Pather Panchali
A scene from the Satyajit Ray's film ‘Pather Panchali.’
Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece opened the eyes of the world to the fact that Indian cinema is capable of greatness. The growing years of a lad in rural Bengal is vividly portrayed. The simplicity, lucidity and charm of this screen gem emphasises the fact that Ray was a true auteur, scriptwriter, cinematographer and music composer, all rolled into one.
Cleopatra
Actress Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in ‘Cleopatra’
Lavish and opulent, Cleopatra , directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is an unforgettable experience. The film saw one of Elizabeth Taylor’s finest performances. The grandeur of Greece and Rome is well-captured and the scene in which Caesar is seduced is the camera at it’s artistic best.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen Sharma in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Iyer.’
Aparna Sen, one of the most sensitive of our directors, draws nuanced performances from her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma and Rahul Bose. The film is all the more relevant today as it searingly portrays religious divides.
Sathyan Anthikkad films
A still from ‘Sandesam’
This much-awarded Malayalam film director, screenplay writer and lyricist is known for family dramas that ‘explore socially relevant themes with a comic touch’, for example Thalayanamanthram and Sandesam that feature the versatile Sreenivasan. Anthikkad and Sreenivasan, with the equally talented Mohanlal, also made the rib-tickling Nadodikkattu and Pattanapravesham .
Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha
This award-winner from director Ranjith is based on a true-crime novel of the same name by T. P. Rajeevan. Model-turned-actor Shwetha Menon is superb and Mammootty is outstanding in a triple role.
Mammootty in ‘Paleri Manikyam...’
RADHA S. NAIR
Kozhikode
(Readers can send in their top five movies to frkerala @thehindu.co.in. The write-up should not exceed 250 words)
