December 12, 2022 08:37 pm | Updated December 13, 2022 12:20 PM IST – Thiruvananthapuram
Mammootty in a still from ‘Nanapkal Nerathu Mayakkam’
Chaos is what one associates with filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery, whether talking about visual style or sound design or narrative. In Nanpakkal Nerthu MayakkamScreened in the International Competition category at the ongoing 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram, Chaos has one element that is conspicuous by its absence.
The film settles in a rather peaceful setting, no buffalo running amok or any foul-mouthed man wandering as if caught in a spiral without end. Rather, there is a sense of the afternoon breeze and the setting sun, but the nap it brings is not a peaceful one.
a line from thirukkural – ‘Death is sinking into a deep sleep, birth is waking up from sleep again’ – sets the narrative. A group of Malayalees returning from a pilgrimage fall asleep as their bus returns through rural Tamil Nadu in the afternoon. James (Mammootty) wakes up and asks the driver to stop the bus in the middle of nowhere near a village and leaves. Soon, he is inside a house in the village, behaving like Sundaram, a man who went missing from there some time back. All the chaos disappearing from the screen seems to have been bottled up inside James’ mind, which makes for a quick, seamless transition from James to Sundaram, both in gait and language.
s. Harish’s writing hinges on this one trick, at times, one wonders whether the script has enough to sustain till the end. The fact is that it does, with minor omissions. It has to do with the authenticity of the world that Lizzo and her visual and sound design team create. All through, the soundtrack is provided by Tamil cinema, with dialogues and songs playing outside television screens in village homes and from shops.
Some of the lines in these songs, of course, have a direct relation to what’s happening on screen, while others only serve the purpose of setting the mood. The most memorable of these is the old song Mayakkama, Kalakkama, Manadile Kuzhappama, Vajkkail Nadukkama… (Is it blinking or turbulence, is there any confusion in your heart, is there uncertainty in your life?)
What happens to the protagonist is certainly not in believable territory, but the writing and treatment lead one to think that it could happen to anyone, as the characters around him often kill each other. telling. Caught on either side are two groups of Malayalees and Tamils, whose suspicions and misconceptions of each other are dispelled as they face adversity together. The built-in clause of ‘South Bonding’ is unacceptable.
Lizzo seems to know the star he’s working with, sneaking in a few references from Mammootty’s films, especially the scene where the little empire The video plays on the coach. This rather involuntary move on her part is one of those things that sticks. But, the star is absent most of the time as we get either James or Sundaram on screen. With his recent selection of films, Mammootty has clearly charted a course for the current phase of his career, with James/Sundaram becoming a formidable addition to his list of memorable characters.
The frills of Lizzo’s last few films, some of which border on pretentiousness, are absent here. Nanpakkal Nerthu Mayakkam Certainly one of his best works.