Pazhassiraja - Review - Disappointing

EL Mariachi · 10-25-2009, 12:29 PM

Film: Pazhassiraja
Date: 24-Oct-2009
Place: PVR, Bangalore, 8.30PM show
Theatre: Housefull (85% youth, 15% family)

After a wait of 10 days I finally managed to see the most awaited movie of recent times. To be frank the movie is an assortment of disappointments. Coming from the makers of Oru Vadakan Veeragadha, the expectations have to be of at least something better than OVV. But the movie is a huge let down and I would like to go through the details later on in my review.

I would like to start off with a word of appreciation to the Producer Sree Gokulam Gopalam for his sheer determination that has seen this movie reach the screens. Hope more producers like him enter the Malayalam movie industry.

Flashback: OVV that was made 20-22 years ago had MT, Hariharan, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Captain Raju, Madhavi and Geetha all in the prime of their careers. A comparision with OVV is inevitable but what you see in Pazhassiraja is Hariharan, MT & Mammootty all way past their peak and the main additions in this movie Sharath Kumar, Manoj K Jayan, Kaniha and Padmapriya
fail to raise the film. Only Sharath Kumar can stand up having delivered a career best performance.

Let me get to a detailed assessment of the various departments in this movie.

Direction
Director Hariharan who has given us many of the most realistic films over the past 2 decades has failed in his biggest test.

Here he looks confused if he wanted to make a realistic adaptation on the life and times of a warrior king or a mass masala entertainer. This movie may entertain the front benchers but for true lovers of the parallel cinema movement of the 80s (in which Hariharan was an important contributor) will be disappointed with this half hearted effort.

Hariharan has made numerous fundamental mistakes that he probably has never made in any of his previous movies. Here you see many of the support warriors looking into the camera, there is Col.Duncan walking with his eyes fixed on the camera, Hariharan has also let loose the make-up and costume teams without any auditing.

The climax has been converted into a mass masala styled superhero climax with Pazhassi dishing out English dialogs to please the front benchers. He has also failed to get any sort of performance from the foriegn cast all of who have given a wooden performance. Unnecessary additions like that of Dora has only added to the woes of the viewers.

In fact Hariharan's failure is even more staggering considering he had a producer who was willing to go to any extend for the movie. If this budget were given to one of the younger directors in Malayalam I am sure they would have come up with a better product

2 thumbs down for Hariharan

Script
To most Malayali's the term "Script : MT Vasudevan Nair" hold immense hope, and this hope is not built on occassional flash in the pan creations but it is due to decades of output of sheer genius. But in Pazzhassiraja the writer in MT went asleep, he was probably bored by his research in history, but fact of the matter is it is one of the worst (if not the worst) screenplays that has been credited to him.
The script lacks the normal depth that any MT creation has, whats worse is that even his dialogs here sounds like they have been written aimed at getting claps from the front benchers.There is no multi-layered or thought provoking dialogs here, its only playing to the galarries.

Thumbs down for MT

Performance
Mammootty : He shines in scenes where he has to walk around decked up. He fails big time in all his action scenes. It is probably this inability that has lead to the director leaving him out in most of the crucial battles. He is a mute spectator to the most important happenings. His 60 years clearly showing in his energy levels.
Sharath Kumar : Has given a strong restrained performance and Kunkan. He has fitted the role to the 'T' and is one of the stand out perfromances.
Manoj K Jayan : He has overplayed his role in a few scenes but otherwise has delivered a good performance. His make up was a sore point.
Padmapriya : She has given a good performance but the script writer has left her char incomplete and nobody knows what happened to her in the end?
Britishers : All poor performances bordering on the pathetic.
Suman: Too old for such a role
Jagathi: OK
Jagadeesh: Poor
Suresh Krishna : OK
Kaniha : She couldnt give a convincing performance and is one of the main weak points of this movie.

Make Up
- Over make-up for the lead chars while the extras have been under done
- One of the main British army officer has a brown mushtach and a black & gray french beard.
- The wig worn by Thomas is worse than the any that could have been used 50 years ago. Many of the wigs and beards used are of such poor quality that it looks more like its from a high-school drama rather than a mega-budget motion picture
- Make up bloopers are littered all over the place, one wonders if it is the mistake of the make-up team or simply the incapability of Director Hariharan to handle such mega projects
- Leading Lady who has been in hiding in a forest for months having a beauty parlour style shaped eye-brows
- An adivasi warrior women with a clean shaven arm pit, while the King Pazhassi sports a beard to show his stay in the jungles, another way of looking at it is that the barbers were all busy shaving the armpits of adivasi women and had no time for the kings beard.

