The kind of movies screened in theatres this Vishu could be a pointer to the on going battle between ‘conventional' movies and the ‘rebels.' Gearing up to take on last week's release, ‘Mayamohini,' are two films that belong to entirely different genres – ‘Cobra' and ‘22 Female Kottayam.'
A few young filmmakers have successfully brought in a so-called new wave with films such as‘Traffic,' ‘Salt N' Pepper,' ‘Chappa Kurishu,' ‘Beautiful,' and ‘Second Show.' Still, the conventional patterns have refused to give way and continue to have a strong support base among viewers.
The tussle between the two streams will perhaps be seen during the next few weeks as several high profile projects of different types are waiting in the wings. The release of those films will depend on the performances of the films that are already in theatres.
Twin humour
Of the two Vishu releases, ‘Cobra' written and directed by Lal, stars him in the lead with Mammootty. Says Lal: “‘Cobra' is a humour-based movie. It is about the affection shared between non-identical twins, Raja and Kari. The twins were born in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur in the midst of a terrorist attack. Their parents were killed during the attack. The relatives who look after the kids suspect one of them was swapped during the mayhem. The brothers, however, are not bothered by this and their bond is strong.”
‘Cobra' is being produced under the banner of Emperor Cinema and has cinematography by Venu. Alex Paul is the music director. Padmapriya and Kaniha are the female leads in the film.
The other Vishu release is by director Aashiq Abu, who made the refreshing romantic musical ‘Salt N' Pepper' last year. He has gone for a female-oriented theme with ‘22 Female Kottayam,' a commercial thriller. Rima Kallingal plays Tessa K. Abraham, “a girl from Kottayam, who has just one dream in life – to become a nurse and work abroad.” However, while in Bangalore, she encounters the harsh realities of life and people.
“The success of ‘Salt N' Pepper' has given me the courage to handle a rather unconventional theme. The courage to experiment with films was started by filmmakers like Ranjith in ‘Kaiyoppu,' for instance. That has started this trend of new experiments,” says Aashiq.
Female in focus
Rima is excited about playing the the lead in a film, which has her in focus.
“I have been trying to get out of the bold and beautiful kind of image that I have thanks to my initial characters, though it is fun to play bubbly and glamorous at times. My roles in films such as ‘Indian Rupee,' ‘Nidra' and ‘22 Female Kottayam' have been quite unlike my earlier ones,” says Rima.
Fahadh Faasil, Prathap Pothen, T.G. Ravi and Sathar include the main cast of ‘22 Female Kottayam,' which has been produced under the banner of Film Brewery.
The two new releases will compete with Sugeeth's ‘Ordinary' and Jose Thomas' ‘Mayamohini,' which are having a good run at the box office right now. Soon to join the fray are films such as M. Padmakumar's ‘Thiruvambady Thamban' and B. Unnikrishnan's ‘Grandmaster,' releasing in the coming weeks.
As crowds are expected to throng the cinemas, filmmakers wait with bated breath as the destinies of a few could change in the days to come depending on the box office reports of the Vishu releases.
