Traffic is an absolute triumph for Malayalam Cinema!!

Movie - Traffic (Malayalam)

Director - Rajesh Pillai

Producer - Listin Stephen

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Bobby & Sanjay

Cast - Sreenivasan, Anoop Menon, Rahman, Kunchacko Boban, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Sayikumar, Vijayakumar, Krishna, Lena, Sandhya, Roma, Remya Nambeeshan, Reena Basheer, Prem Prakash & Jose Prakash

Music - Mejo Joseph, Samson Kottoor

Cinematography - Shyju Khalid

Background Score - Mejo Joseph

Art Director - Saburam

Editor - Mahesh Narayanan

Release Date - 7th January 2011

Warning - This is going to be a fairly long post. So kindly bear with me. :) 

Well, I have no words. After a long time, I've had an overwhelming experience watching a Malayalam film and I'm proud of that. After being through endless criticisms, some people finally woke up and showed us what Malayalam Cinema is actually capable of. Traffic is a path-breaking cinematic experience with one of the most flawless screenplays ever written in Malayalam Cinema. Perhaps the first movie with an ensemble cast and no conventional hero/heroine, the script and direction are the heroes of this film. This movie took me through a complete emotional roller coaster. I experienced sorrow, tension, adrenalin rushes, anxiety and elation in those two hours I spent inside the hall watching this movie. I didnt even want the interval to happen, something which I've felt while watching only one other movie - Inception. 

Traffic follows a multiple narrative structure. It tells the tale of many people affected by a road accident at a traffic signal. Inspired by a true event, the entire narrative of Traffic is set in one day, 16th of September where fate plays a game in which the lives of many people become interconnected. A heart transplant surgery is to be performed and the live heart is to be transported from Kochi to Palakkad within a limited time of 2 hours. How this is done, essentially forms the core of this movie. It is a road movie, an action thriller and an emotional drama, all rolled into one. 

The screenplay by the brothers Bobby & Sanjay is flawless to say the least and it is certainly the backbone of this feature film. Traffic is just their third film after the very impressive and effective Ente Veedu Appontem and Notebook, and they've shown such maturity and innovation in their writing that many of our most experienced writers cant even imagine matching up to. There 2 young gentlemen are the future of the Malayalam film industry which was dying without good writers. Rajesh Pillai, who made a forgettable debut through Hridayathil Sookshikkan some years back, makes a thunderous impact with his second directorial venture. He has been able to do full justice to the excellent script by the writers and one can say without a tinge of doubt that no other director, however experienced he might be cannot do a better job than what Rajesh has done for this film. So Rajesh, Bobby & Sanjay, here's a bow from a film lover who feels proud seeing a masterpiece in his language after such a long time. 

Each and every member of the cast has his/her moment of glory in the film. The film does not have a hero or heroine and each character is as important as the other. Remya Nambeeshan who has evolved into a beautiful young lady makes a mark. Roma, acting after a brief gap, does quite well and does not overact. Sandhya also gives a decent performance. But among the ladies, it is Lena who plays the superstar Siddharth's wife who makes a solid impact. She shows that she has immense potential and no one had really bothered to tap into that until now. Her break-down over the phone in the second half leaves you stunned and disturbed at the same time. That scene alone can make all our top-line actresses put their head down in shame. The lady who played Vineeth's mother and the other new girls who made their debut through the film were also effective. 

