Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja

The movie is recommended since: 1. It has a gripping script even though it stays true to history. 2. The fight scenes are awesome 3. The cinematography is praiseworthy. It captures the beauty of Wayanad forests and war scenes well. 4. The sound design is one of THE best ever in Indian films. Resul Pookutty captures the sound of war and the song of rain effectively. 5. You won't be bored for a minute considering that the movie is around 3.5 hours 6. The film uses the best talent in Indian film industry. Lead actor with more National awards than anyone else, music maestro Ilayaraja, singers Yesudas and Chitra who holds the maximum national awards for the best male singer and female singer respectively, editor with the most number of National Awards, script writer with the most number of national awards and Resul Pookutty who won a Oscar. The team can't be better!

All the questions which people had before the release have vanished now. What were they cooking for more than two years- Hariharan, MT and Mammootty? Now, we know- The most classical most commercial most unbelievable Indian film of the century (As Mammookka himself said). Although everyone contributed well in this film, most technicians are passengers safely traveling with Hariharan in the driver's seat and MT beside him.To call Hariharan's contribution "the greatest effort by a Malayalam director ever" would be an understatement. The care he has taken to make it a classic, the power to control the actors & background, the conviction to make a film which no one would dare and his undeniable directorial brilliance is what primarily elevates the film. To think creatively while controlling a project like this for such a long time is not easy and he made it seem like a cakewalk. A special thank you to him for proving that silence CAN also get the attention of the people. There was pin drop silence in the theaters during some emotional scenes without dialogs. That's the power of cinema. NOT a hero,heroine, villain and comedian who keep speaking from start to finish in one frame (Like so many Malayalam films these days). Hariharan's craft is unparalleled.

So many accusations came for the film while it was being made and you have to hand it over to the crew for having faith in the film. MT Vasudevan Nair is undeniably one of the greatest living writers in India. There are people criticizing him for the film, but it is because they really just don't have anything bad to say about it, so they say something. We should remember that compared to any other Malayalam cinema, Pazhassi is miles ahead in terms of content and budget, and it has been possible because the script travels easily from one scene to the next. The second half just sails and I didn't feel a lag at any point. He deserves credit for making pazhassi's presence felt even in the scenes without him. Gokulam gopalan, what to say?. Considering the size of our industry, He is the bravest producer of ALL TIME in the history of world Cinema. I can only imagine how many people would have told him he is making a big mistake. He should thank hariharan and MT for being able to walk with his chin up. I doubt if he would have spent so much if it wasn't them in the movie. This movie is a testimony of all of their sincerity.

Mammuka! Nothing to say! He is the King! Purely majestic! He is magic! This is probably the only movie where he has acted the most with his eyes. Be it-the sandhi scene or the whole of second half. After getting disappointed with so many recent films, it was heavenly to see him in this. He should thank his gurus for this chance. At the same time, the fact is, this movie would never have happened if it wasn't for mammootty., who else will play the role? Padmapriya was the second hero in my opinion. FINALLY! A FEMALE CHARACTER IN A SERIOUS ROCKING ROLE! Phew! The way Malayalam cinema has been treating women in the past years has been disgraceful to say the least. All stereo typed roles of wives and underplayed sex objects! Kudos to hariharan & MT for bringing back woman power. (Panchagni is one of my favorites) I am happy Mt has nothing explicitly bad to say about women in this movie unlike OVV. Really I don't understand what his issue is sometimes. He almost bordered on it once in a scene with mammootty and kanihaa. The rest of the cast were top notch: Sarath (WOW), Manoj and kanihaa rocked! Jagathy and suresh and rest of the cast also! But really, this is a technicians film. All these actors have acted in a lot of other films, but could never get this reaction from us, that's purely because of the director. The other technicians were splendid too. Raman shetty, Resul, Ilaiyaraaja, Sreekar Prasad, art design and whole crew! Was fantastic. I don't know if Im eligible to criticize an Oscar winner, his sounds were great but sometimes there was too much in wars. There was no clarity overall. It was tough to separate the music and sound. I don't really care if there are other negatives. After such an effort, it is sinful to comment on the bad aspects. This is the best Malayalam film of all time so far (Especially considering the current situation of the industry). And the Malayalam audience can take pride in the fact that they have made it a success. This proves that we love good cinema more than just any star. One thing is for sure. Like OVVG, Pazhassi will live forever. Gopalan can take pride in the fact that he has made an investment that will live forever. He has to thank two people for it:

Heart of the movie: Hariharan Brain: MT

Gokulam gopalan and mammuka can take a bow.

LAST NOTE: This is a once in a lifetime Malayalam movie. No matter how optimistic we be, the truth is our generation will not witness such crowds and excitement again.

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

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