With his screenplays, M.T. Vasudevan Nair bridged the gap between the commerce and the art in Malayalam cinema like nobody else could before him.
He penned some of the most unforgettable films in the language such as Niramlyam (which also marked his directorial debut), Amrutham Gamaya, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Thazhvaram, Sadayam, Parinayam, and Perunthachan.
It has been more than a decade since his last film, Ezhamathe Varavu, was released. On Thursday, ZEE5 will begin streaming nine films featuring MT’s screenplays in a series produced by Saregama, titled Manorathangal.
All the movies are based on his short stories. They are directed by some of the top directors in Malayalam cinema and boast a stellar cast headed by Mammootty and Mohanlal, two actors who have played some of M.T.’s greatest characters.
The project was conceived by M.T.’s daughter Aswathy V. Nair, an accomplished classical dancer. She felt there was a lot of potential for a series of films based on her father’s short stories.
M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Aswathy V. Nair, with her son Madhav
“The idea came to me during the COVID-19 outbreak and I discussed it with my father, who gave me the nod to go ahead,” Aswathy told The Hindu at her residence in Kozhikode. “I made a long list of 50 short stories and we made our final list from that.”
Aswathy herself has directed one film in the series. “I had not wanted to but had to step in after things didn’t work out with a couple of directors,” she says. “Thanks to the encouragement from the likes of Santosh Sivan, who has directed one film in the series, I decided to take a plunge.”
Aswathy directed Vilpana. “I was of course nervous during the initial days of the shoot as my father was on the set,” she says. “I was relieved that the response to my film at the premier was positive. I liked working with my cast – Madhoo, Asif Ali, and Neeraj Chopra.”
Asif Ali and Madhoo in ‘Vilpana,’ part of ‘Manorathangal’
The other films in the line-up are Abhayam Thedi Veendum (director Santosh Sivan; starring Siddique, Naseer Sankranti), Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam (Jayaraj; Nedumudi Venu, Indrans, Surabhi Lakshmi), Silalikhitham (Priyadarshan; Biju Menon, Shanti Krishna, Joy Mathew), Kazhcha (Shyamaprasad; Parvathy Thiruvoth, Narain, Harish Uthaman), Kadalkkaattu (Ratheesh Ambat; Indrajith, Aparna Balamurali, Ann Augustin), Kadugannava, Oru Yathra Kurippu (Ranjith; Mammooty, Anu Mol, Vineeth), Sherlock (Mahesh Narayanan; Fahadh Faasil, Nadiya Moidu), and Olavum Theeravum. (Priyadarshan; Mohanlal, Durga Krishna, Hareesh Peradi, Surabhi Lakshmi).
Aswathy is also part of the production, having launched a company along with Sudheer Ambalappad. “I have been to the shooting locations of the films my father was part of,” she says. “But this has been a big learning experience.”
Published - August 13, 2024 07:09 pm IST
