Right from his debut
film ‘Bhoothakannadi’ which
won him laurels at the National level, director
Lohitadas' favourite topic has been exploring
frustrated love; he seems to be obsessed with
the theme of innocent love that inexorably comes
into conflict with brute force. While one side
is invariably loaded with innocence and purity,
the other side is dark and evil that looms ominously
over the lives of the lovers. In other words,
the brute force represents society whose borders
and norms are transgressed by the ‘innocence’
of love. The only factor that changes from film
to film is the milieu. In his new cliché-ridden
film Nivedhyam, Lohitadas places this
narrative within a temple and it is this space
that sets the stage for the same ill-fated drama
to unfold.
 It
all begins with Mohanakrishnan's (played by the
newcomer Vinu Mohan) arrival at an idyllic village
in order to pursue his passion for music. There,
he is forced to take up the job of a junior priest
in the local temple owned by his music teacher,
who is the representative of all the old feudal
values that Lohitadas idolizes. So, for Mohanakrishnan
it is actually a return – he is an ‘unfortunate’
Nambudiri boy, who has ‘fallen’ into
the state of resorting to a manual, ‘low’
profession like carpentry. Apparently this fall
is due to the ‘progressive’ liberalism
of the earlier generation because his idealist-father
didn’t think that his family was the end
of everything, and was busy reforming the world.
And it is the bounden duty of another Nambudiri
Brahmin in this generation, Kaithapram (a well-known
lyricist in Malayalam cinema) acting as himself,
who rights this wrong, by sending him to an illustrious
master, and so, back to his rightful place. Thus,
in a way Mohanakrishnan regains his lost father
in the Nambudiri-landlord who becomes his guru
and guardian.
In the village, Mohanakrishnan suddenly becomes
a ‘Krishna’ to all the love-starved
women around. But his heart is won by Bhama (played
by another debutant Bhama), an illegitimate child
born to a woman who was lured to the city by cinema.
It is the landlord-Nambudiri who protects her.
Fatherless like the hero, she is the result of
her mother's infatuation with cinema. So, saving
her is also atonement for the sin committed by
the landlord-brahmin's son, for it was the latter
who was instrumental in sending her to the tinsel
world. Just when Mohanakrishnan and Bhama’s
love flourishes, enter the villain in the form
of a relative of her brother-in-law. Caught red-handed
in the premises of the temple, and prevented violently
in their efforts to run away and make a life elsewhere,
Mohanakrishnan is forced to kill the villain.
The film winds up with the run-of-the-mill, cliché
of the hero going to jail leaving his love behind
who promises to wait for him to come back.
To be honest, there is very little to speak about
the story or screenplay of the film. The film
abounds with various clichés and stereotypes
we know so well: the generous sahridaya Nambudiri-landlord,
master and patron of arts, the irresponsible drunkard
of a brother-in-law, the innocent but 'courageous-till-she-meets-her-love'
nubile village belle, the know-all lover (he is
adept at music, spiritual and religious matters,
and even mural painting!), the wicked sister,
the loving grandma etc. As a result, despite some
fine acting by the newcomers and some impressive
camera work by Azhagappan, the film falls totally
flat, being averse as it is to any kind of in-depth
exploration in either its treatment or theme.
Recent Malayalam cinema has dwelt for too long
in this claustrophobic space of the upper caste
milieu, its manners and customs. Once it dares
to come out of that pretentious ivory tower that
it believes itself to be living in, and out into
the open and to the joys of labour and celebration,
it would be much more true to its spirit and that
of Malayalee life and times. For that, Malayalam
cinema desperately needs some fresh air, new thoughts
and yes, some joyous abandon.
Dr C S Venkiteswaran, is a Kerala based
film critic who has won state and national awards
for film direction and film criticism. He is now
Director, School of Media Studies, Kochi, Kerala.
He writes regularly about film in various national
and international journals and handles a weekly
column 'Rumblestrip' in New Indian Express.
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