Devasuram

Few movies can be described as artistic, and they are a joy to behold. Devasuram is one such movie from the good old, early 90's. A classic which was not even replicated by it's sequel.

A wonderful movie directed well by I.V. Sasi and wonderfully acted by Mohanlal. This has to be one of his most iconic roles ever. Revathy, who is by nature a lovely actor and a fine dancer, did her role to perfection. Her chemistry with whom the Malayalis refer to as "The complete actor" was endearing. All the supporting characters, including the likes of Nadumudi Venu and Innocent, played a significant part. The music, directed by M.G.Radhakrishnan and S.P. Venkatesh gelled with the story profoundly, especially with the help of some legendary singers. A once in a lifetime movie, not to be missed by lovers of art.

Devasuram is the best Malayalam film I have had the chance to witness as of yet . The film commands a certain aura of its own and perfectly strikes the cordial balance between what we so simply call as ' class' and 'mass ' . The characters so brilliantly written, the story told with utmost panache and the dialogues so written as onto the pages of the industry's history itself. Magalassery Neelakandan is probably the best character written for a Malayalam film and who better to portray it than Mr. Mohanlal himself who has given on screen a performance for the ages. The film easily holds its fort as a Golden Classic.

This is easily one of the best Malayalam movies made. And one of the most iconic. The character of Mangalassery Neelakantan is as legendary a cult figure as it gets. The script was great, and so was the dialogue, both by Ranjith. No crass monologues as there would so often be a decade later. An example of the splendid dialogue (one example among many good ones) would be when Neelakantan talks about all the girls he'd romanced before as corpses, commending Bhanumati's character and calling her a real woman. Rarely in Indian cinema do we get a strong female lead (played so well by Revathi) going toe- to-toe with the male lead.

But the heart and soul of the movie was Mohanlal. Without him, there would be no Devasuram. The ease and spontaneity with which he essays that role is commendable. Such a role is easy to ruin with one- dimensional histrionics, but Mohanlal does not do so. Also, he always has that quality to bring a dash of vulnerability to even the most invincible of the characters he plays.

Even though this is one of my favourite movies I cannot give it a perfect 10 (I am tempted to do so). As great as it is, it could have potentially been even greater a movie, if it was handled with some more subtlety, like Irinjal rightly said. For example, the fight scenes were relevant to the plot, but a bit out of line with the realistic tone of the film, even with Mohanlal's larger-than-life character. The antagonist Shekharan could have been so much better than a bland, grimacing Napoleon. Imagine someone versatile like Siddique as Mundakkal Shekharan (sadly his versatility was exploited much later).

Not many films of Mohanlal combines the romantic aspect as well as the action parts well. This film appears to belong to the minority. There is real chemistry between Revathi and Lal. This film also has one of my favorite scenes. The sequence where Revathi upstages Lal after dancing for him is certainly an all time great scene. All the characters are etched well in this film (a rarity in Malayalam films). The only short comings are the allownces made for audiences in the form of fight sequences. The movie could have been so much stronger had it been dealt with a little more subtleness.

The movie is about enmity between Mangalassery Neelakanthan and Mundackal Shekharan. Mohanlal plays the character of Mangalassery Neelakanthan who is a rich brash guy who has no respect for rules or law. He and his good for nothing friends spend their time drinking and fighting. But certain incidents force Neelakanthan to revisit his ways and become a good person. Revathy plays a powerful role in the movie.

The movie shows the versatility of the actor Mohan Lal as a brutal feudal lord initially and then later becoming more human. With some wonderful songs and memorable dialogues, this is an all time best in Malayalam cinema.