The Indian National Emblem has four Lions with one hidden from view. The visible ones represent power, courage and confidence. According to C K Raghavan, the fourth hidden Lion represents the hidden truth!
ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch #Munariyuppu starring the thespian Malayalam actor Mammootty in a unique role. Muhammed Kutty Ismail Panimparambil aka Mammootty or Mamukka as fans affectionately call him was 62 when he acted as the prison inmate Raghavan, indicted for double homicide. He did not emote at all and that turned out to be the hallmark of this performance!
1. Director Venu and Script writer Unni R put together an unusual plot. It starts off innocuously enough with police Superintendent Krishnamurthy (Nedumudi Venu playing the role with characteristic ease) wanting to write a book about himself and his experiments with prison reform. Anjali Arakkal, a young journo (Aparna Gopinath) steps in and discovers C K Raghavan (Mammootty), an inmate who has been there for twenty years. She finds his story intriguing and writes a feature on him. This sets in motion a series of events that eventually ends up in a climax you would never figure! This is a very polarising film and I am sure there will be enough people who won’t be impressed with it but the sting in the tail alone is worth it!
2. Mammootty puts in a superb performance not giving anything away through the film. The script is rather simple; what heightens the deal is how the veteran actor immerses himself in every scene and brings gravitas, mystery and a human connect t each scene. This should surely rank as one of his best performances in a glittering career studded with heavy-duty roles.
3. The first shot of the film is a top shot that depicts a colony of ants dragging a dead lizard along. It doesn’t explicitly suggest what has happened but primes you for some excellent visual story-telling. Anjali’s building frustration and the diversionary sub-plot of her impending marriage alliance lead you into a comfortable zone till the ending leaves you floored!
4. Besides Nedumudi, there are Renji Panciker, Joy Mathew and Saiju Kurup in character roles that impress and build up the travails of the journalistic community in Kerala very well. Prithiviraj looks good in his cameo, although his role is one of the typical red herrings that you often find in Malayalam cinema; almost teasing the viewer. Pratap Pothen brings up the rear in a neat character role with his trademark accented English that helps him ease into many such roles!
5. Watch #Munariyuppu for Mammootty. The expression on his face in the last scene is priceless and tells you why he is considered as one of the industry’s foremost actors. In the jail there is sequence where he asks Anjali if the recording device can read the mind as well. He delivers this dialogue with utmost candour and drops a hint of how this story could become more complex. At the bar later he pounces on the man next to him and says that he is not averse to letting blood flow if obstructions need to be removed! I kept waiting for the story behind the “brain behind bars” but the beauty of the film is that the expected flashback never made its appearance. The two photographs of his victims remained on the wall and only served to build up the myth of the homicidal killer!
#Munariyuppu is a simple script, backed up by excellent performances. Time and again, Malayalam cinema comes up with quirky plots delivered perfectly and this is another example. The film does have it ponderous moments especially when Mammootty is struggling with his new-found freedom. I found shades of the #ShawshankRedemption character Brooks who doesn’t know how to cope with freedom and eventually hangs himself! But that friends is quite another story and is giving me Goosebumps already !
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