed by Thalakkal Chandhu( Manoj K. Jayan) and Neeli(Padmapriya) who fights the British using Guirella Warfare tactics. British faced heavy setbacks in various confrontations. Though Pazhassi was able to surprise the British with his tactics, traitors like Pazhayaveedam Chandhu helps the British in the later part of the warfare and capture each of Pazhassi's men.

Mammooty has given a graceful & effortless performance as Pazhassi Raja making him as Humanly as possible. Sharath Kumar gives us an electrifying performance as Kunkan with his machismo and sword fights. Kaniha, on the other hand, could have done better. I wasn't very impressed. Padmapriyas character maybe(I am not sure) first of its type in Malayalam films. She has handled it well and so has Manoj K. Jayan with his Thalakkal Chandu. Lalu Alex, Captian Raju, Thilakan..etc all of them have done a fine job. Its the English actors who really sucked. They should have put more professional actors. The cinematography was simply brilliant, capturing the beauty of Malabar Region. The sets and costumes and the lighting were excellent, simulating that bygone era on the silver screen. The music score by Ilaiyaraja is magnificent. The direction was good and so was the legendary M.T.'s script. The war scenes were impressive, except for the gravity defying stunt scenes.

Overall Pazhassi Raja is a great flick to watch. 9/10

For a Mollywood cinephile, there are quite a few reasons to watch Pazhassi Raja .Not only that it is made in the biggest budget ever in Mollywood, it is also an offering from the masters of the media, including Mammootty, M T Vasudevan Nair and Hariharan. Moreover, there are a plenty of other great names including Rasul pookuuty, Ilayaraja, Sharath Kumar and a plenty of others whose credits itself demand interest. Above all, it is the first visual rendering of the most fascinating epoch making struggle of the great leader, against tyranny and oppressions of the British.

Expectations are obviously sky high. And the question is whether it has lived up? And the big answer is 'yes'. The movie is indeed a masterpiece, which grab your attentions from the word go, taking the acceptable cinematic liberties to keep your attention all through, though in a story that everyone knows very well. Set in the final years of seventeenth century, the brilliant writer in M T has taken extreme caution to avoid the complications in narrating history. He goes by the safer path , concentrating more on pazhassi and his men and just giving out the necessary touches of historical facts .And thus the movies gallops over the first barricade of just being a realistic historical.

The movie begins with the Britisher's decision to levy heavy takes from the local rajahs. Pazhassi who belonged to the Kottayam Royal family of Thalassery region oppose this and becomes the first ruler from the state for British, to be branded as a big enemy to fight it out. Pazhassi who is forced to flee from the his palace starts a carefully planned counter action ,with the aid of his trusted lieutenant Edachena Kunkan, Sharath Kumar, Kaithery Ambu (Suresh Krishna). He gets the full fledged support from the kirichiers and tribes headed by Thalakkal Chandhi and Neeli who fights the Britishers wit Guerrilla warfare , with tribal weapons .British face heavy setbacks in various confrontations and as many as five hundred from British army are killed in fight with Pazhassi. Though Pazhassi was able to surprise the British with his tactics and bravery, traitors like Pazhayawvedam Chandhu helps the British to gain momentum and capture each of Raja's men.

The movie shows the grace of its great names in many a points and it is sure without an expert team of technicians like this, it's just impossible to execute a movie of this magnitude. In terms of visual and creative terrain that this movie covers, the big salute must be given to Rananath Sheety and Venu's mind blowing Camera-work, Ravi Dewan's action direction, splendid costume and art direction by N Muthuraj . The only aspect that could have been better include Ilayaraja's music and background scores, though songs like'' kunnathe'' are gems which may once again give the desi nightingale ''Chithra'' another big accolade. And some have craved for some more brilliant dialogues form M T, to be planted on the megastar's character.

Coming to the performances, Mammootty has given a restrained performance as the graceful raaja, but his screen presence and body language is s enough to carry the heavy character with ease. The director also seems to have decided to keep the central character more manly, without heroic build-ups until the last reels. Sharath Kumar comes up in a surprise package, with fantastic heroic looks and emotes well and gives some great action sequences. It is definitely one of the best roles ever by the Tamil Star. Manoj K Jayan and Suresh Krishna, along with Padmapriya and Kaniha, make the movie a treasure of performance with exhilarating performances.