Two thumbs down for the "make up" team

Costumes
The costumes of the Britishers are really poor, the British of those days were known for their impeccable attire and presentation. The Costumes used in this movie would put even a villiage drama troupe to shame. A period drama requires
intense work by the costume department, here Director Hariharan has gone cheap and its sticking out like a sore thumb.

Two thumbs down for the "costumes" team

Action
Ravi Devan probably was not geared up for this movie, he probably has never done Guerilla Warfare scenes before. Most of the rope scenes are poorly executed and fail to fit into the scene properly. He was also impeded by the lead actors inability to do major action scenes.

Music
Songs were all good, the only sore point that I felt was the ending jingle of the song Alavankadal... that felt like a Bappi Lahiri remix...
Background Music : Was again good, though a little loud.

Other Technical Aspects
Sound : Rasool has done a good job and captured every fine bits of sound. The feel of the canon shots was awesome, the theatre floors were shaking.

Camera : Mixed bag. Some awesome shots, many good shots and some poor shots. Camera work for such a film should have been the highlight but unfortunately it cannot be called outstanding, but there are flashes of brilliance too. Some of the points that even a common man like me could pick is, in one of the bed room scenes, the golden light from the lantern is visible on one side of Mammootty's face, while on the other half of his face the white light from the flash lights is clearly visible, all these are basic checks that should have been avoided.

Effects : Graphic works were ametureish.

Verdict: Disappointing - Neither satisfies the film lover nor the front bencher.

Postscript: A few notes about the Casting

The casting department for this film I believe is a huge failure, they seemed to have gone by availability rather than suitability...

Pazhassiraja: Mammootty - Big time miscasting, from my knowledge of Pazhassiraja, he died in his 30's (worst case early 40's), how can someone who is nearly 60 years old be cast for this role? Mammootty's age shows in his lack of energy in the physical action scenes. He really struggles to make those movements required in those sword swinging scenes, infact in his clash with Kunkan

British: Most of the actors cast are over weight bordering on the obese

Horses : Oru guerilla warfare innu Kudiragal suitable alla... Horses are useful mainly in battles that take place in the plains... Idhine kurichu pandu Lenin Rajendran oru interview'il paranjirunnu, that was the time when he was planning to do the movie with Suresh Gopi as Pazhassi... Pulliyude producer chodichu, "saar idhil kore kudiragal ok ulla kidilan war scenes ok undavumallo?" To this Lenin reacted very angrily and told the producer that how can horses be used in a thick jungle and that too in a hilly location like Wayanad?

So the use of horses in the battles scenes in Pazhassiraja itself can be debated..

Kurichars: These tribals who live in the jungles of Wayanad neither knew what the britishers were nor had they been directly troubled by the Brits... they were always troubled and exploited mainly by the upper castes and other nearby residents... So what made them to tie up with Pazhassi? What were they promised? This is a subject that needs more research but fact is there was some other promise made by Pazhassi to them that made them join forces in this battle that really was not their own battle.

Pankajakshan · 10-25-2009, 12:31 PM

Interesting review...agree on ur take on MT.

Cooldude · 10-25-2009, 12:33 PM

Very different take on the movie...thnx alamari...

double chankan · 10-25-2009, 12:37 PM

thanx mariachi anna...

MT :boo: :boo:

Shambu · 10-25-2009, 12:37 PM

superb analysis... kalakki mariachi machaan...

....

Freddy · 10-25-2009, 12:39 PM

thanks good and true review

gujav · 10-25-2009, 12:39 PM

Oh wow!! You just ripped PR apart

Very detailed and well written..Thanks for the review bhai

Hari Kuttan · 10-25-2009, 12:41 PM

Thanks mariachi anna..

MTunni soothran malathil olichu

EL Mariachi · 10-25-2009, 12:42 PM

Thanx Machans... sharikkum padam was a let down...

Ee padam kandu kazhiyumbol, you really dont feel the patriotism... Aa oru levelillekku ethiyadhum illa palichagalude oru ghoshayathra thaneyannu idhu...

wolwo · 10-25-2009, 12:43 PM

I dont how to coment on this just some clarifications noone knows what happened to neeli thats why so pazhasiraja is the king he came into action only after when he lost every one thats why less action to Mammootty then about hariharan dont know what aspect you rated him