Among the men, there is the veteran actor and uncle of the writers, Jose Prakash making a film appearance after a really long time and his role essentially becomes the starting point and the inspiration for the main plot of the movie. The writers' father Prem Prakash also has a good role of that of a surgeon who makes the proposition of this heart transplant. Vineeth Sreenivasan's Reyhaan stays with us till the end of the movie as a sorrow. Vineeth gives a fine, natural performance in the very little screen time that he's got. Asif, who plays his dedicated best friend, is excellent and matches up to the amazing talent around him in every scene, thereby showing great promise. Anoop Menon plays the Kochi City Commissioner who takes up this extremely risky operation under his responsibility and I must say, that it is his second best performance till date after his award winning act in Thirakkatha. He represents the audience and their tension and anxiety throughout the movie and when his mission succeeds, we feel as happy and proud as he feels. Watch out for his performance in the single shot in the interval scene and the one towards the end where he stands there with tears in his eyes after his mission turns into a success. Rahman plays the arrogant superstar with elan and reminds us of one of our favourite superstars at many instances. He is super-effective in the scenes towards the end of the movie. Sreenivasan as the cop who takes up the responsibility of the mission to get back his lost pride and honour, is as bankable as he always is. He is someone whom Malayalis blindly trust, and that is exactly why his casting as the key character in this movie works big time. I've said this before and I'm saying it again - Kunchacko Boban is not the chocolate boy we saw in Aniyathipravu and Niram anymore. He has matured into an absolutely wonderful actor who can play any role with consummate ease. He proved that in Elsamma and with his performance as a doctor guilty of his own conscience  in Traffic, he has just reinstated that fact. This actor must be given due recognition and much more such opportunities to showcase his talent. He is just too good. And the best among the lot is none other than Sayikumar, who plays Vineeth's father. Each scene he appeared, he managed to make my eyes moist as I could feel the exact pain that his character was going through. An absolute triumph by the veteran actor in such a short role. Vijayakumar and Krishna were also good in their respective supporting roles. 

A lot of movies claim to be edge of the seat thrillers with nail biting action, but there would be nothing like that when we watch those films. But Traffic, despite being heavily loaded with emotions, is an action packed thriller which you can watch only with bated breath. My eyes were glued to the screen and many a times, I couldnt handle the tension and I remember clutching on to the seat, literally sitting on its edge. Inception did that to me last, and I dont have a memory of a Malayalam film doing that to me, ever. Apart from Rajesh Pillai's deft direction, this is also a result of the excellent work by the technical crew of the film. The movie is so engrossing and engaging that it is difficult to pay attention to the technical aspects of the film in detail. Camerawork by Shyju Khalid is the best this movie could have asked for. He takes us in between the action with his shots and editor Mahesh Narayanan confirms that the audience feels right in the middle of the entire action of the plot. The movie is so tightly scripted and edited that even a minute lesser or extra would have done a lot of damage. After going through all these emotions, action, tension and anxiety and reaching a finale, Mejo Joseph plays the soul-stirring theme music of the film and we cant help but feel elated just like the characters feel at that point. The song right at the beginning of the film was also very good and gave a peek into the lives of all the characters. 

Traffic shows how a disaster can be turned into a noble deed when good people come together and work towards it putting all their heart into it. It starts with specific characters and by the end of it, the entire society becomes involved and concerned about the situation and tries to do whatever little they can towards making this mission a success. A rock solid screenplay with no loose ends, impeccable work by the director and his technical crew and awe-inspiring performances by the actors make this one of the best movies ever made in Malayalam Cinema. The screenplay of this movie should be studied academically by people who are interested in making innovative cinema. People who've been complaining of the deterioration of Malayalam Cinema can feel relieved now, our cinema is in safe hands with the likes of Bobby, Sanjay and Rajesh Pillai. Traffic is perhaps the only movie in the last 5 years to be unanimously liked by people across the state, after Udayanaanu Thaaram & Classmates, and I can proudly say that this movie is even better than those two also. So once again, Hats off to Rajesh Pillai, Bobby, Sanjay and the entire team of Traffic. You've done us proud and given us reason to believe that there's still a future for Malayalam Cinema. I'm proud to say that I know many people who were associated with this film. Thank you for this movie!! 

Rating - 4.75/5

Malayalam Film Music Now - An Overview

When was the last time someone talked about the present day Malayalam film music? Is it because it’s going through a bad phase now? Even reality show singers pick Tamil and Hindi songs or rely on old Malayalam classics to prove their skills. No one seems to be bothered about the songs made in Malayalam in the past 3-4 years, with a few exceptions. Stage shows and dance programmes are almost completely relied on Tamil and Hindi music, since it is extremely difficult to find even one foot-tapping number from the vast array of songs being made in film after film here. The directors and producers seem to have no interest in music; even the biggest movies came with mediocre musical scores.

