Chithram

Nostalgic Lalettan Classic despite the sad ending. I love the name Vishnu as it suits Lalettan in his younger days. Nedumudi Venu as Kaimal is not too bad. I think Vishnu and Kaimal are somewhat of rivals in this movie, at least in the beginning since we see them not getting along. I think Vishnu has a fair reason as to why he pretended to be Kalyani's husband. Despite doing it for the money, it was for a noble cause. Kalyani and Vishnu are initially feuding with each other but they do fall in love eventually. My favorite parts of this movie are the songs Paadam Pootha Kaalam and Eeran Megham. I also like the Lalettan fight scene with Sreenivasan and Shanavas. My least favorite part is MG Soman's introduction as he appears to be menacing. The scene that I hate is where Soman hits Lalettan to the ground after the chase scene in the woods. Vishnu is an escaped convict but there's a backstory as to what made him that. MG Soman is the prison warden. He is married to Revathy (Lissy) who is a mute dancer in the movie and they couple have a child. One night, Vishnu discovers a man seeing her behind his back and he assumes that she's having an affair with him. He attacks the man and picks up a knife which he accidentaly kills Revathy with. Vishnu and Revathy had a child together and the child was to undergo a surgery and the treatment was expensive. That's why Vishnu escaped from jail, to make money for his child's treatment. I don't think Vishnu should've been charged with murder because the death of Revathy was an accident over a misunderstanding. A manslaughter charge would be more reasonable along with imprisonment for a small number of years. Vishnu didn't deserve the death sentence as it's a very harsh punishment given the situation. I feel like MG Soman is cold hearted and emotionless. His presence haunts us viewers and he's scary looking both on the inside and outside. It's incredible as to how Vishnu and Kalayani were able to hide the fact that he was an escaped convict from Kalyani's father but it was for a good intention. The last scene where Vishnu asks the warden if he could acquit the death penalty makes me want to cry. The entire climax makes me want to cry also. Even though Lalettan is smiling in the last scene, it's still sad to see taken away to be killed :(. Despite that, I still think this Lalettan Classic is a masterpiece and will be for years and generations to come.

Chithram (1988) : Brief Review -

A screwball Rom-Com of 30s Hollywood meets bitter facts of Life to form a Timeless Malayalam Classic. Chithram has been considered as one of the finest romantic drama of Mohanlal and Priyadarshan's careers by their fans but is it really a Romantic Drama? Or is it really even a Rom-com? The answer should have been No but seems like that Malayalam audience of 80s wasn't aware of 30s & 40s Hollywood Classics. Indian TVs wouldn't show those Hollywood films then so it was obvious and considering the regional limits of global cinema viewing makes this equation completely irrelevant. For me, Chithram is more easy film review in 2021 that too after seeing almost 1000+ old Hollywood classics because i understand those tactics and know those cliches which were formed almost 50 years before this film was released. I won't name any Old Holywood classic to avoid the comparison but i could feel that Screwball Formula all over while watching Chithram. A woman hires a stranger to pose as her husband because she doesn't want her ailing father to know that her fiance broke their engagement. Well, it doesn't end like those happily ended films to leave audience smiling. Instead, it brings some bitter facts and mistakes of life to leave audience with a stunning reality-check against the mainstream entertainers. The film is not funny actually, i don't know why people even call it a comedy. I'd better say it's an engaging rom-com with sweet and adorable cliches. Mohanlal, Ranjini and Nedumudi Venu are best performers in the film. Dialogues are decent, screenplay is very nicely shaped, music is good and direction is immensely dedicated. Priyadarshan dares to go for a climax which he would know that family audience may not accept but sometimes a gutsy attempt brings you more success than expected. Chithram is prime example of that. Overall, a Classic Drama with no expiry date.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Despite doing it for the money, it was for a noble cause. Kalyani and Vishnu are initially feuding with each other but they do fall in love eventually. My favorite parts of this movie are the songs Paadam Pootha Kaalam and Eeran Megham. I also like the Lalettan fight scene with Sreenivasan and Shanavas. My least favorite part is MG Soman's introduction as he appears to be menacing. The scene that I hate is where Soman hits Lalettan to the ground after the chase scene in the woods. Vishnu is an escaped convict from prison but there's a backstory as to what made him that. MG Soman is the prison warden. He is married to Revathy (Lissy) who is a mute dancer in the movie and they couple have a child. One night, Vishnu discovers a man seeing her behind his back and he assumes that she's having an affair with him. He attacks the man and picks up a knife which he accidentaly kills Revathy with. I don't think Vishnu should've been charged with murder because the death of Revathy was an accident over a misunderstanding. A manslaughter charge would be more reasonable along with imprisonment for a number of years. Vishnu didn't deserve the death sentence as it's a very harsh punishment given the situation. The last scene where Vishnu asks the warden if he could acquit the death penalty makes me want to cry. The entire climax makes me want to cry also. Even though Lalettan is smiling in the last scene, it's still sad to see taken away to be killed :(. Despite that, I still think this Lalettan Classic is a masterpiece and will be for years and generations to come.

The story unfolds thus:Kalyani is in love and wants to marry the guy. But when her father who is abroad knows about this, he disagrees and threatens her that he won't give her a penny if she marries the guy. Kalyani however decides to go ahead, but when her boyfriend realises that she has been disinherited, dumps her. But problems soon arise as Kalyani and Vishnu continuously bicker and find it difficult to get along. The rest of the story is about the growing relationship between Kalyani and Vishnu and the revelation of Vishnu's past. Sreenivasan has a great role to play as the scheming relative who wants to get the family house and title through his sly methods. He is a totally funny character in the movie

Chitram is possibly the biggest commercial success in Malayalam cinema having run of nearly two years at the box office. But more than its commercial success the movie remembered for two striking reasons - [1] The emergence of Mohanlal as a star and actor par excellence, and [2] The epoch of the golden era of Malayalam movies typified with excellent music and strong story lines.

To summarize, the movie is about Mohanlal a youth who is struggling in life and is dogged by fate. He agrees to be a makeshift husband to Renjini at the behest of Nedumudi Venu to keep Renjini's father happy during his last visit to India. The chemistry between Lal and Renjini is quite good and their squabbles make up a major part of the movie. The movie has twist in the end, which is best seen than described.

Lal is the fulcrum around which this movies revolves. He displays emotions and comic timing both with remarkable ease and his scenes with Venu are brilliant and endearing at the same time. Venu is an apt foil for Lal while Sreenivasan has a great comedy track. Sreeni also deserves credit for coming up with a script that keeps the viewer hooked throughout. Renjini is competent.

The highlight of the movie (besides Lal's path-breaking performance) is the fantastic music which is popular even after two decades. This was the first Malayalam movie in which original soundtrack was accompanied by the hero's voice-over. Chitram marks the beginning of an era of great Malayalam movie music.

Overall, a must-see for all Malayalam movie fans.