Of feuds and feudal lords
VIJAY GEORGE
|
`Prajapathi' narrates the story of Devarmadom Narayanan, the uncrowned ruler of Perumalpuram.
|
ENTER THE SUPERHERO: Mammotty dons the role of Devarmadom Narayanan in Ranjith's `Prajapathi.'
The doors of Perumalpuram open to a different world. However, the unwritten rule is that lawbreakers are shown the door. There are no hotels here, as the natives believe that vices begin when food is sold. It is a place sans political parties, posters or flags.
Writer-director Ranjith's `Prajapathi' narrates the story of Devarmadom Narayanan, the uncrowned ruler of Perumalpuram.
"The story unfolds in a village, a fictitious land on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Narayanan unites the village with a chord of amity. He is called in to settle family feuds involving Mooppil Kunhambu Nair, his father's younger brother. The story takes a different turn with the arrival of Ali Raghavan," Ranjith narrates the storyline.
The cast
Mammootty is Devarmadom Narayanan in the film, Nedumudi Venu is Kunhambu Nair and Sreenivasan is Ali Raghavan. Aditi, who made her entry into films with Sharada Ramanathan's `Sringaram,' is the heroine. `Prajapathi' has an impressive cast, which includes Thilakan, Siddique, Sai Kumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, Seema and Sandhya.
On a high after the success of his two recent releases, `Thuruppugulan' and `Balram Vs Taradas,' Mammootty says that his character in `Prajapathi' believes in "doling out good to the good, bad to the bad and ugly to the ugly. He is almost like a feudal lord in Perumalpuram and confines his sorrows and joy to himself."
The film has been shot quite extensively in a village near Gobichettippalayam, in Tamil Nadu and also in Chittur, in Kerala. Art director Sabu Ram has made some additions to a huge mansion to create Devarmadom, Narayanan's abode. The sun-baked land is home to a few villagers who live in tiny huts. There are no crowds queuing up to have a glance of the stars as the villagers are busy with their daily chores and the director is quickly canning the shots. Valiyaveettil Films is producing `Prajapathi' after the whopping success of `Rajamanikyam.' Ranjith was slated to direct `Rajamanikyam,' but he had backed out of the project.
Larger-than-life heroes
Ranjith has a penchant for creating larger-than-life heroes and he has been criticised for creating that image for Mohanlal. Is the character in `Prajapathi' on similar lines?
"Though there were criticisms about Lal's so-called super human roles, the absence of the same was cited as the reason for the failure of `Chandrolsavam.' Devarmadom Narayanan is quite different from any of the earlier films and the rest is to be unveiled on screen," he says.
Aditi, disciple of Leela Samson, says "It's very different from my maiden film, which was an offbeat one."
She is Savithri in the film, "a spirited and lively girl, who is the cousin of of Devarmadon Narayanan and Kaliyarmadom Giri (Siddique), Kunhambu Nair's son."
Sandhya plays Siddique's sister. Thilakan enacts the role of Vellodi, an elderly teacher who is close to Narayanan.
Costume designer S.B. Satheesan feels that the clothes worn by the characters in Ranjith's films gives viewers an inkling about their place in the film.
`Prajapathi' will hit the theatres in June, according to Sinic V. Siraj, executive producer of the film. Lyrics by Girish Puthanchery have been set to tune by Tej Mervin.
Azhagappan cranks the camera, make-up is by Pattanam Rasheed, the production controller is Aroma Mohan and the stills are by Sunil Guruvayoor.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
