We have seen many historical movies accurately portraying historical events or biographies of famous personalities. Troy, The Passion of Christ, Alexander, Gladiator, 300, Gandhi, Titanic, Pearl Harbour and Ambedkar were all attempts to show history available to professional historians on celluloid. Veteran director Hariharan's Pazhassi Raja, starring Mammootty in the lead, is one such attempt, depicting the history of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, a king in the 18th century.
Making a historical film is not something everyone can do! However, after Oru Vadakkan Veera Gadha, director Hariharan and writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair have proved their brilliance once again and their Pazhassi Raja is truly a masterpiece containing the manner, matter and mood of a monumental epic in the finest sense of the word.
The film begins during the time when the British had decided to levy heavy taxes on various kingdoms. Pazhassi Raja (Mammootty), who belonged to the Kottayam Royal family in Thalassery of Malabar region in Kerala, opposed these taxes. After being forced to flee with his queen Kaitheri Makkom (Kanihaa), lieutenant Edachena Kunkan (Sarathkumar) and Kaitheri Ambu (Suresh Krishna) to the forests, Pazhassi Raja started guerrilla warfare against the British from the Wayanad forests. He had the support of tribal warriors like Thalackal Chanthu (Manoj K. Jayan) and Neeli (Padmapriya).
After some initial successes, Pazhassi's army soon started facing setbacks as they found the going tough against the guns and modern machinery of the English soldiers. The brave Raja and his faithful gang of warriors were defeated by the army led by the young British sub-collector Thomas Baber, who were assisted by some traitors like Pazhayamveedan Chanthu (Suman).
Mammootty does not portray a larger-than-life character but handles the character soberly, with finesse and perfection. It is amazing to see Mammootty, who is in his mid-fifties, playing the main role and looking just like the warrior prince of our imagination, as if coming straight out of a painting in almost every scene. More than Mammootty, it is Tamil actor Sarathkumar who grabs the whole attention of the show. He is truly apt for the role of an army commander Edachena Kungan, his physique and histrionic skills show him merging with his role. The guerrilla war scenes involving Neeli (Padmapriya) and Thalakkal Chanthu (Manoj K. Jayan) are splendidly executed.
M.T. Vasudevan Nair's script has lots of cinematic moments; critics might carp that the film has taken some cinematic liberties. In fact, it does but on the whole, it is engaging and entertaining. The technical aspects like Ramanath Shetty's cinematography, Ravi Dewan's action, Resul Pookkutty's sound and Sreekar Prasad's editing have also succeeded in taking it to a different level. All in all, Pazhassi Raja, a classic in Malayalam cinema made at a gigantic budget by Gokulam Gopalan, is truly worth watching on the large screen.
Source: Galatta.com
