Approaching Lalettan's birthday, I had it locked that I would write something about this movie, as it completed it's 20'th anniversary. Amongst the noise of Chotta Mumbai's delayed re-release, this is one of those movies that I hold close to my heart and serves as a cozy comfort watch, with a blanket by your side, on a lazy afternoon
Random Musings
Revisiting this black comedy flick, 20 years on, Udayananu Tharam was one of those movies that served as a realization moment for me, having looked at the cine field with star struck eyes. Reddit did come afterward, serving fellow aficionados with the latest gossip from Mollywood.
This was a movie that made me realize that things can go wrong with the Industry as well.
Penned by Sreenivasan and portrayed in a satirical tone, this movie was really an eye opener to the amusement park that's the Malayalam Cinema Industry. One of the earliest movies that introduced me to black comedy and how it sounds amusing and makes you think at the same time.
When listening to off-set headlines from Mollywood - regarding producers' plight due to a film's poor performance, script-stealing, sponsored heckling and other controversies, it really does underline the fact that Sreenivasan's script addressed these, back in 2005 and stays relevant even today
Udayananu Tharam is one film that I'll probably never get tired to rewatching. API Malayalam's Youtube Channel has done us a favor by cutting the movie into scenes, so that we can't stop ourselves from watching until the mind-blowing climax.
I'm glad that Mollywood was able to churn out it's own Bowfinger, and no film dealing around the satirical take on the film industry has managed to trump it, just yet.
Udayananu Tharam served as a welcome icepack for A10, after an average 2004. The run of films that came afterward - Naran, Thanmatra, the still debated Chandrolsavam and Udayon (flop) gave the superstar a smile, for a year that went well. Movies of varied genres that left audience's lips smacking.
Reflections Beyond the Screen
Here are a few thoughts and a few characters that really touched me, while analyzing the movie:
Relationships, it's Dynamics and exploring Vulnerability
Inferiority and Ego don't combine well together in a relationship. Being a human, these traits do come to the fore, when a person's existence and value is questioned when coming face to face with a situation.
Udayabhanu and Madhumati's relationship was one that explored this topic pretty perfectly. Udayabhanu being cornered with a challenge to his career, income and status stung him and his standing with his wife.
Every little situation that stings him, brings forward a sign of bottled up frustration -- be it Saroj Kumar's interview on the small screen, the constant barrage of questions from Madhumati regarding his film career and the small, but innocuous act of hurling a stone at superstar Saroj's flexsign. It does leave us with a bit of sadness, wanting the character to succeed from this temporary trough.
To summarize, the state of helplessness was acted out by Lalettan beautifully.
Those scenes really elevated the movie, powered with Lalettan's and Meena's acting.
No meeshapiri. Just a grounded Lalettan performance was enough to win over the audience.
Babykuttan : The steadfast beacon
One of the best parts of this movie, and a character that I would closely place behind Udayabhanu was the portrayal of Babykuttan by Mukesh. A real polished performance
We would all aspire to have a friend like that. Someone who is capable of delivering hard truths with a straight face, being a pillar of support during a rough phase, and one who doesn't hold reservations in helping a buddy out.
The character of Babykuttan absolutely elevated the movie and provided us a glimpse into the friend, that we wish that we had.
The act at the climax scene to reunite the lovers, is where I really got impressed by the character.
Sreenivasan's script talking facts
Inside the mind of a Superstar - A Caricature laced with Sreenivasan's Insecurities
I would like to treat Saroj Kumar as the protagonist that turned rogue in the movie, rather than an antagonist. With basic human needs being a pressing necessity, it's often the most random situations that sometimes bring the worst out of us.
Even in discussions today, many would agree that Saroj did the right thing by getting his à´¸്à´µാർത്ഥത (selfishness) getting the best out of the situation. Constant taunting by Udayabhanu -- over his looks and physique were really uncalled for, but that never disheartened Saroj. It's that monologue in the beginning and the conversation with Rafeeq ("a junior artist will always remain so, until his death"), that cements him as a character to not be dismissed that easily.
Sreenivasan is a master storyteller and an even rockhard fellow that is'nt get out there and express his opinions through his script. Even the chiding of Lalettan, Ikka, Suresh Gopi etc in certain scenes got me both laughing and thinking how the man pulled this story off.
Setting the mood for this section, Sreenivasan was playing the actual villain all along, and to convincing effect!
Accused in hush whispers of stealing the story of Nadodikattu from the Siddique-Lal duo in the 80's, Sreeni just set that story on fire, by proceeding to do so, in the movie as well. Talk about the devil!
Saroj Sir muttering "Uhum, oh ho, umm" during script discussion with Udayabhanu and exiting the car like a robot, never fails to make me chuckle.
Saroj has a couple of memorable one-liners from the film, that can be used in day-to-day conversations, to rub in some amusement while conversing!
The character's everyday battle with his insecurities was expressed beautifully -- from his life in Kodambakkam's colonies to his time in the limelight. It goes to say that some things cannot be let go of, even after scaling heights.
A coping mechanism to shed that, is his inclination to address himself in the third person , as "Superstar Saroj Kumar" and by developing a self-centred image, to shed his backstory and develop his public image, to battle his lack of self-esteem.
It's so hard to let go of the thought that he committed to many disastrous outings while trying to rake in money within a short time. Similar to what one of the Sreenivasan boys into, nowadays. Ventures that left the superstar smarting and pondering on an uncertain future in the industry.
His association with Pachalam Bhasi who served as perfect foil for his ill-advised decisions is a whole another point of amusement. Bhasi unduobtedly had some brainwave, but it did not click here.
With the character known to be a amalgamation/caricature of Lalettan, Ikka and Dileep, Saroj remains as one of the most recallable characters ever, with his chagrin and over the top character mannerisms pulled off effortlessly by Sreenivasan.
How Cinema Works
How budgets can make or break a film
I love it when scriptwriters ingest references from yesteryear movies and real-world incidents into a storyline. As seen recently with Thudarum, it was fun to nitpick the references in the movie -- from Saroj wanting to be a IAS Officer, to Dosa Raghavan, to 50 shades and so on.
Not listing them here, as it's commonly known. However it's funny to have random thoughts, wondering how Sreenivasan managed to fit them all in, in a fitting manner, to amuse the viewer and leave them wondering.
Life beyond the reel
Temporary Relationships in Cinema
The Message : Underlined
Trivia
- Jayaram was initially courted by the debutant Andrews to play the lead role. Me10 during those years, was stuck in a rut of flops and was looking for established directors to work with, thereby rejecting that chance. A thought still remains, wishfully manifesting how the movie would have turned out, had Me10 worked in the film.
As Drake would say, it's "his loss".
The Soundtrack and Score
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