| Anandabhadram | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Santosh Sivan |
| Written by | Sunil Parameshwaran |
| Produced by | Maniyanpilla Raju Ajaya Chandran Nair Reghu Chandran Nair (Sri Bhadra Pictures) Rajendran(Raju) (executive) |
| Starring | Prithviraj Sukumaran Kavya Madhavan Manoj K. Jayan Kalabhavan Mani Biju Menon |
| Cinematography | Santosh Sivan |
| Edited by | Sreekar Prasad |
| Music by | Kannan (score) M. G. Radhakrishnan (songs) |
Production companies | Sree Bhadhra Pictures Media Zen |
| Distributed by | Vyshaka Release |
Release date |
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Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Anandabhadram (transl.”eternally safe”) is a 2005 IndianMalayalam-languageromanticdark fantasyhorror film based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameshwaran, and directed bySantosh Sivan. The story concerns ghosts, spirits, andblack magic. The film starsPrithviraj Sukumaran andKavya Madhavan in the titular roles. AlongsideManoj K. Jayan,Kalabhavan Mani,Biju Menon,Riya Sen,Revathy,Kalasala Babu,Cochin Haneefa andNedumudi Venu plays other pivotal roles.
The film was inspired by the paintings ofRaja Ravi Varma,Theyyam,Kathakali dance movements, andKalaripayattu martial art form. It rode on a renewed interest in both Ravi Varma and Kalaripayattu in and outside of India. During production, Santosh replacedSabu Cyril with Sunil Babu as the art director,M. G. Radhakrishnan replacedVidyasagar as the music director,Gireesh Puthenchery replacedSreekumaran Thampy as the lyricist and Kavya Madhavan replacedMeera Jasmine as the actress. The audiography of the film was done byM. R. Rajakrishnan .
Anandabhadram was released on November 4 coinciding withDiwali and received critical acclaim for its screenplay, story, music, cinematography, cast performances and horror elements. Most of the critics praised Manoj K. Jayan's performance as Digambaran and the dark atmosphere of the movie. The film was a massive commercial success. The film won five awards in the 2005Kerala State Film Awards and two in the 2005Asianet Film Awards. It was also dubbed inTamil,Telugu (asSivapuram), Hindi (asPhir Wohi Darr) and English, and was an inspiration forTanthra (2006), another Malayalam film.
In the ancient village ofShivapuram, little Ananthan hears a tale from his mother, Gayathri. She tells him that his family comes from a line of powerful magicians namedMadambi Tharavadu, and they are responsible for protectingnagamanikyam, a jewel on a serpent's head. The jewel, she narrates, lies in a secret place in the house guarded by snakes, including a tiny snake called Kunjootan.
Years later, obeying the wishes of his dead mother, Ananthan returns to his ancestral village fromAmerica to light the lamps atShivakavu, a dark and mysterious temple ofShiva. On his way home he meets his mother's relative Maravi Mathai on the train. The dreadedwizard named Digambaran opposes the lighting of the lamps on the grounds of local superstitions in order to get his hands on thenagamanikyam and also to take revenge against the entireMadambi Tharavadu family for killing his grandfather Siddhayogigal. Disbeliever Ananthan meets the supernatural for the first time in his life.
In his effort to fit into the local environment, Ananthan gradually wins the villagers' hearts over by his easy and kind manners. This appreciation is breached briefly when Digambaran takes over his mind for a short while. Meanwhile, Ananthan's cousin Bhadra falls for him and his light-hearted flirting, eventually leading to a commitment of love between them. At one point, Bhadra faces the dilemma of choosing between Ananthan's love and becoming aDevi in a mystical ritual of self-offering.
Digambaran's former friend Chemban, a blind martial artist, stands in the way of Digambaran's hunt for thenagamanikyam. Digambaran manages to remove Chemban from his way, and leaves a trail of blood in his wake. Digambaran also lures Chemban's sister Bhama to take her spirit in order to reincarnate Digambaran's lover Subhadra, Bhadra's late elder sister. A series of sensuous and evil magical rites follows that features a wide paraphernalia of the exotic, including Kathakali movements, tantric paraphernalia, traditional magic spells.