10-25-2009, 12:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
EL Mariachi Anna Bond Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 11,983 Rep Power: 14553	Pazhassiraja - Review - Disappointing Film: Pazhassiraja Date: 24-Oct-2009 Place: PVR, Bangalore, 8.30PM show Theatre: Housefull (85% youth, 15% family) After a wait of 10 days I finally managed to see the most awaited movie of recent times. To be frank the movie is an assortment of disappointments. Coming from the makers of Oru Vadakan Veeragadha, the expectations have to be of at least something better than OVV. But the movie is a huge let down and I would like to go through the details later on in my review. I would like to start off with a word of appreciation to the Producer Sree Gokulam Gopalam for his sheer determination that has seen this movie reach the screens. Hope more producers like him enter the Malayalam movie industry. Flashback: OVV that was made 20-22 years ago had MT, Hariharan, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Captain Raju, Madhavi and Geetha all in the prime of their careers. A comparision with OVV is inevitable but what you see in Pazhassiraja is Hariharan, MT & Mammootty all way past their peak and the main additions in this movie Sharath Kumar, Manoj K Jayan, Kaniha and Padmapriya fail to raise the film. Only Sharath Kumar can stand up having delivered a career best performance. Let me get to a detailed assessment of the various departments in this movie. Direction Director Hariharan who has given us many of the most realistic films over the past 2 decades has failed in his biggest test. Here he looks confused if he wanted to make a realistic adaptation on the life and times of a warrior king or a mass masala entertainer. This movie may entertain the front benchers but for true lovers of the parallel cinema movement of the 80s (in which Hariharan was an important contributor) will be disappointed with this half hearted effort. Hariharan has made numerous fundamental mistakes that he probably has never made in any of his previous movies. Here you see many of the support warriors looking into the camera, there is Col.Duncan walking with his eyes fixed on the camera, Hariharan has also let loose the make-up and costume teams without any auditing. The climax has been converted into a mass masala styled superhero climax with Pazhassi dishing out English dialogs to please the front benchers. He has also failed to get any sort of performance from the foriegn cast all of who have given a wooden performance. Unnecessary additions like that of Dora has only added to the woes of the viewers. In fact Hariharan's failure is even more staggering considering he had a producer who was willing to go to any extend for the movie. If this budget were given to one of the younger directors in Malayalam I am sure they would have come up with a better product 2 thumbs down for Hariharan Script To most Malayali's the term "Script : MT Vasudevan Nair" hold immense hope, and this hope is not built on occassional flash in the pan creations but it is due to decades of output of sheer genius. But in Pazzhassiraja the writer in MT went asleep, he was probably bored by his research in history, but fact of the matter is it is one of the worst (if not the worst) screenplays that has been credited to him. The script lacks the normal depth that any MT creation has, whats worse is that even his dialogs here sounds like they have been written aimed at getting claps from the front benchers.There is no multi-layered or thought provoking dialogs here, its only playing to the galarries. Thumbs down for MT Performance Mammootty : He shines in scenes where he has to walk around decked up. He fails big time in all his action scenes. It is probably this inability that has lead to the director leaving him out in most of the crucial battles. He is a mute spectator to the most important happenings. His 60 years clearly showing in his energy levels. Sharath Kumar : Has given a strong restrained performance and Kunkan. He has fitted the role to the 'T' and is one of the stand out perfromances. Manoj K Jayan : He has overplayed his role in a few scenes but otherwise has delivered a good performance. His make up was a sore point. Padmapriya : She has given a good performance but the script writer has left her char incomplete and nobody knows what happened to her in the end? Britishers : All poor performances bordering on the pathetic. Suman: Too old for such a role Jagathi: OK Jagadeesh: Poor Suresh Krishna : OK Kaniha : She couldnt give a convincing performance and is one of the main weak points of this movie. Make Up - Over make-up for the lead chars while the extras have been under done - One of the main British army officer has a brown mushtach and a black & gray french beard. - The wig worn by Thomas is worse than the any that could have been used 50 years ago. Many of the wigs and beards used are of such poor quality that it looks more like its from a high-school drama rather than a mega-budget motion picture - Make up bloopers are littered all over the place, one wonders if it is the mistake of the make-up team or simply the incapability of Director Hariharan to handle such mega projects - Leading Lady who has been in hiding in a forest for months having a beauty parlour style shaped eye-brows - An adivasi warrior women with a clean shaven arm pit, while the King Pazhassi sports a beard to show his stay in the jungles, another way of looking at it is that the barbers were all busy shaving the armpits of adivasi women and had no time for the kings beard. Two thumbs down for the "make up" team Costumes The costumes of the Britishers are really poor, the British of those days were known for their impeccable attire and presentation. The Costumes used in this movie would put even a villiage drama troupe to shame. A period drama requires intense work by the costume department, here Director Hariharan has gone cheap and its sticking out like a sore thumb. Two thumbs down for the "costumes" team Action Ravi Devan probably was not geared up for this movie, he probably has never done Guerilla Warfare scenes before. Most of the rope scenes are poorly executed and fail to fit into the scene properly. He was also impeded by the lead actors inability to do major action scenes. Music Songs were all good, the only sore point that I felt was the ending jingle of the song Alavankadal... that felt like a Bappi Lahiri remix... Background Music : Was again good, though a little loud. Other Technical Aspects Sound : Rasool has done a good job and captured every fine bits of sound. The feel of the canon shots was awesome, the theatre floors were shaking. Camera : Mixed bag. Some awesome shots, many good shots and some poor shots. Camera work for such a film should have been the highlight but unfortunately it cannot be called outstanding, but there are flashes of brilliance too. Some of the points that even a common man like me could pick is, in one of the bed room scenes, the golden light from the lantern is visible on one side of Mammootty's face, while on the other half of his face the white light from the flash lights is clearly visible, all these are basic checks that should have been avoided. Effects : Graphic works were ametureish. Verdict: Disappointing - Neither satisfies the film lover nor the front bencher. Postscript: A few notes about the Casting The casting department for this film I believe is a huge failure, they seemed to have gone by availability rather than suitability... Pazhassiraja: Mammootty - Big time miscasting, from my knowledge of Pazhassiraja, he died in his 30's (worst case early 40's), how can someone who is nearly 60 years old be cast for this role? Mammootty's age shows in his lack of energy in the physical action scenes. He really struggles to make those movements required in those sword swinging scenes, infact in his clash with Kunkan British: Most of the actors cast are over weight bordering on the obese Horses : Oru guerilla warfare innu Kudiragal suitable alla... Horses are useful mainly in battles that take place in the plains... Idhine kurichu pandu Lenin Rajendran oru interview'il paranjirunnu, that was the time when he was planning to do the movie with Suresh Gopi as Pazhassi... Pulliyude producer chodichu, "saar idhil kore kudiragal ok ulla kidilan war scenes ok undavumallo?" To this Lenin reacted very angrily and told the producer that how can horses be used in a thick jungle and that too in a hilly location like Wayanad? So the use of horses in the battles scenes in Pazhassiraja itself can be debated.. Kurichars: These tribals who live in the jungles of Wayanad neither knew what the britishers were nor had they been directly troubled by the Brits... they were always troubled and exploited mainly by the upper castes and other nearby residents... So what made them to tie up with Pazhassi? What were they promised? This is a subject that needs more research but fact is there was some other promise made by Pazhassi to them that made them join forces in this battle that really was not their own battle. Last edited by EL Mariachi; 10-26-2009 at 09:40 PM.