Death of great composers like Raveendran and M.G. Radhakrishnan have created an emptiness which can’t be ignored. Johnson is in semi-retirement mode and has a more comfortable job as a reality show judge. Ouseppachan and Mohan Sithara give good songs given a chance. Ilaiyaraaja makes better songs in Malayalam than what he makes in Tamil, but bears the criticism of recycling his own yesteryear Tamil hits. Vidyasagar is inconsistent when he gives the chartbuster Neelathamara first and the mediocre  Apoorvaragam next. Alex Paul, after the initial streak of good melodies, fell into lower standards soon. M Jayachandran is the only composer who is able to give good songs – both melodies and fast paced songs, consistently. Veteran lyric writer Gireesh Puttenchery’s demise in April 2010 has created a sudden emptiness for soulful lyrics.

BUT, all is not lost. A new breed of composers, lyricists and singers are gradually making their presence felt in Malayalam film music. None of them have taken the industry by storm, but they keep surprising us with some great songs now and then. Young composers like Bijibal, Rahul Raj, Shaan Rahman, Gopi Sunder, Prashant Pillai, Mejo Joseph, Ratheesh Vega, Siddharth Vipin, Manu Ramesan and many others have entered the music industry bringing a lot of freshness to our music. Their passion towards music is shown in their work, and their music is slowly and steadily gaining acceptance among the Malayali audience, who are a bit reserved about new trends.

While the veteran composers had great scripts with due importance to music to work on, the new comers are forced to do songs meant only as fillers in commercial cinema. In a limited scope, these youngsters have made a mark by bringing in a fresh feel to their songs, without imitating their seniors. With movies such as Loudspeaker, Malarvaadi Arts Club, Ritu, Big B, Sagar Alias Jacky, Nayakan, Notebook, Cycle, Cocktail, Anwar and Chekavar, these composers have shown what they are capable of through their compositions, vocal arrangements and orchestrations. Various new genres of music like rap (Big B, Sagar Alias Jacky), jazz (Kaathu Kaathu – Malarvadi Arts Club), hip-hop (Njaan – Anwar), qawwali (Kizhakku Pookkum – Anwar) are being tried out in Malayalam music, which the younger generation can connect to. 

And they've also proved their versatility within the albums they compose. Shaan can pull off a beautiful 'Maamarangale' in a movie like Ee Pattanathil Bhootham. Prashant Pillai is able to give an adrenalin rush through a song like 'Kaatte Vaayo' and also give the blissful 'Lolalolamaayi' in the same movie Nayakan. Bijibal showed what he is capable of, with his first outing (Arabikkatha) itself. Rahul Raj proved his range through different genres of songs in Chotta Mumbai, Chekavar and the award winning Ritu. Likewise, each one of these young composers can boast of a wide range in the music they create. 

While they are experimenting with all these genres, they also make songs rooted in our language and culture alternatively. Fresh voices like Shreya Ghoshal , Shankar Mahadevan, Ranjith, Karthik, Naresh Iyer, Benny Dayal, Achu, Rahul Nambiar, Suchithra, etc. are tried out with brilliant effect. Singers like Vijay Yesudas and Shwetha Mohan have been given the opportunity to prove their versatility through these fresh tunes, while the veterans like Jayachandran, M.G. Sreekumar, Chitra and Sujatha are also used according to the requirements of the songs. But one sorely misses the voice of K.J. Yesudas, who is seldom heard now, except in certain brilliant songs by M. Jayachandran (Amma Mazhakkarinu, Pinne Ennodonnum).

Composers like Deepak Dev and Alphonse Joseph (on a high after singing AR Rahman’s Aaromale) are also coming back with a vengeance. They are the ones who had initially created some hope and then faded out in between. But Deepak Dev gave the chartbuster Puthiya Mukham last year and was back in the top league. Alphonse has done some wonderful work in recent films like Athmakatha, Cocktail, etc and has plenty of projects lined up. 