At the same time, Digambaran kills Bhama for ruining hisbrahmacharya. Ananthan and Bhadra escape from Digambaran after Ananthan injures Digambaran using a stone. Chemban decides to destroy Digambaran for killing Bhama and to restore peace in the village. After a sword fight, Chemban cuts off Digambaran's right toe which had the ring containing Digambaran's magical powers and he also gouges out Digambaran's eyes and locked him inside the cave. Digambaran, who now realised that he lost everything, falls on the ground out of grief, when Ananthan, Chemban and Bhadra leave the place. Later, Ananthan and Bhadra reunite after restoring the Nagamanikyam. The film ends with a blind Digambaran helplessly wailing loudly near the cave, after losing his powers, eyesight and everything he possessed.
Ananthabhadram is based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameswaran.[1] The story was inspired by tales told to Sunil by his grandmother when he was a child.[1] Director Santosh Sivan was also influenced by such stories told by his own grandmother.[2] Set in rural Kerala, the story is afairy tale dominated byShakta black magic, martial arts, andtantric seduction rituals.[2]
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Theyyam and Kathakali: Sivan said he received inspiration from the arts of his country: "We have a rich visual culture and even in Ananthabhadram, I have used certain aspects from Theyyam dancers and Kathakali to create the wizard Digambaran's image. The colour, long nails,kohl-lined eyes and so on were inspired from Theyyam and Kathakali."[2] The sequence between Manoj K Jayan using Riya Sen as a channel for black magic, choreographed byAparna Sindhoor, the dance director of the film, uses Kathakali movements in particular,[4][5] which has been an inspiration for major Indian films[6] like directorShaji Karun'sVanaprastham (1999)[7] and directorAdoor Gopalakrishnan'sKalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (2005).[8]
Kalarippayattu: The film also usedKalarippayattu, the traditionalmartial art ofSouth India, for the fight sequences between Digambaran and Chemban choreographed by action director Arash.[9] Use of Kalari in the film followed the footsteps ofKalari-based movies likePalattu Koman (1962),Thacholi Othenan (1964),Kannappanunni (1977) andOru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989),[10] as well as famous martial art film actorJackie Chan'sThe Myth.[11][12] AfterAsoka, it was the second time the director had used Kalari (as it is known in popular coinage).
Raja Ravi Varma: The director used three paintings of Raja Ravi Varma –Damayanti and the swan,Lady in thought andGirl carrying milk tray – as inspiration to picturize the songPinakkamano (acted by Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kavya Madhavan; sung byM. G. Sreekumar andManjari; choreographed byAparna Sindhoor).[13][14] Sivan said, "Yes, it is a tribute to Raja Ravi Varma, who is so intrinsically etched in every Malayali's mind."[15] This song came in the wake of a renewed interest in Varma's work in Indian showbiz, as evidenced in Indian pop starFalguni Pathak's music video for the song "Meri Chunar Ud Ud Jaaye" (2001, acted byTrisha Krishnan) which emulated Varma'sShakuntala[16] and Shaji Karun's declared film to be made on the artist's life which would featureMadhuri Dixit (actress ofGaja Gamini, a film by painterM.F. Hussain).[17][18][19]
Pattanam Rasheed said about the make-up of thePinakkamano sequence, "The skin tone I gave the characters is akin to an oil painting, orange-yellow shades, which give a painting-like look. That is why you feel that a painting is coming to life in some shots. The eye and eyebrow make-up is also different, according to the old styles in the paintings." Costumer Satheesh said, "Not one of the saris that Kavya wears is complete in itself. To get the colours of the body and border of the sari as close as possible to the ones in the paintings, I shopped in Chennai, Bangalore and Kochi. I had to attach the borders to some of the saris and dyed some to get the right shade... I had to rework all the jewels, with a few stones from one chain added to another." art director Sunil Babu points out that despite attempts at accuracy, in the Damayanthi scene, the swan is missing.[15]
Sabu Cyril was originally scheduled to direct the film with actressMeera Jasmine in the lead.[9][20] Production was delayed due to a strike in the Malayalam film industry in June 2004. Later, Cyril became busy withShankar's filmAnniyan. At this point,Santosh Sivan stepped in to replace Cyril.[21][22][23] Cyril's assistant Sunil Babu art directed the film.[24]
Like his earlier directorial venturesAsoka andThe Terrorist (a.k.a.Malli), Santosh was also thecinematographer forAnandabhadram. Prithviraj, as the hero, had his biggest success of 2005, out of the five cinemas he did that year.[25]Manoj K Jayan was to have asannyasin look with long hair in the proposed Sabu Cyril version, but sported a more contemporary look in the version that was eventually shot, winning many critical accolades.[26] The village and thetharavad/ancestral home shown in the movie was set in a village inPalakkad.