10-25-2009, 12:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cooldude Active User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dubai Posts: 2,079 Rep Power: 610	Very different take on the movie...thnx alamari... __________________ I Do It On (My) Terms....

10-25-2009, 12:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
Shambu Active User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,583 Rep Power: 385	superb analysis... kalakki mariachi machaan... .... __________________ Oru naal varum,Shikkaar, Christian Brothers,Khandahaar .. ini aakhoshathintey naalukal Type in Malayalam - Google Transliteration

10-25-2009, 12:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
gujav Active User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South of Nowhere Posts: 705 Rep Power: 233	Oh wow!! You just ripped PR apart Very detailed and well written..Thanks for the review bhai __________________ ~ gujav . . Well!! njan thirich ethi ...

10-25-2009, 12:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
Hari Kuttan Moshi Moshi Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: document.write('Sneha Sallapam'); Posts: 19,079 Rep Power: 2402	Thanks mariachi anna.. MTunni soothran malathil olichu __________________ Hai yeh maya...

10-25-2009, 12:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
Freddy Active User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: dubai Posts: 4,963 Rep Power: 10517	thanks good and true review

10-25-2009, 12:42 PM	#9 (permalink)
EL Mariachi Anna Bond Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 11,983 Rep Power: 14553	Thanx Machans... sharikkum padam was a let down... Ee padam kandu kazhiyumbol, you really dont feel the patriotism... Aa oru levelillekku ethiyadhum illa palichagalude oru ghoshayathra thaneyannu idhu...

10-25-2009, 12:43 PM	#10 (permalink)
wolwo New Generation!!! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 18,145 Rep Power: 15272	I dont how to coment on this just some clarifications noone knows what happened to neeli thats why so pazhasiraja is the king he came into action only after when he lost every one thats why less action to Mammootty then about hariharan dont know what aspect you rated him __________________ ini sasi aavilla

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