Category Archives: ET

1-By Laksh, Movies

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu

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Master class in acting

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu

CBI 5: The Brain is a 2022 (Directed by K.Madhu) released recently in theatres, stars the veteran actor Mammootty reprising his role as CBI officer Sethurama Iyer along with an ensemble cast. It is the fifth instalment of CBI film series. It’s a good time to revisit the first movie where it all began, streaming now on Disney Hotstar.

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, is a murder investigation led by a methodical and shrewd CBI officer—Sethurama Iyer, brilliantly essayed by Mammotty. The film kicks off with the death of a daughter-in-law in a household, followed by a police investigation declaring it a suicide and the case being handed over to CBI due to daughter-in-law’s family’s repeated appeals to higher authorities.

The film released in 1988 still packs a punch in terms of storytelling and terrific acting. Mammootty has to be singled out, for his portrayal of a hero who has all the authority, yet lets the job and its process decide the course. (A big lesson to all the stars and actors today, to submit themselves to the story and characterisation, instead of resorting to ‘mass’ tactics) Mammotty lets the story build on its own and saves the best for the last. Pages can be written about his acting style and how his character has been conceived, here are just a few.

  1. In one of the character’s introduction scenes Mammotty speaks to his family over the phone and cajoles his son to attend the school with a promise of chocolates. In one simple scene, the writer establishes the main character’s priorities (his family and profession)and his working style (using force or authority only when it is absolutely needed)
  2. When his team is on board he communicates clearly how they will proceed with the case—the process they will follow sequentially. That first they will check if corruption took place in the previous police investigation; Second, they will make sure if it were a murder instead of a suicide; Third, re-investigate the whole case to nab the criminal. This scene lays out the framework of his modus operandi as he himself calls it and also the writer in the background who establishes what the hero will do next.
  3. The writer and actor establish the character’s method and what he thinks about their roles in two brilliant scenes. In one scene, he asks his team not to react to an outburst of a suspect at their guesthouse and ‘focus’ on the job on hand. In another, he presents his open-mindedness and objectivity in taking the feedback from his team member (Suresh Gopi) and acts on it.
  4. The character of Sethurama Iyer is established as a person who practices what he preaches. There are a few brilliant scenes where Mammootty brushes aside references his caste both as a threat and an attempt to establish kinship, and looks for facts. ‘Focus on the job’ and ‘Objectivity’, both these characteristics come to the fore and vintage Mammotty just uses his persona and body language to present these intrinsic qualities. These scenes are as powerful as a hero beating the goons to a pulp.
  5. Mammootty the star comes to the fore when he does use his force when cracking a hard nut as he calls it in an interrogation scene. And finally, in the climax when he decides to tighten the noose on the killer and conclude the investigation, he displays the shades of a true commercial hero.

All of the above are a treat to watch as the hero unfolds himself during the course of the movie, and the movie becomes a true origin movie at that. And, a guiding light to the writers to present heroism as a part of the story and that a ‘hero’ doesn’t have to do overt scenes as a display of his power or process. Such writing effort, of course needs an actor of the calibre of Mammotty who can beat the living daylights out of anyone by a mere look.

This film was remade in Telugu with Dr.Rajasekhar in the lead (‘Nyayam kosam’) and in Hindi with Raj Kumar (‘Police Public’). One should check out these movies to get an idea as to how the original idea sometimes gets lost in translation…how a genuine inspiration is allowed to vaporise and transformed into something else, in the name of nativity.

Tailpiece: Eddie Murphy starrer ‘Beverly Hills Cop’(1984) presents an unconventional and an entertaining cop, and is worth a revisit (Streaming on Amazon Prime), which is also famous for its signature tune, the Axel theme. Btw, ‘Oru CBI Diary Kurippu’ theme music is top notch as well.

