Every Keralite knows who the two M's of the Malayalam Industry are - Mohanlal and Mamootty. Most people opine that we do not get to see quality cinema like the 80's. And I too belong to this strata of people. Quality cinema is of a rare thing now. Some blame it on script, some on the story, director etc. One argument goes that there are no stories to match the caliber of these two actors. But, why is the enacting of the role so bad in whatever roles they get. If they are indeed exceptional actors then why is it that I feel they are acting on screen, as opposed to the feeling one got from the older movies - where you wouldn't be able to make out that they are acting. They were performing.
I happened to see Ividam Swargamaanu last night. Mohanlal looks so artificial, even in the climax scenes. It feels like he is putting an effort to act. If you pick any of his movies from the 80's you will be able to mark a clear difference, between performing and acting. Same is the case for Mamooty, his short-length role in Kerala Cafe leaves you surprised. I am not an ardent follower of Mamooty movies, but still the attempt to act is clear in the recent movies.
There may be a lot of external factors like, story, script, director etc, but if the delivery on screen is bad, then how can viewers expect quality cinema?
It is obvious to any viewer, that a movie like Ividam Swargamaanu has been written to bring back the quality that existed in Malayalam cinema 30 years back. I found, Lalu Alex, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponamma more natural than Mohanlal.
Paleri Manickyam, was a good story, Mamooty bagged the State Award for best actor, because he was better among the lot. If you compare his old movies to Paleri Manickyam, you would award him 10 state awards for his performance.
Fans associations of these highest paid actors in Malayalam cinema, may give them the returns for their investment, but quality performance from these actors is strongly missing. I would rather watch a move like Neelathamara for entertainment, where the expectations are low and will not fail to entertain me.
There are a few movies out of the blue that actually catch your attention. One such movie was Kaiyoppu. Everything was neat. Another example was Kerala Cafe - Island Express, the one with Siddique and a few others. Awaiting more quality cinema like these.
- An ardent movie viewer!
You are hundred percent right.. The quality performance is lacking... Lets hope new range of actors will come on stage soon.... :)
ReplyDeleteThank god, u r not a member of 'AMMA', otherwise u would have been expelled from it for talking against M & M !!
ReplyDeleteYou aired some true facts known by every mallu except M & M. They both look like 'kandan poocha ' now, especially the fatter M.