Dasharatham

Dasharatham is a movie that was made far ahead of its time but was still appreciated well. Made in 1989, when the protagonist wants to have a child, he goes in for artificial insemination. In most movies in other Indian languages, some even as recent as 2002(Chori chori chupke chupke), whenever the heroine was not able to bear a child, the hero would have to sleep with another woman or something like that. This one is sans any melodrama and the climax too has been dealt with in a professional and believable manner. Its admirable that the director had the guts to make the movie at that time when this technology was not even that popular. Kudoos to him for presenting it in an excellent manner.

I decided to watch this movie after seeing a video where someone mentioned how Mohanlal's fingers "act" in the final scene and wow they were not exaggerating. This film is undoubtedly one of the finest from the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema. Dasaratham takes you through the journey of a man who thought money could buy him anything, only to learn that some things are truly priceless.

Mohanlal's final breakdown was pure brilliance and easily some of the best acting I have ever seen. His effortless portrayal of emotions is unmatched. This is truly one of the finest Malayalam movies I have experienced. The Sibi Malayil Lohitadas combination never disappoints and this is yet another masterpiece from them.

I am currently on a nostalgic trip, revisiting old classics that shaped the Malayalam film industry. I might have seen many of them before but I am rediscovering their magic all over again.

Dasaratham is one of my favorite all time movies. Great script , Great acting and Great direction . All three come together in this drama.

The highlight for me in the film is Lal as Rajeev Menon . The transition from a rich playboy to a mature father is very well portrayed by Lal.This must be Lalettan's finest performance as he combines comedy and emotions in this role wonderfully.He deserved a national award for this movie but then maybe the movie was ahead of its time.You truly feel the emotions through his acting in this movie. The rest of the cast like Murali , Rekha etc have also done a wonderful job. The climax scenes and emotional scenes can move anyone to tears.Special mention should also be give Lohithadas script . What a script, such touching dialogues and director Sibi Malayil also proves why he is considered the best in drama and emotions.

A must watch.

Dasharatham (1989) : Brief Review -

A Path-breaking Sensation in Indian Cinema!!! Get a loudspeaker and tell the world Cinema... Copy That.. Let me just stand up for a moment and salute this trio Sibi Malayil-Mohanlal-Lothithadas for taking Indian Cinema much higher than any other film industry in the world cinema with this masterpiece film on Path-breaking subject. Malayil, Mohanlal and Lothithdas have many individual classics on their name but Dasharatham just stands out like a universal Boss. A film on sensitive topics like Surrogacy and Artificial Insemination was made in India in 80s and we, the movie buffs haven't made noise on it? Shame on us. Hollywood or any other foreign language cinema industry may have many pathbreaking classics but this Motherhood and Fatherhood topic was left unexplored by them and I would like to thank Malayalam Cinema for taking up this challenge and delivering some unbeatable stuff. When i saw Marathi Movie 'Mala Aai Vhaychay' (2011), i remember that i called it a pathbreaking film but Dasharatham was made 2 decades before? That's Shocking.. Now i think that this word 'Path-breaking' seems like an understatement to Dasharatham. What a mind-blowing and thoughtful piece of writing Mr. Lothithadas has provided us. Indian cinema will owe him forever. Mala Aai Vhaychay or its hindi adaption 'Mimi' both the films are based on same topic but these films only talk about Motherhood whereas Dasharatham talks about Motherhood as well as Fatherhood. That's incredible. What a performer this man is, Mohanlal. How can i put him in words after seeing him giving equally great performances in so many classics. But here, Rekha and Murali were great too. Sibi Malayil was is no ordinary genius, he is legend of legends. The kind of vision he had for a small industry like Mollywood is bigger than 99% directors of bigger industries. I just want to say this, Hats Off Sibi sir and thank you from the bottom of my heart for changing the face Indian Cinema.

RATING - 9/10*

By - #samthebestest.

I thought Dasharatham was one of those movies where despite all the hype, the movie is not good. Even the first 30 mins or so will make you think that this wont be a good movie. BUT THE MOVIE IS MARVELOUS. The last 45 mins of the movie is so special. The performances of Murali and Mohanlal are exceptional. And Sibi Malayil proves that he is one of the best directors of malayalam cinema. One of the things I didn't find satisfactory was that of Rekha's performance. But even so it's definitely worth a watch.