Vanaprastham

One of most colourful movie carried all along by Mohanlal. ably supported by Suhasini. an intricate emotions surrounding the central character's role. Its a slow developing movie which takes you till the end to realise the gravity of the action of the Main protagonist. The Director shines with his creation and how society has shaped the characters face.

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 !!

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 (1999) : Brief Review -

A supreme legacy of Mohanlal blends mythology with an amazing art form but fails to condemn the infidelity. Vanaprastham is a rich experience overall, actually it is one step higher than what we deserve in late 90s and therefore it deserves that fan following. But the fact that the film being too specific about Mahabharata's ideology where having an sexual affair outside arrange-marriage is termed okay is totally absurd. I am shocked to see many critics and movie buffs not mentioning this ridiculous factor anywhere in their reviews. Additionally, it is linked to Mythology then i guess it deserves even more bashing than what I've just done. In a film we see an illicit relationship between a Kathakali dancer and a young woman from an upper caste family resulting in an illegitimate child. He faces hardships when she refuses to let him see their child and then seeks for ultimate salvation. Isn't it a big joke that he seeks salvation for his own mental peace and not for his sins? How ethical it was from the woman's side to hid the child from his father for her own mistakes and how etihical it was from his side to have this extramarital affair and not feeling sorry when he's living with his wife and a daughter? This part didn't make any sense to me even if i assume historical references of Arjuna and Abhimanyu. Come on, this was 1950s and you don't apply Mahabharata theories here. Thankfully, Vanaprastham is blessed by Mohanlal's legendary performance and Shaji Karun's skillful direction. These two overtake the weak writing and makes Vanaprastham an absolute cinematic experience of poetic proportions. Overal, Vanaprasthan has absurd theories to tell but Mohanlal's acting and Karun's direction have saved the ship from sinking. A very good attempt to bring new modulation in Indian Cinema of late 90s.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Just watch it for his eyes...and that's enough reason.