Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (film)

Plot

The story revolves around the unnatural death of a young woman named Manikyam (Mythili) in Paleri, a small village in northern Kerala, in the late 1950s. Although it was claimed by her in-laws that she died after she had a seizure, examination of the body revealed it to be a case of murder. The police charged three locals with the murder, only to be released by the court which described the prosecution's case as flawed. With no further investigation, the case had, since then, gone cold over the years, eventually acquiring the status of an unsolved mystery.

Around 52 years later, Haridas (Mammootty), a detective living in New Delhi, sets out on a journey to Paleri hoping to solve this mystery. Apparently, he was born in the same village on the same night when Manikyam was killed. He is joined by Sarayu (Gowri Munjal), a crime analyst.

Most of the clues and knowledge of Balan Nair (Siddique) and Keshavan (Sreenivasan) lead him to zero in on Ahmed Haji (Again Mammootty), a cruel feudal landlord who lived in Paleri during that period. It was obvious why his name did not figure in police reports from that era; he was so powerful and influential in Paleri at that time. Slowly, as things become clear, Haridas deduces that the murderer is Khalid Ahmed (Again Mammootty), Haji's first wife's eldest son.

Cast

The lead actor Mammootty played three distinct roles in the film. It starred fifty experienced Malayalam drama artists in major roles along with a few other film actors. Mythili marked her debut through this film.

Production

The novel, titled Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha itself, was written by director Ranjith's friend T. P. Rajeevan and was published in the Mathrubhumi Weekly a year before onwards. The novel was based on the true story of Manikyam, who was raped and murdered in the early 1950s. According to Rajeevan as well as the film crew, this was the first recorded crime in Kerala. Ranjith was amazed by the story and bought the rights from Rajeevan. Before getting the rights, he had discussed the story with actor Mammootty, who was optimistic about the film. They began the project by mid 2009 and most of the filming occurred on the hill side villages of Kozhikode.

The film was produced by A. V. Anoop in the banner of A. V. Productions and Maha Subair in the banner of Varnachithra Big Screen. It was distributed by Varnachithra Bigscreen Release.

Casting

The original cast included Mammootty to play all the three lead roles. Ranjith cast Shwetha Menon as Cheeru, an important character that required the potential of such an experienced actor. Ranjith introduced television anchor and model Mythili, who played the central character Manikyam in the film. Dhanya Mary Varghese was also approached for this role but she instantly rejected. Noted South Indian actress Gowri Munjal played the role of an associate and love of Haridas Ahmed, one of the characters played by Mammootty. Noted screenwriter T. Damodaran also played an important role in the film.

Ranjith, who is an alumnus of School of Drama, [Thrissur], also incorporated thirty experienced stage actors of Malayalam drama in this film. They were selected from five hundred odd theatre actors who auditioned for the film in Kozhikode. Actor Murali Menon was the casting director. Among the thirty two selected, Sreejith, Vijayan V. Nair and Musthafa were three who played major roles in the film. Sreejith, an amateur actor at Kaiveli, Kozhikode, who became famous through a reality show, played Pokkan, the husband of Manikyam and a lunatic. Musthafa played younger Keshavan, a character enacted by veteran Sreenivasan in the later stages. He was one of the finalists of a reality show telecaste in Amrita TV, of which Ranjith was a judge. Vijayan V. Nair, played Velayudhan, henchman of Ahmed Haji, another character played by Mammootty. Though he has acted in telefilms and tele serials, this was his debut as an actor. "I had cast Vijayan as Velayudhan long ago. Murali Menon, who had groomed the theatre actors at the workshop, had told me about him some time ago. I was confident that he would be ideal for the powerful character of Velayudhan," says Ranjith, who is delighted that he has been able to give Malayalam cinema some exciting new talents.

Music

The original score of the film was composed and co-orchestrated by Bijibal while the songs were composed by Sharreth, Ranjith's previous collaborator in Thirakkatha. The score as well as the songs received notably mixed responses. However, the main theme song enjoyed the status of a chartbuster, thanks for the well received plot of the movie. The main theme song, "Paaleri Naadaya" was sung by Bijibal and another track "Thum Jho mujh mein ho" was by Hariharan and Sharreth. The latter was a ghazal kind of composition and was picturised in the movie. The theme song was picturised as a background song / montage shot. The lyrics were penned by Rafeeq Ahmed.

Release

The film was released on 5 December 2009. It opened in forty centres in Kerala, which is half the number of usual superstar releases.

Reception

Nowrunning is all praise for the film and comments that "Ranjith's Manickyam is a rarity of a film that exceeds expectations and offers a psychedelic high for the viewer. There would be no surprise if it ignites some sort of a controversy for the boldness that it displays. For the discerning viewer though, this might perhaps be one of the best films to have come out this year." A review on Rediff.com commented that "Very rarely does a film satisfy our expectations. But director Ranjith's latest Malayalam film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha does. The film is near perfect with minor ignorable blemishes." Sify called the movie "one of the finest films in Malayalam history" and commented that "Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Kadha is one film that will haunt you days after you've left the theatres. It's a gem that comes not too often and the least you can do to appreciate it is to watch it at the cinemas, at the earliest!"

It was also one of the five Malayalam films to be screened at the International Film Festival of India.

Awards