Overall, Pazhassi Raaja remains as a great movie with brilliant direction, solid performances spectacular visuals. Never miss it, of you will be missing a classic, a brilliant tribute to the first freedom fighters who fought a valiant battle realising the inherent death, but to safeguard their honour and their land.

Even if there was hype, this movie was also an underdog movie because: Everyone including me thought how can history movies be successful in this modern day? How can Hariharan and mt make film for audiences of today? How will the audience sit for 3+ hours? How can it ever be bigger than OVVG?

Except for the fans, a lot of others were very negative about the film.

BUT

I was breathless. How did they make this? I don't think there is a need for telling the story. There is nothing to prove for Hariharan mt. they are legends. They have made zero budget movies without stars (like Nakaksatangal) to prove it. But the beauty gets bigger when the canvas gets bigger. Great Script.Supreme direction by the ace director. Great cinematography Great art direction. Great music. Great everything.

Like what I said before Hariharan is the grandest part of the movie because- -the locations are super. He deserves an award just for finding such spots. -the takings are really majestic and thrilling.Truly a masters touch. -the determination and will to make one movie for three years in forests. -his casting is spot on. Not one character is out of place. He got the best performances out of his actors. -he managed to co-ordinate stars, hundreds of junior artists and technicians very well. There is not a doubt that his job was the toughest in the film to set the right atmosphere and also to make them act, successfully transporting us into the period.

Next points about MT: -This is a special script from the master. It is amazing how he managed to accommodate all the actors and give them equal importance in the script. A lot of people are complaining that there is no layered subtext or dimension or characterization like ovvg. I think they are fools. Ovvg is a story with which mt and Hariharan could bend it any way they wanted. The characters in Pazhassi are people with one sole aim- freedom, how much more can you add depth to that? Mt has lot of limitation. Even then mt has put a great family angle to Pazhassi.

-in my opinion this is one of Hariharan's and mt's best works considering how they have so far managed to satisfy the mass and the class (even to satisfy one of the two categories is something the current young generation is struggling to do)

Mammootty: He can be proud of the fact that there is NOT ANOTHER HUMAN BEING IN THIS WORLD WHO CAN PLAY PAZHASSI RAJA! -A lot of people are criticizing him now but trust me this is one of his career best. The Pazhassi raja you see is not the talkative Chanthu. He is the man who speaks more with his silence and his eyes. Hariharan and mt have done the opposite of OVVG and it will take time for people to acknowledge Mammuka's performance.

SARATH KUMAR: Hariharan has extracted the best performance of Sarat Kumar's life. He has an author backed role which is commercially more likable as the loyal army chief.

Manoj,Padmapriya and Suresh Krishna are really rocking too. Supporting cast was all good. Devan, Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy, and the foreigners were all great.The most impressive in the foreigners is Baabar and his exchange of looks with Pazhassi in climax was out of the world. The Major is also notable.

Sound and BGM: Rasul has done a great job overall. But I don't think that he is at his best in the movie. Sometimes there's too much noise and on second viewing I noticed that, some sounds( like the sarath stabbing Suman sound) is almost laughable. It's cartoon like.

Cinematography and art direction: Both have worked well on enhancing the director's vision although the camera work sometimes is inconsistent and blurred(maybe projector problem).

Next Gokulam Gopalan: It is no mean task to spend 25 Cr for a Malayalam movie. And there is no safer bet than the Hariharan mt combo but still you have to appreciate the raw guts of this man to stand by his team when so many obstacles came their way.

This is a film which is the product of great research from mt. And hard work, creativity and will power of Hariharan.

Hariharan is really the backbone as it is a very visual film. Flop Films like BLUE (100 Cr +), Kanthasamy (50 Cr+), etc. have proved that with great power… comes greater responsibility…we can be proud that we have our own classic big budget director. In these times when film makers fail to keep our attention even for 10 minutes, these two have made us gape at the screens for 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Pazhassi is actually a low budget war film. Hariharan deserves a lot of credit to make 25 Cr seem like a lot more. This is like 1/100th of the cost of a Hollywood film to put it lightly. Gladiator was approx 103,000,000.00 USD

This film is special because it has broken all the rules, trends and instilled a sense of patriotism in every audience member.

A Timeless & Priceless commercial classic