The 1980-1990 period is called the golden age of malayalam movies . That period gave great movies with great storyline , great acting and great direction . Though i like many movies of that period i like some for their strong themes and great acting . Here is a list of some of them . For my non malayali friends please get these movies with english subtitles and see them . (Only precondition is that your movie taste should be like me : i like them very spicy with strong themes ) . I also like comedy movies but they are like sweets /dessert to me . The main food is equally or more important . So this list is about the main course the spicy food i.e movies with strong plot .
1. Koodevide : (English: Where's the Nest?) is a 1983 Malayalam drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Suhasini, Mammootty and Rahman : This movie tells about how an unruly son of a politician who is spoilt who is brought back into mainstream life by the affection of his teacher in an Ooty boarding school . So realistic Suhasinis and Rahmans acting is classic and the film shows how step by step the boy Rahmans trust is won by the teacher . Mammootty though a big hero even at that time has a much smaller role as the jealous fiance of Suhasini . The film affirms that through love and affection most people can be made better . The pictuersque Ooty with its misty mountains and the tinge of romantic love between Rahman and his girlfriend all add flavour to this great movie .
2 . Kireedam : (the crown ) : One of Mohanlals and Thilakans classic movie the story revolves around a young man Mohanlal who is selected for police Subinspectors post . His father Thilakan is a constable in police and dreams like any father of his son becoming a police officer . But by a cruel twist of fate his son gets involved in murder and the movie shows the circumstances under which this happens . The father -son and mother -son relationship is shown with its full character under these trying circumstances .
3. Iniyengilum : With the frequent world travel these days and globalisation this movie may not be a big hit if it would have been released now . But when it was released in 1983 it was a big hit because it showed the stark contrast between the life in japan and life in kerala . What the movie showed was a group of young men and women travelling to japan and finding the civic sense and hardworking nature of japanese people influencing how they attained developed country status inspite of the severe loss after world war 2 . At the same time in that period kerala was having lot of strikes and politics was severely hampering progress . The movie had megastars like mammootty and mohanlal but the beauty of the plot and direction was such that they were just stars in that movie
4 Desatanakkili Karayarilla (English: The Migratory Bird Never Cries) is a 1986 Malayalam film written and directed by Padmarajan. It stars Karthika, Shaari, Mohanlal and Urvasi in pivotal roles. This was one of the first indian movies which showed strong girl-girl relationship in mainstream cinema . The story revolves around two schoolgirls who elope during a schooltrip as revenge against their teacher . Karthikas and Shaaris acting is superb . It is not the beauty but the acting skill which is more important for a film actress . Both these actresses with average looks have given life to so many strong characters in malayalam movies
5. Nakhakshathangal (the wounds with the nails ) : is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleena. The lead actress, Monisha, won the distinguished National Film Award for Best Actress for her role, that made her the first actress to get a National Award for her debut film and the youngest actress to achieve the feat . The story is about triangular love which is a theme in many movies but here the innocence of the characters and the subtle human characters like respect towards mentor , gratitude etc and their interplay with this romance adds a different dimension to this movie . And one of the characters being deaf and dumb adds further spice to the movie . The music scores were and still are a great hit after all these years .
to be continued..........
a word of caution once again : many of these movies are tragedies so please do not watch if you dont like tragedies . I dont like tragedies much but the plot and acting make up for it and end is as natural as the plot . And just as in life , running around trees do not make a good movie (personal opinion ) .
1. Koodevide : (English: Where's the Nest?) is a 1983 Malayalam drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Suhasini, Mammootty and Rahman : This movie tells about how an unruly son of a politician who is spoilt who is brought back into mainstream life by the affection of his teacher in an Ooty boarding school . So realistic Suhasinis and Rahmans acting is classic and the film shows how step by step the boy Rahmans trust is won by the teacher . Mammootty though a big hero even at that time has a much smaller role as the jealous fiance of Suhasini . The film affirms that through love and affection most people can be made better . The pictuersque Ooty with its misty mountains and the tinge of romantic love between Rahman and his girlfriend all add flavour to this great movie .
2 . Kireedam : (the crown ) : One of Mohanlals and Thilakans classic movie the story revolves around a young man Mohanlal who is selected for police Subinspectors post . His father Thilakan is a constable in police and dreams like any father of his son becoming a police officer . But by a cruel twist of fate his son gets involved in murder and the movie shows the circumstances under which this happens . The father -son and mother -son relationship is shown with its full character under these trying circumstances .
3. Iniyengilum : With the frequent world travel these days and globalisation this movie may not be a big hit if it would have been released now . But when it was released in 1983 it was a big hit because it showed the stark contrast between the life in japan and life in kerala . What the movie showed was a group of young men and women travelling to japan and finding the civic sense and hardworking nature of japanese people influencing how they attained developed country status inspite of the severe loss after world war 2 . At the same time in that period kerala was having lot of strikes and politics was severely hampering progress . The movie had megastars like mammootty and mohanlal but the beauty of the plot and direction was such that they were just stars in that movie
4 Desatanakkili Karayarilla (English: The Migratory Bird Never Cries) is a 1986 Malayalam film written and directed by Padmarajan. It stars Karthika, Shaari, Mohanlal and Urvasi in pivotal roles. This was one of the first indian movies which showed strong girl-girl relationship in mainstream cinema . The story revolves around two schoolgirls who elope during a schooltrip as revenge against their teacher . Karthikas and Shaaris acting is superb . It is not the beauty but the acting skill which is more important for a film actress . Both these actresses with average looks have given life to so many strong characters in malayalam movies
5. Nakhakshathangal (the wounds with the nails ) : is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleena. The lead actress, Monisha, won the distinguished National Film Award for Best Actress for her role, that made her the first actress to get a National Award for her debut film and the youngest actress to achieve the feat . The story is about triangular love which is a theme in many movies but here the innocence of the characters and the subtle human characters like respect towards mentor , gratitude etc and their interplay with this romance adds a different dimension to this movie . And one of the characters being deaf and dumb adds further spice to the movie . The music scores were and still are a great hit after all these years .
to be continued..........
a word of caution once again : many of these movies are tragedies so please do not watch if you dont like tragedies . I dont like tragedies much but the plot and acting make up for it and end is as natural as the plot . And just as in life , running around trees do not make a good movie (personal opinion ) .
i watched kireedam & in mal - without subtitles. i didnt need any. that movie i can never forget. absolutely marvelous. i remember i was crying & even after it got over, i could feel the pain
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