Lyricists like Rafeeq Ahmed and Anil Panachooran also instill hope. Vineeth Sreenivasan impressed with his outing as a lyricist through the simplistic songs of Malarvaadi Arts Club. With more and more young filmmakers coming into the industry, there are many more opportunities for these composers, singers and lyricists to get challenging projects to work on and prove their worth.

With the audience becoming much more aware of the different technical aspects in cinema, the background scores are noticed more than before. Almost all the fresh faces are good in background scores too.

Bijibal is one of the most sought after people for background scores after movies like Palery Manikyam and Passenger. Rahul Raj impressed with his funky, over-the-top score for Chotta Mumbai and a wonderfully understated score in Ritu. Shaan Rahman’s background score for Malarvaadi Arts Club drew attention too. The theme tracks of the movie like the funny ‘Shashi’ became immensely popular even as mobile ringtones. Gopi Sunder’s background scores in Amal Neerad flicks are always appreciated and looked forward to. He impressed with a beautiful score in Ividam Swargamanu as well. Amal Neerad’s new movie Anwar even features an English rock song by the popular rock band Motherjane as a part of its soundtrack, thus tapping the potential the film of alternate non-film music also.

The young breed may not be able to deliver a His Highness Abdullah or a Bharatham or a Sargam or a Manichithrathaazhu. The reason is such films happen seldom these days. Situations for songs like ‘Ramakatha Ganalayam’ or a ‘Pramadavanam’ are a rarity to find in our movies today. After Vadakkumnathan, there hasn’t been a single movie with importance for music. Give these guys such movies and situations, they would come up with some great work!!

Music is treated just as a mandatory requirement in our movies and not as an art form or a tool to move the narrative forward.  Very few directors like Lal Jose make it a point to make the songs noticed in a movie. With the limited scope they get, these composers are doing a wonderful job, and if they are given the right opportunities and scripts, they are capable of doing much more than what they are already doing. Malayalam film music may not go back to the time of the Devarajans, Baburajs, Raveendrans or Johnsons, but hopefully shall progress to being known as the music of the Bijibals, Shaans, Rahuls or Gopis. 

Malarvaadi Arts Club

Movie - Malarvaadi Arts Club (Malayalam)

Director - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Producer - Dileep

Cast - Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Shraavan, Hari Krishnan, Bhagath Manuel, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salimkumar, Janardhanan, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Kottayam Naseer, Apoorva Bose and others.

Music and Background Score - Shaan Rahman

Cinematography - P Sukumar ISC

Editor - Ranjan Abraham

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Release Date - 16th July 2010

There was a time in Malayalam Cinema where the antics and adventure of the unemployed youth made for some really interesting stories and feature films. Priyadarshan, Siddique-Lal, Sathyan Anthikkad and Sreenivasan made so many memorable movies telling the stories of the misadventures of such young people, which are still fresh in our minds. But as time passed, such movies became a rarity. And youth films became restricted to the so-called 'campus' films which came one after the other with almost the same storylines in every film. But now, this young guy called Vineeth Sreenivasan takes us back to a village called Manassheri and tells the story of 5 young, spirited, but unemployed guys and their friendship with lots of humour, music and masti. 

The movie is about the 5 young guys called Prakashan (Nivin), Santosh (Shraavan), Purushu (Bhagath), Praveen (Hari) and Kuttu (Aju), the only members of the club called Malarvaadi Arts Club in their village. They have a mentor in their building's owner Kumarettan (Nedumudi Venu), who treats them like his own children. They are a bunch of fun-loving guys who also double up as taskmasters for a political party in the village. They go around creating and inviting trouble around them, having fun while doing all that. But then, Santosh's family goes through a financial crisis and in that stage, Kumarettan and the rest of the Malarvaadi gang, inspire him to pursue his real talent - music, and participate in a reality show. Santosh becomes an overnight sensation making Kumarettan and his friends very proud. But then an incident occurs through which their relationship is affected deeply. What happens next forms the rest of the story. 

