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Release
date:
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December 12, 2019
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Director:
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M. Padmakumar
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Cast:
Language:
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Mammootty, Unni Mukundan, Achuthan, Prachi Tehlan, Kaniha, Maala
Parvathi, Anu Sithara, Siddique, Tarun Arora, Iniya, Kaviyoor Ponnamma,
Manikandan Achari, Sudev Nair
Malayalam (Dubbed versions in Tamil,
Telugu and Hindi have also been released. This is a review of the original
Malayalam film.)
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Art
does not exist in a vacuum. The socio-political context in which it has been
created lends it layers and meaning it may not have when viewed in isolation.
So, as violence erupts in India’s North-east following the passage of the
Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 in Parliament, beef-related lynchings no longer
provoke public outrage on the scale witnessed when Mohammed Akhlaq was murdered
in Dadri in 2015, and large sections of the citizenry this month have been cheering what
they consider an extra-judicial killing by the Telangana police, a pacifist
film assumes great significance. It becomes especially
crucial when that film casts one of India’s biggest stars as
a character asking his people to give peace a chance.
This is
why Mamangam: History of the Brave is
impossible to ignore. Directed by M. Padmakumar, the film features Malayalam megastar Mammootty as a
legendary warrior from Kerala who turns his back on violence when he becomes
convinced of its pointlessness.
Mammootty here plays Chandroth Valiya Panicker whose community is
embroiled in a long-running blood feud with the ruling Saamoothiris a.k.a.
Zamorins. In a bid to assassinate the incumbent monarch, these Kalari maestros
have been targeting the extravagant Mamangan fair that takes place every 12
years on the banks of the Bharathappuzha river.
When the film opens, a voiceover explains the background to this enmity.
The narrative then plunges into a bloody battle between Valiya Panicker’s
band of fighters and the Zamorin’s forces at a Mamangam fair in the
late 17th century. Cut to 24 years later when Chandroth Panicker (Unni
Mukundan) informs his family that the Goddess appeared to him and instructed
him to attend the upcoming Mamangam. His wife (Anu Sithara) and
mother (Maala Parvathi) are just recovering from the shock when, much
to their dismay, his adoloscent nephew Chanthunni (Achuthan) announces that he
too has been similarly guided by the Devi.
As the two young men journey towards their fate, on a parallel track the
Zamorin’s representative (played by Siddique) is shown investigating the
mysterious disappearance of one of the king’s agents from the abode
of the courtesan Unnimaaya (Prachi Tehlan).
The link between the two threads is Valiya Panicker.
This is a story with immense potential. As north Indian cinema
increasingly celebrates violence and cashes in on
the hyper-nationalism dominating the public discourse, it
reflects well on Malayalam cinema that it has not followed suit. Mamangam chooses to defy the bloodlust of the
off-screen mob.
Thematic relevance, courage and sensitivity are not enough to hold up an
entire film though when the writing is shallow and the storytelling style dull.
These twin problem areas combined with action scenes and visual effects that
are a mixed bag end up pulling down Mamangam.
It
is all very well to show Valiya
Panicker denouncing bloodshed, but the only way the messaging could have been
effective is if we had been taken along on his inner travels. Sadly, the
screenplay fails to satisfactorily explain how or why enlightenment struck him.
One day he is driving swords into the Zamorin’s soldiers, and the next time we
see him he is questioning the purpose of this seemingly never-ending hatred
that has claimed numerous lives.
Even the conversations sound stiff. There is incessant talk about the
wombs that have borne children only to give them up to this bloodletting. The
women of the hero’s clan, in fact, speak of little but that. They though are
better off than the courtesans who are given nothing much to
do but gaze at the men with inexplicable expressions. In fact at one point in
the narrative, as Valiya Panicker and Chanthunni chat while working
together on a mural, Unnimaaya is present throughout their exchange but
all she does is stare, then stare again, and then stare some more. I
mean c’mon, Prachi Tehlan is pretty and has a curvaceous body
showcased here in elegant minimal clothing, but considering that she serves
little purpose in Mamangam beyond
her visual appeal, the producers may as well have stuck her poster on one half
of the screen during that scene instead of bothering to rope in a live human
being for the role.
While
on the subject of spectacle, the production design is one of the nicest
technical aspects of this film. Both
Unnimaaya’s residence and the Mamangam festival
are bathed in a warm glow, drawing on a rich palette dominated by a tasteful blend
of gold, cream and reds. The costumes share this colour scheme. Whether they
are authentic to the period is for historians to say, but they are
certainly easy on the eye.
The
camerawork in Mamangam though is surprisingly lacklustre, and
unable to capture the famed natural beauty of Kerala. This is odd since cinematography is one of contemporary Malayalam
cinema’s great strengths.
The stunts, which should have been Mamangam’s USP, are unevenly executed. While wide swathes of the action choreography are
certainly impressive and had me on edge, the gravity-defying leaps taken by
Valiya Panicker and Chanthunni lack fluidity, a fluidity that has
been summoned up often enough in earlier depictions of Kalari on the Indian
screen. When they fly, they look like images being manipulated on a computer
rather than actual people.
The
only characters in Mamangam that have some flesh are all men. It is
unforgivable that gifted women like Anu Sithara have been cast in this film and
wasted.
Not that the men do much with the space they gave been given. Mammootty is the
only actor who draws something out of
his role, but given that the writing does not at
all look within Valiya Panicker, there
is only so much he can do. Still, it is important to note that in an avatar of
his character where he is required to alter his body language and posture in
favour of what is popularly considered effeminacy, he is measured and avoids
caricature. Moreover, in an industry notorious for male stars who have not
bothered to stay fit and maintain their physiques, he is the only one of his
contemporaries who could possibly have suited this role.
Mamangam’s release has been
preceded by a series of controversies more dramatic than the film itself.
Director M. Padmakumar’s last film Joseph is still memorable for its ruminative air and Joju George’s
career-defining performance. In Mamangam he
is unable to fully exploit either his leading man’s brilliance or the large budget for which this film has made news.
Still, Mamangam is
hardly the worst end Mammootty could have asked for in a year that has been elevated
by his smashing performances in Peranbu (Tamil)
and Unda (Malayalam). At least he
does not romance a woman young enough to be his daughter in Mamangam as he
does in too many of his films, and despite the pale writing he manages to leave his mark on the role. Most important
though, at a time when many Indian male superstars are playing along with a
murderous public frenzy over community and country pervading contemporary
India, it means a lot to watch Mammootty head in the opposite direction.
Rating (out
of 5 stars): 2
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CBFC Rating (India):
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UA
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Running time:
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156 minutes
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This review has also been published on Firstpost:
