A forgotten chapter?
K. PRADEEP
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Although the Malayalam film industry has a number of films on politics and politicians, the number of movies that are based on the freedom movement seem to be comparatively negligible.
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FOR FREEDOM: But for a few films like `Kalapani,' Malayalam cinema has not focussed on the freedom movement that has inspired many Hindi films.
Indian cinema, particularly Hindi cinema, has made a number of films that revolve around the freedom movement and the struggle for independence, This has been an almost regular process beginning from the era of silent movies right to the Aamir Khan-starrer `Mangal Pandey - The Rising,' which is reaching the theatres on the eve of Independence Day.
In fact, patriotic films, as a genre in Indian cinema, have often created a tremendous impact, cutting across religious, regional, linguistic and economic identities.
Malayalam cinema's contribution to this genre has been rather negligible. Before 1947, only five Malayalam films were made, of which four, `Vigathakumaran' (1928), `Balan' (1938), `Prahlada' (1940) and `Jnanambika' (1941) had nothing to do with the freedom struggle that had by then spread like wildfire throughout the nation.
`Marthanda Varma'
"Only one of them `Marthanda Varma' (1933), a silent film directed by P.V. Rao and R. Sunder Raj, had at least some historical relevance to the turbulent period. Based on the famous novel of the same title by C.V. Raman Pillai, the film got entangled in legal complications. Four days after it was released the film had to be taken out of the theatres.
It remained in those ubiquitous boxes till it was recovered and preserved in the film archives in Pune. If the film had not faced this fate, it would surely have found a place among the earliest patriotic films to have been made in the country," notes film historian B. Vijayakumar.
Even after independence and in the years that followed `patriotism' was never the favourite theme of Malayalam films. "Though we have a very rich collection of political films the same cannot be said of patriotic films, which is a separate genre in itself. Although, there were a few films like `Punapra Vayalar', `Kunjali Marikkar', `Pazhassi Raja' and `Veluthampi Dalava,' they were on particular events during the period rather than dealing with the theme in its larger perspective. The films that could be bracketed in this group are those like I.V. Sasi's `1921' and `Kala Paani,' made by Priyadarshan," observes Vijayakumar.
Lack of encouragement
These two films did not do well at the box office and this was perhaps one reason why the trend did not catch on. "The film `Kala Paani' was a co-production with Mohanlal. We found the subject interesting but we were not able to reveal all that we were able to glean from history. There was so much more about the freedom struggle and those who were imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans that would not have passed through the censors. Unfortunately, the film was not well received by our audience. Three years back we were in the discussion stage for a film on Pazhassi Raja. It was to be a joint venture with a British group. They, however, had one condition. The plot had to be changed to show that Pazhassi Raja had been killed by the British and later glorified as a hero. We could not agree on that and the project was dropped," reveals Raju of Goodknight Films.
However, this is not true of films made in Hindi. Many films were made in the background of the struggle for independence. While some like `1942, A Love Story' was set in the late Thirties and Forties, many others depicted the lives of the martyrs.
Very often one finds truth being distorted in some of the historical or period films. The filmmakers had their own reasons for this. It was often resorted to escape the wrath of those in power. If it is in the form of the Censor Board today, in the early years of Indian cinema it was a shadow fight against the British.
Many classic films of this genre like K. Subrahmanyam's film `Thyaga Bhoomi' (Tamil: 1939) were banned by the British government. But undeterred by heavy losses and the threat of imprisonment, film makers, determined to play their role for the freedom struggle, went about disguising their message in films, through dialogues, songs and dance sequences.
"For instance, in the Bombay Talkies film `Kismet' (1943) there was a song sequence, `Door hato o duniyawalon Hindustan hamara hai... ,' which called upon the foreigners to leave India. This provoked the British as the Quit India movement was at its peak then. The British appointed an officer, an Indian, to investigate. The officer's report said that the foreigners referred to in the lines were the Germans and the Japanese and not the British. This saved the film," explains Vijayakumar.
Emotional bond
"We in Kerala were never drawn into the vortex of such turmoil. We enjoyed a sort of geographical protection. Whether it was the freedom struggle, war or even a huge natural calamity, Kerala was always far removed from all this. Most of our experience of this has been through newspapers and now through television. This lack of direct experience must have been one reason why we never went in for such films. The freedom struggle and the Partition hardly affected us. There was no emotional bond that made your blood boil," opines film director Sibi Malayil.
The Malayalam film fraternity also does not seem to have taken this genre seriously. Script-writer B. Unnikrishnan puts this across succinctly: "I have always thought that we tend to look at period films very sceptically. We lack the patience that is so crucial in the making of such films. There is a need to instil a culture where everyone involved in the making of a film do their homework meticulously. The production set-up in the Malayalam film industry is still not ready for this. Then, of course, we have budget constraints and a very small market. And it did not help when some of the bold attempts that should have been encouraged failed."
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