Vineeth got an opportunity to direct a movie so early in his career, only because of his lineage. But unlike other star-kids, he didnt waste that opportunity. Instead, he has worked hard to get the best out of that chance and the result is out there for everyone to see. The story is definitely nothing new and follows predictable routes mostly, but the whole package makes watching the movie a worthwhile experience. Vineeth's treatment, the performance of the newcomers, natural dialogues and the great music are the best aspects of the movie. Like most of the people in our generation, Vineeth also has been influenced by almost all the movies based on friendship and music, and that is very evident in the movie as well. There are portions which remind you of Dil Chahta Hai, Goa, Chennai 28 and Rock On. But still, he was smart enough to admit it beforehand that he has been influenced by all these movies. But he has treated them only as influences, rather than trying to copy them blindly, which is a very good sign. Vineeth has extracted fine performances out of all his new finds. His acting camp before the shoot of the movie has certainly enhanced their performances. The dialogues of the movie are excellent, and such natural dialogues are hardly heard in Malayalam these days, where each sentence is dramatic and over the top in almost all movies. Such natural conversations used to happen (and still happens) only in Sreenivasan films, and thankfully his son has acquired that quality from him effectively. He also takes some digs at politics and politicians, in true Sreenivasan style. 

Nivin, who has played the part of Prakashan is the best among the newbies. He has amazing screen presence and his performance is the backbone of the film. His energy and aggression reminded me of Sasikumar from Subramaniapuram. Aju, who plays Kuttu, a modern day version of Harihar Nagar's Appukkuttan (the old one), has some hilarious lines and scenes. Bhagath, Shraavan and Harikrishnan also make impressive debuts as Purushu, Santosh and Praveen respectively.  (I have a doubt if Vineeth Sreenivasan himself dubbed for Shraavan in the movie. The voice sounded very familiar). Bhagath shines in emotional scenes and his short romantic portion. Nedumudi Venu has the best written role in the movie and the veteran makes a huge impact through his performance. Jagathy Sreekumar and Salimkumar are wasted. Kottayam Naseer and Janardhanan are okay. Suraaj Venjarammoodu plays the same goonda role that he has been playing in all other movies. (Thankfully no vulgar jokes this time). Apoorva Bose and the other new girl do their parts well. The Senior comes in a short, but impressive cameo as well. In short, the newcomers have performed better than the established actors in this movie. 

Shaan Rahman has done a fantastic job with the music of the film. The songs of the film have been out for a pretty long time and are already chartbusters. Each song gels well into the narrative of the film, the best ones being 'Innoree Mazhayil' and 'Changayi'. The climax song could have been a little more better. Vineeth's lyrics are also extremely good. (You can find my music review of the album here). Background score is excellent and it strikes an effective balance between music and silence. Shaan has sneaked in his 'Palavattam' tune in a scene with Salimkumar, which was damn cool. His 'Shashi' track for Salimkumar and 'Who let the dog out' for Suraaj were hilarious. His background score has certainly enhanced the movie very much. P Sukumar's shots were easy to the eye and the song 'Manyamahajanangale' and the finale song 'Aayiram Kaatham' had some nice frames. Ranjan Abraham's editing is perfect for the film. 

Malarvaadi Arts Club is a team effort and it shows on each and every frame of the movie. It looks like the team had a great time making the movie, under the leadership of Vineeth. The multitasker has proved himself as a singer, an actor, a lyricist and now a writer-director. He has made a light-hearted, entertaining movie which can be enjoyed by people of all age groups and from all walks of society. It has its share of flaws, but the sincerity and the teamwork behind this project overshadows all those flaws. The movie is not pretentious like other so-called youth films and succeeds in narrating a simple story of friendship in an effective way. Dileep also deserves brownie points for taking up this project and producing it under his banner, thus making its reach much more wider than what it could have been otherwise. After all said and done, the film makes us smile while coming out of the theatre, and thats more than enough for one to call it a great film. Kudos to the entire Malarvaadikkoottam. Manyamahajanangale, these 'Kashmalans' are here to stay!! 

Rating - 4/5