Manichitrathazhu - My movie pick for the coronavirus lockdown
Directed by Fazil and written by Madhu Muttam, this pyschological horror film is centered around a huge anscestral mansion named Madampally; which was racked by ancient superstitions. The family owning the house did not live in it because they believed that certain blood-thirsty spirits are locked up inside it. One day, the family head's(Nedumudi Venu) nephew, Nakulan(Suresh Gopi) along with his wife Ganga(Shobhana), come to the village and ask whether they can live in Madampally. As Nakulan was a city dwelling person who did not believe in superstitions, he and Ganga move into the mansion even after being informed about the beliefs. As they get acclimatised to the house, they are paid visits by the other family members. One of them tells Ganga about the house's dark history. A century ago, the house was owned by a wealthy and cruel landlord. He had brought in a dancer named Nagavalli from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu to be his concubine. However, Nagavalli was in a relationship with another man who came along with her from Thanjavur and settled in a house beside the mansion. Upon finding their relationship, the landlord had Nagavalli killed and with the help of sorcerers locked her spirit in the southern side of the mansion(Thekkini). It was said that every Durgashtami, Nagavalli's spirit comes out and seeks revenge on the cruel landlord. Enchanted by this story, Ganga unlocks the Thekkini and only finds Nagavalli's jewellery and dance attire.
Hearing this and fearing Nagavalli's spirit to have escaped, Nakulan's uncle and family move into the house in order to protect the young couple. Shortly after this, the sounds of dance and music were heard every night. This was also complemented with a series of mysterious disasters befalling various members of the family; leading the family members to believe that Nakulan's cousin Sreedevi, is in the hands of Nagavalli's spirit because she had been behaving strangely off late. However, Nakulan does not believe this theory and concludes that Sridevi is in need of psychiatric help. He calls his old friend Sunny Joseph(Mohanlal), who is a brilliant and celebrated psychiatrist in USA. He arrives at the Madampally mansion, much to the consternation of the other family members who dislike his frivolous manner. Sunny immediately finds out that Sridevi is actually not mentally ill and someone else is the actual patient. After talking to Ganga about Nagavalli and visiting the Thekkini with her, he realises to his horror, that Ganga is the actual mental patient who has been trying to kill many of the family members! In order to find out the reason why Ganga was affected, he visits her ansectral home; where he learns that from a young age she was neglected by her parents, who had left her to live with her grandmother. She had learnt a lot of superstitions through her grandmother and the two had grown very close. Suddenly, when Ganga was about to finish her tenth grade exams, her parents showed up and told her that they were taking her with them to Calcutta. Unable to withstand the grief of seperating with her grandmother, she showed signs of mental illness, although that had left her for a long time. On listening to Nagavalli's story, memories of her childhood were evoked and she sympathised with the dancer.
This leads Sunny to conclude that Ganga has a multiple personality disorder. She had been mentally transforming into Nagavalli's character and the family members who she was trying to kill were somehow related to her relationship with her lover. Sunny confides this with Nakulan, who is heart-broken because he loved his wife a lot. Sunny gravely mentions that on Durgashtami, which was the next day, she would transform into Nagavalli and try to murder Nakulan because she thought that he was the cruel landlord. Sunny also said that after Ganga becomes Nagavalli on the next day, she would never be able to return back to her original self. As the two of them think of ways to save both Nakulan and Ganga's lives, Sunny hits upon an idea which he prays will work. Sure enough on the following day which was Durgashtami, Ganga transforms into Nagavalli and searches for Nakulan. Nakulan's uncle and other family members are shocked to see Ganga in this state. Ganga spots Nakulan tied down on a stage outside the house. Just as she picks up a sword and brings it down on him, Sunny turns Nakulan upside down, with a dummy facing Ganga. Ganga, who did not realise this, brings her sword down on the dummy and believes that she has accomplished her task and falls into a hypnotic sleep.
Upon waking up the next day, she finds herself completely cured by Sunny, who assures her that the illness would never come back again. All other family members realise their mistake and apologise to Sunny. They stop believing in superstitions as well. The movie ends with Sunny expressing his desire to marry Sridevi and they all drive off happily.
I had decided to watch Manichitrathazhu based on the recommendations of my parents and friends. Being a huge Mohanlal fan, this movie had been on my watchlist for quite some time, and from the first millisecond of Manichitrathazhu, I was completely wide eyed and enraptured. This movie was a cult classic because it experimented with a genre that had not been widely used before. It was also unique in the sense that even while having two of Malayalam cinema's greatest actors(Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi), it was Shobhana who played the lead role, something which was also not experimented with before. I felt that Madhu Muttam's script was excellent, with a smoothly flowing storyline and crisp dialogues. I believe Fazil did a remarkable job because even though he used such a heavy storyline, he directed it in such a way that my attention never wavered from the movie and always kept me eagerly awaiting the next scene.
Here are the three biggest reasons why Manichitrathazhu is one of the best movies I have ever watched:
3. The Film Setting
Due to the fact that the Madampally mansion played a key role in the storyline, the producers and director needed a place that would suit them perfectly. The film was majorly shot in the Tripunithura Palace and the Padmanabhapuram Palace, both of which were once royal residences. The sheer size and unique shape of the palaces greatly enhanced the movie and the sense of horror in it. The famous 'Thekkini' in Manichitrathazhu was actually shot in a producer's house in Chennai and I felt that the rooms carried a strange mysterious gravity around it; something which was essential for the movie.
2. Comedy
Although you may not be interested in watching the movie because it deals with a "psychological horror" theme, it is actually not that scary and a reason why it should be a must watch for you is the comedy in the movie. Some of the actors in the star-studded cast, namely Innocent, Nedumudi Venu, Kuthiravattom Pappu are among the greatest comedians ever in Malayalam cinema. Even Mohanlal and K.P.A.C Lalitha pitched in with their comic antics. My faourite comedian in this movie is Innocent, who acted as one of the elders in Nakulan's family. His natural acting skills, complemented with an amazing dialogue delivery and face expressions, really took Manichitrathazhu to the next level.
1. Shobhana's Jaw-dropping Acting
Although Mohanlal played only a supporting role in the movie, till date, I have never seen any of his movies where any other actor has surpassed him in his acting skills. Until I came upon Manichitrathazhu. Shobhana's acting was simply out of this world. She portrayed the calm and unassuming role of Ganga excellently and then rose up to the challenge while portraying a mentally ill Nagavalli. Her murderous face expressions, along with her distracted body gestures was simply top class. In the scene where she transformed into Nagavalli in a split-second and lifted the bed with one hand, I am sure even the bravest of men would have crowed with fear. Portraying the role of a mentally ill patient is absolutely difficult and Shobhana passed that test with flying colours. When I mentioned my views on her acting to my parents, they told me that she won the National Award for Best Actress for her performance; something which she deserved and much more.
In conclusion, I would rate Manichitrathazhu as the best Malayalam film I have ever watched after Bharatham because of its amazing screenplay, direction, comedy and most importantly, Shobhana's acting. This is a must watch for everyone and I believe that you will love it😃
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