| Anandabhadram | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 2005 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 28:52 |
| Producer | Sri Bhadra Pictures |
Initially Sabu Cyril was the film director and Santhosh Sivan was the Cinematographer.Vidyasagar composed songs for the film penned by Sreekumaran Thampi. The songs were never recorded. After some months Sabu Cyril opted not to direct the film due to other reasons. And the film was taken over by Santosh Sivan who appointedM. G. Radhakrishnan for the film.[4] Radhakrishnan went on to winAsianet Film Awards as the best music director for the film's tracks.[27] He also did the score forSivapuram, the Telugu version of the film.[4]M. G. Sreekumar won Asianet Award as the Best Male Playback Singer for singing "Pinakkamano".[27]
All lyrics are written byGireesh Puthenchery; all music is composed byM.G. Radhakrishnan
| No. | Title | Singers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Malamalalooya" | Kalabhavan Mani | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Thiranurayum" | K. J. Yesudas | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Shivamallikaavil" | K. S. Chithra | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Pinakkamaano" | M. G. Sreekumar,Manjari Babu | 4:15 |
| 5. | "Minnayam Minnum" | K. S. Chithra | 2:21 |
| 6. | "Vasanthamundo" | M.G. Radhakrishnan, Hema | 4:48 |
It is the first Malayalam feature screened using asatellite feed instead of conventionalprints;[28] aimed at an international market. it was also dubbed inTamil,Telugu (asSivapuram), and English.[4][29] The release ofAnandabhadram in India followed that of the horror movieChandramukhi, starringRajnikanth, which was a remake of theMalayalam filmManichitrathazhu, creating a brief success for the horror genre.[30] The film was showcased inOsian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in 2006.[31]
Anandabhadram received critical acclaim for its screenplay, story, music, cinematography, cast performances and horror elements. Most of the critics especially praised Manoj K. Jayan's performance and the dark ambience of the movie. The film was a massive commercial success.[32][33] According toManiyanpilla Raju, the film was released on the same day as Mammootty's blockbusterRajamanikyam and could not compete with it.[34]
The songs from the film,Pinakkamano, Thira Nurayam andMalama Lalooya, became the top hits among Malayalam film songs in 2005.[35] The film also inspired director KJ Bose'sTanthra (2006) featuring actorsSiddique andShweta Menon. Sunil Babu, the art director, came to the notice ofKerala audience through the film, especially for his treatment for the Raja Ravi Varma inspired song,Pinakkamano.[36]
Anandabhadram won five awards in theKerala State Film Awards for 2005, including Best Cinematography (Santosh Sivan), Best Music Direction (MG Radhakrishnan), Best Editing (Sreekar Prasad), Best Art Direction (Sunil Babu) and Best Makeup (Pattanam Rasheed).[37] It won five awards in the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards 2005, including Best Film, Best Director (Santhosh Sivan), Best Actor (Manoj K Jayan), and Best Cinematography (Santhosh Sivan).[38]M. R. Rajakrishnan had won the Amritha Fertanity Award for Best Audiography for his work in this film.