Alternate Movies

Kazhcha is a wonderful movie that sings an ode to love. Universal in its concept, it beautifully etches the importance of love and care.Yet another awesome movie which could only be made in kerala as a main stream movie and run in packed house.

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Kazhcha tells the story of Madhavan a 16 mm film operator.Madhavan is a small time operator who screens movies in festivals and for cinema enthusiast’s around kuttanad area in kerala. Madhavan comes across a small boy, who speaks a different language.He takes him with him to his house. Even though the boy speaks a different language which no one understands in the family, a special bond grows between the boy and everyone in the family. They later come to know that he is speaking gujarathi and that he was a victim of the gujarat earthquake, which left around 30,000 dead. what happens to the boy and how politics, judiciary etc look at the boy and whether he gets back with his parents is the rest of the story.

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Mammotty gives a beautiful performance in the movie.The action is very controlled and as necessary for the movie.He should be appreciated for doing this role as Master yash who plays the kid pavan, gets as much coverage in the movie as the super star himself. Good supporting roles from everybody including master Yash.



The movie is shot in kuttanad, a lush green backwater place of kerala.The visuals are beautiful and it's very refreshing to see such a beautiful landscape and lifestyle of the people who live there. For example lakshmi, madhavan's wife tells her daughter that she is late for school. You hear a horn sound from outside the house.You think the school bus is waiting outside.The camera pans to the front of the house. Instead of a school bus, you see a school boat full of children’s dressed in their school uniform. Madhavan's house front gate ends right at the back water. If you step out of the house you will step into water. The primary means of commute in this part of the country is boat. we get to see the milkman pouring milk to his customer from the boat etc. Camera man azhagappan has done a good job in capturing the beauty of that region. Towards the end, the movie shifts from the lush green backwaters of kerala to the dry kutch region of gujarat and cinemetographer azhagappan's makes us feel his presence there too.



Credit should go to blessy for narrating a beautiful story with focus on so many other things also.He has given lot of attention to small things in the movie.First he takes time to make us feel the people in the village. Through various actions of people in the movie, we come to know the laid back, helping and friendly nature of the village.And on an another aspect he spends time to makes us feel the thoughts of pavan the vagabond kid.A guy who is traumatized, yet so much like any other kid of his age. With pavan and ambili, madhavan's daughter, he takes us into the world of children's. A world of pure joy,love and fun.


The movie is about visuals, the sights.Even though pavan does not know the language malayalam, he is affected by various scenes that he sees in the movie.Belssy also talks about how media affects people.Everybody understand the boy's problem once they see the visuals off the earthquake.He also tells about how media manipulates emotions etc.The movie is also about movies, through madhavan's profession he constantly points about movies, how cinema has degraded, how tv is affecting cinema.And how movies are so close to people.There is reference to tamil movies like vasantha maligai, veera pandia kattabomman, and scenes of few movies are also shown.Malayalam movies like desadanam,spadikam etc.I was sweetly surprised to see scenes of "Battleship potemkin" in the movie. Only in a malayalam movie would you be able to see Sergei einsteins classic "Battleship Potemkin" and show the "Odessa Steps".

Above all the movie is also about our inflexible judicial system.A system that does not have a eye or a heart.



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At the end of the movie, we are left with a great sense of releif. What would have happened to this boy, if he wasn't taken care by madhavan?.He would have turned into a street criminal, he could have been misused by the people.He could have become the scum of a big city.But madhavan's love for him changes his whole life.Not only does he changes to the laid back and friendly lifestyle of the village from the city/town life.He also changes to a kid from becoming an young adult.Away from his street friends and his fight for daily food.IN the village he remains as a kid due to his friendship with ambili.He retains his childish laughs, childish playfulness and sense of wonder and amazement of small things.The love of madhavan's family, the dog,hen, birds and a home changes it all for this small boy.From a guy who hurts a man who tries to misuse him, he sings song with the crocking of a frog.Love can change the world, in this movie it is the life of an innocent boy, his future.
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Cast:
Mammootty .... Madhavan
Yash .... Pavan
Padmapriya .... Lakshmi
Sanusha .... Ambily
Manoj K. Jayan .... Joy
Innocent .... Fr. Kuriakose
Augustine .... Political Leader
Venu Nagavalli .... Officer

Azhagappan and Blessy

Music:
Music is by Mohan Sitara.He is the source of one of the big discontent of this movie for me. He overdoes the background music. He has gone for sensational scores. Even though the scenes or underplayed by blessy and mammotty.

The movie has good songs.
Jugunu -This is a beautiful number. This is the song that pavan's dad sings for him.
Kunje - what can you say. It was sung my yesudoss.
The movie has 3 more songs.
Listen to kazhcha songs here




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x7UPH0mwSY

Awards:

Mammokka won the best actor award in both filmfare and kerala state
The movie had to compete with akale.So even though shyam prasad won the best director award at the state level.Belssy won awards for "Director of the best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value" and "Best Debut Director"

Trivia:
The various movies shown in kazcha are

Spadikam
Desadanam
Saanthwanam -unni vaa vaa voo
Battleship potemkin

Links:
Blessy interview
Mammooty official website
Mamooty on kazhcha
Blessy's interview in the week
gurajat earth quake
Gujarath earth quake on wiki