Related Links:

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu Theme Music

Axel F Theme Music

1-By Laksh, ET, Movies

‘Mystic River’: A Subdued Classic

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Tim Robbins plays one of the key characters in the film ‘Mystic River. On the Charlie Rose show, he mentions about the economical yet so effective direction of Clint Eastwood. There were no 20 or 30 takes to get the best output, instead, Clint Eastwood would okay in the second or the third take, maximum. In addition to this, his crew were around him for more than 20 years, who were so disciplined yet the set was relaxed. It was like a Zen experience for him to be a part of the movie. With Clint Eastwood understanding the actors point of view and his limited takes approach, according to Tim Robbins, made sure that the entire cast stayed in the skin of their characters and brought in the very best right from the word go.

Clint Eastwood in another episode of Charlie Rose refers to how he allows actors to deal with their characters. As an example he points out the scene where Dave (Tim Robbins) meets Jimmy (Sean Penn) after a long time on the porch, where he opens the scene with Tim Robbins and slowly includes Sean Penn to allow enough time for Sean to get into the mood of his character.

‘Mystic River’ touches upon a sensitive subject of child abuse and how individuals have to deal with it their entire life and their efforts in doing so are often misunderstood, even by the closest family members. Set against Boston, the plot revolves around the life of three kids who grew up in the city, and meet after many years after a horrific incident. The mystery and the drama that ensues form the crux of the movie.

Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins as the three estranged childhood friends give in their best performances along with Lawrence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden, dash…under the ever watchful eyes of the master director Clint Eastwood.

Tim Robbins and Sean Penn, won Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor for their superlative display of histrionics. The movie is a must watch for anyone who loves good cinema, great acting and superb direction.

Mystic River is Streaming on Netflix.

1-By Laksh, ET, Movies

Vanaprastham and Mohanlal

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An actor uses everything at his disposal to breathe life in the character. Voice modulation, imbibing the physicality of character, his emotional involvement…all of these put together becomes the enactment of the character. Very few actors manage all of these, the reasons being either their lack of talent/preparation or weak material they are supposed to work with. In such rare instances, when terrific talent and great material come together, the results are outstanding. Mohanlal in ‘Vanaprastham’ is one such celestial occurrence, a la marriage made in heaven.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaHr52tPF_9/

Mohanlal brings all the elements of acting to the fore as an emotionally turbulent Kathakali dancer. In the process we are treated to a superlative performance. It takes a bit of time to get involved in the story, and once we do, we cannot but empathise with the character’s ebbs and flows. Mohanlal as the artiste, who initially is in full control with his performance on stage, but struggling with his personal life, soon finds him going downhill in both. The fountain of creativity that flowed out of his sorrowful childhood and his art serving as a means to escape from the clutches of poverty, soon takes its own path and drowns Kunjikuttan (Mohanlal). And, his already difficult personal life becomes unbearable after a brief romantic interlude.

It is a very difficult character to play as the reveal of character attributes is non-linear. We are introduced to him as a respected artiste with a drinking problem and having issues with his family, and slowly we are exposed to his inner turmoil. His deep need for an emotional anchor and craving for an identity as a son and a father, juxtaposes with a profession that demands the very dissolution of it through the many disguises. Who am I? This question is best portrayed in a brilliant outburst scene when Kunjikuttan’s love interest refuses to see him.

Never once the character is in full contentment with his personal life and his brief joys are as transient as his performance on stage, which everyone forgets once the show is over. While the performance on stage appears real, one cannot make use of it in day to day life. Same ways, Kunjikuttan being excellent as playing Arjuna, neither provides him with a steady mentor like Krishna, or family love like Subhadra. For a small period, he finds Subhadra (Suhasini)in real life, but that little respite turns so bitter that pushes him into an abyss.

There are many scenes where one could simply watch Mohanlal with awe, with the serious ones being easily noticed by all. The scene where he preaches art is for art’s sake and how he lets art overpowers him. But even the simple ones stand out, like the scene he meets Suhasini in her house, while casually going through her written play, looks at her furtively. In that one expression, he captures it all…his dreams about the future, his lack of surety about them turning real and a glimmer of happiness in his eyes.

The final scene is one of the best..as if saying that though one artist succumbed to the ways of the world, art will and must go on.  So the death of Kunjikuttan is shown from the point of view of Subhadra. It is as if Kunjikuttan is still around in some form, and so does the artform of Kathakali .