Being an avid fan of films that handle quirky subjects, Rosapoo is one such effort from Malayalam Cinema, that remains unexplored by many. Handling the subject of the adult film industry that's set on the backdrop of the late nineties and early noughties, and it's impact on churning films that reigned supreme in the cinema kottakas (theaters) at that time. It provides a curious snapshot of those forgotten and indecorous days of old, in the Malayalam Film Industry. Days that the Malayalam Film Industry would like to forget, memories that are stowed away into a silent and forgotten shutter in the attic of our minds.
| Director | Writer | Release Date | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinu Joseph | Vinu Joseph | 9 February 2018 | 🖤🎭 Dark Comedy |
Random Musings - Turning back time
Let's set our minds and rewind back to a distant period in history, to be exact - the years between 1990 and 2009 to maintain a sense of perspective.
Ushering into a new decade filled with promise, the Malayalam Film Industry transitioned to a state of rapid commercialization, meaning that big bucks started to pour in, from a movie's satellite rights and it's airplay on Television. Until then, the happenings in the Industry were pretty standard, with it being one that placed emphasis on tighter budgets.
Like how the saying "the early bird gets the worm" came to be defined with realizing potential, rates for satellite rights (in order to screen the latest movies on television), went through the roof. When the financial rollers of the dice started gobbling up these insane amounts, it led an inflow to fund more movies. A formula that could be repeated to mint maximum moolah.
Inception of Mollywood's tryst with B-Grade Films
Films following a standard template of the mass hero (with a privileged feudal background) saving the day and preventing any attempts at tainting his family's social pride or status by accepting the blame (as any dutiful son should) , interspersed with an incompatible romance track, villains to toss around like bowling pins and watery-eyed sentiments to invoke drama, used to be churned by the dozen back in those days. To hold our superstars responsible wouldn't be morally right, as these were part of an instant mix that helped taste box office success, back in the day.
Over time, saturation of these template films set in amongst the audience, leading the wave to find new avenues of interest. Larger than life roles may sound good paper and on the screen, however, how capitative can these stories be to the average audience?
To tug at the heartstrings and to create an emotional connect, these movies definitely fail in those departments. It's akin to following an uneventful life, with no exciting happenings in between. Just watch on for the spicy storyline, leaving your brains at home.
By then, the shutters to mint money through B-Grade films had opened, since where there's demand, there will always be supply. As the old adage goes.
With pornographic material not being as easily accessible as it is today, adult films slowly crept into the general consciousness. Ticket charges were minimal, with movies being heroine centric, laced with spicy storylines, including undertones of their infidelity, a rocky marital life interspersed with enough skin show to keep the audience entertained.
These films were budget friendly, as the crew (including many new faces) commanded very less remuneration to get an opportunity to act and gain a foothold into cinema. These movies relied heavily on word of mouth publicity and a general inclination to films of these genre, were enough to bring in droves of people to the theaters.
These heroines - namely Shakeela, Reshma, Sajina, Maria etc attained celebrity status (in their own right - yes let's accept it), like the A-listers in the Industry and continued to mint money for producers, based on a singular term - demand. Our B-Grade movies were Pan-Indian, before such a term was even coined or in vogue, however there may be many naysayers who won't acknowledge such a fact.
The rise of Shakeela's lucky charm led to a famed clash at the Box Office, during the Onam season of '01. Shakeela's Rakshasarajni going head to head against Ikka's Rakshasarajavu and Lalettan's Ravanaprabhu. Cinema goers were audience to an unprecedented clash, however that would be one for the history books and goes far to indicate how much demand a B-Grade film could have, with an apt move to commercialize it as a Box Office contender.
Another facet of the Malayalam Film Industry milking this genre was to include the afore-mentioned heroines in movies, to increase footfall for collection. Item numbers or adichpoli tracks featuring them were hence born as a need. Examples are Alphonsa starring in Narasimham's Pazhanimala track and on Dosth's Maari Praave track, the following year
Further down the lane, with mainstream action films failing due to oversaturation, coupled with failure to craft unique stories with an aura of their own and crew sticking to guns that used to mint green back in the day, the new wave of Malayalam Cinema in 2010 onwards heralded a leap to something new. Rajesh Pillai's thriller Traffic, Shyamaprasad's romantic coming of age Rithu, Ranjith Sankar's thriller Passenger , Ranjith and the Collective's Kerala Cafe and Pranchiyettan etc. are torchbearers to a new era of Mollywood - charming us with the allure of wonderful stories, complemented by astute cinematography and editing.
Some theaters in Kerala still do get a bad rep for being termed for solely presenting adult films, in the modern era. Namely - Bindu (Thrissur) , Jawahar (Kunnumkulam), Ganga (Kozhikode), Ambadi (Koyilandy) etc. Another bookmark to a fading memory, that still stays alive today.
Many other regional film industries have been a victim of this in the past, however that's a chapter that remains to be left untouched for now.
There may be many naysayers who may not agree with this article or my statements, however I stand corrected.
In the world of Rosapoo
Set in the 90's, Shajahan (enacted by Biju Menon) is a happy go lucky individual who finds money or financial stability hard to come by. His means of livelihood is by running a rustic-looking Duty Free Shop that sells perfumes and dainty collectibles.
Flanked by aides Ambrose (Neeraj) and MBA Graduate cum brains Bhanu (Basil), they start a egg business which goes horribly wrong for the silliest reasons, when truckloads of pullet eggs are distributed instead of medium sized ones. Then follows a comical frenzy to get rid of them all.
Things take a left field, when brainwave Bhanu suggests producing an adult film to reap multiples from an initial investment (a nod towards the niche industry and it's prowess to reap profits). Complying with the ongoing adult film frenzy at the time, Shajahan falls at the feet of the moneylender Velayudhan (Vijayaraghavan) again, sending the shrewd lender into a state of ecstasy with the dreamy figures dished out by Shajahan as expected returns from the money used to produce the film.
Using another NRI returnee as source of funds, the quartet make their way to Chennai, to seek the dates of a leading adult actress to kickstart their film. What follows is a tale of how human emotions, dilemma and love play conflicting states in a scenario such as the blue film industry. Business first, relationships come second and are temporary. Relatable to professional lives is'nt it?
Conclusion
Director and Story writer Vinu Joseph succeeded in handling a delicate subject matter with the right does of comedy and drama to keep the movie alive. Quirkiness stems from the story, which invoked the need to explore such a niche subject. I felt a vibe resonating with Shambhu Purushotthaman's movies while watching Rosapoo. The character posters looked cool!
Nonetheless, this film helps us witness Biju Menon in good form, supported by the raw acting chops of Soubin Shahir and Neeraj Madhav. Complemented by the gorgeous Anjali, this is a one-time watchable flick.
Trivia
Sunny Wayne was replaced by Neeraj Madhav in the final casting. Indeed you can find Sunny's name in Rosapoo's posters to this day.
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