Malayalam cinema is known outside the state for its realism but Mollywood has its own share of pretentious films.
Don’t believe us? Take a look at director Ranjith’s films for a sampling.
Ranjith has a way with words, and more often than not the effect is wholly pretentious. To say more would be difficult. We leave you with a painfully curated list of the best among the most pretentious moments (yes, there is such a thing!) in Ranjith movies.
Rock n’ Roll (2007): The scene – music director Gunashekharan (Siddique) and director Lal Jose are discussing the possibilities of using live jazz for their composition. They think of the “only man who can play real jazz” – Chandramouli (Mohanlal). Wonders Lal Jose, so where is he?
That’s the cue to begin a string of affectations – “The last time we talked it was 6 months ago… from London. He had just finished a concert at the Wembley Stadium with Guitarist Earl Peters. Later, I heard, he was arrested for weed farming in South America. When in India, he usually gangs up with Rahman (yes, THE A. R. Rahman), Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram and all. Or else it is the Shankar Mahadevan group – you know, Ehsaan and Loy. Back home, he is a favourite of Chenda maestro Mattannoor Shankarankutty.”
Soon after, he calls up the “thalavidya perumal” and wonders if “Chandramouli bhagavan will offer him a boon on his birthday.” Yes, my head is still reeling!
Kaiyoppu (2007): In the opening scene, veteran writer (Nedumudi Venu) while giving a speech, quotes Orhan Pamuk’s The Black Book. Soon after, writer Balachandran (Mammootty), who was listening keenly to this speech gets into a conversation with the elderly writer and gently observes that the quote was not from the book mentioned but Pamuk’s The White Castle – “page 80, line 27”. Gulp!
Aaram Thampuran (1997): “Yes, the fourth peg. Nalamathey pegginu munpu nee ethi (You have come before the fourth peg),” says a delighted Nandan (Saikumar) to his friend Jagannathan (Mohanlal).
It is celebration time – the former has just clinched a deal with an “Australian party”, thanks, of course, to Jagan’s timely intervention. If the ‘Australian party’ reference wasn’t sufficient, the much delirious Nandan goes on to ask Jagan what he wants in return for the “50 crore deal”.
His list of offers is as follows – half the money, or you could fly to Paris and woo girls? Or we could take a trip to the casinos of Las Vegas and gamble like crazy! Tell me Jagan! I can offer you anything money can buy! – That’s right, from half the money to anything in the world, in three breaths!
Chandrolsavam (2005): “Best kanna, bestu” – the refrain with which an indomitable Sreehari (Mohanlal) makes his way home. He is greeted by his friends, who welcome him with claps. “What’s this?”
A not-so-surprised Sreehari begins his long and pompous soliloquy: “The fleet of cars reminds me of being in the ancestral homes of Tokyo, Amsterdam and Middle East.” He continues, “I have been away for 6 years – a year in Viyoor jail. And the rest, in and around the world…masquerading in various get-ups…I have cried in the arms of Claude, a French beauty…Now, I need to get back everything I lost. All this while I’ve had weird Western metallic Rock music knocking on my head like a hot piece of bronze. I have to wipe it out; I need to meet my guru!”
Ok, I need a glass of water. Now.
This article was first published in Fullpicture.in. The News Minute has syndicated the content. You can read the original article here.