Old Malayalam Cinema is a place to discuss, converse, bounce-off, review, examine and be proud of the great legacy of Kerala’s movie culture – something that makes us uniquely special from everyone else.
It is strange, sad and surreal to find hardly any references or centers of worthwhile content that one can use as a point of reference, save this, this and this as of now.
This is an effort in that direction, to collate and compile as much information to share about Old Malayalam Cinema online, for every inquisitive soul looking to spend some time soaking in the sepia years.
About Copyright of Media used here.
I have tried my level best to mention accrediting actual , available sources of photographs and scanned images that have been used under relevant posts here. Those that aren’t are either from my private collection or those which I haven’t yet tracked down their respective, original sources to be credited. The screenshots from the movies are used under the “Fair Usage” clause for sharing information, and the rest are under the Creative Commons License.
There have been so many instances where pictures from this blog have been shamelessly “branded” with personal watermarks and “flaunted” as their own discoveries.
If you are one of those reading this, please take a moment to understand the effort and the time spent to source and bring that photograph to this public domain with the only good intention of making it part of the shared knowledge. Also, do you really think putting on your watermark makes it your own ? You are willingly putting yourself out on the block for future legal action by the original copyright holders, if they decide to initiate action.
The Videos featured here.
The videos shared across the posts in this blog are shared from popular video-sharing sites, made available by the respective uploaders at their own risk of being infringing on copyright. Those ones that are featured as integral part of this blog are from personal archives of collectors, those of which have not yet had any copyrights raised, and also shared from their personal video channels. I deeply respect any claim of copyright violations if found at the site and will abide by the existing rules for corrective action. Yes, it sounds a mouthful, but there are some lines, I would rather choose not to cross in the pursuit of sharing information.
OLD MALAYALAM CINEMA 
This is one heckuva site and I really humbled by the…Boy was i wrong presence of so many film buff (or addicts). The amount of knowledge and exposure u guys have is remarkable, and I thought I had passion for movies; boy was I wrong. Thanx guys for creating such a platform
Good response
good evening c m sir
enikku gopalakrishnan navajeevan sirnte mail id tharumo ? pleas
my mail i d pavithaikkadappuram@gmail.com. please sir
cinematters,
i wish to sign in o m c. please help me
Hi Pavithran,
The Old Malayalam Cinema is an OPEN Blog and whatever you see is ALL that is there. There are no closed discussion groups for you to sign in and access information and content. Every single word published here is accessible to ANYONE who is on the blog for free. You could contribute by sending across original content either in English or in Malayalam on relevant topics of old Malayalam films, and based on the relevance and the integrity of the content will be published here in YOUR NAME. Hope this clarifies. Thanks, cinematters.
Dooradarshan malayalam movie club telecast cheytha old malayalam movies detail dooradarsanil kittumo sir
Hi Pavithran,
If it is the website you are talking about and whether it has the details, this is the site http://www.ddktvm.gov.in/ You could try your luck there, but it will be a waste of time. If you mean contacting DD TVM to get the details from them officially, you could do that, but it would be again, a waste of time, from personal experience. Thanks, cinematters.
Just to say that apart from it being painstakingly researched and incredibly well-written/depicted, OMC is actually a time machine. Also, if I may make a request – if there’s some way you could do your magic on the story of Itha Ivide Vare. Havent yet come across the story anywhere online. All I have seen is a comment on one of the songs on Youtube, saying that the movie is the ‘ultimate revenge story’. That got me curious. Best wishes!
Hi Naresh,
Thank you for passing through and writing in. Apologies for this delayed response. Glad that you found bookmarks from Malayalam film history that so resembled yours 🙂 Itha Ivide vare is pure Padmarajan all the way, and his quaint and incisive set of grey morals lancing at each other 🙂 I am sure I can find the time. Why not ? Thanks again, cinematters
Thank you very much CM. Looking forward to it (eagerly 🙂
congrtuleaion malayalam films
Found this interesting article about a die hard Jayan fan in today’s manorama online
http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMONline.dll/portal/localContentView.do?district=Kottayam&contentId=11907276&programId=1079897624&tabId=16&BV_ID=@@@
I love particularly the old malayalam film songs and try to listen to them whenever possible. I recently remembered an old and very authentic “Kaikottikali” scene from Kuttiedathi. Frankly much more realistic and evocative than the “Thiruvathirakali” in “Araam Thampuran”. Actually I thought of it while watching the “Kaikottikali” scene from “Parinayam”. I have an additional reason for wanting to watch this scene again. It was shot in my native village and many of the dancers were my mother’s friends and relatives. Do you know of any source where I can trace it?
Hi Nalini,
Why not buy a commercial copy of the movie itself so that it is never away from you. You could buy an online copy here. ( The movie seems to be out of stock now, but if you provide them with an email id, they will intimate you once its back in stock). Thanks..cm
Oh God! I remember that song!
Thanks for the memory trigger, Nalini
at last found in this site what i wanted . Though imdb.com is there for english films there is absolutely nothing other than this site about malayalam movies one of the greatest movies which have realistic depictions and great acting .
Can we have a link where brief plots of all old movies is collected .
warm regards
dr haroon
Dear Doctor,
Malayalm films do have their rich history curated online, driven just by their passion and being revised and edited every day. Two of them would be Malayalasangeetham ( which now goes by the strange url of http://msidb.org/) and http://m3db.com/ which I am sure you would find hugely resourceful and interesting. IMDB is strife with historical and factual errors when it comes to Indian cinema, but records do exist – just not for English films alone. You can find Movies that are discussed in total in the Chitrashala Category. It can’t be more obvious than that, can it ? 😀 . Thanks..cinematters
Only today i visiting this site..sounds good!
Thanks Ajeeb,
Glad you found it engaging. Hope to see more of you in these parts going forward..regards..cinematters
Hi Cinematters,
This is my first visit to this blog and seems to be highly informative to all movie lovers.I hope I can actively participate in this journey to rediscover the unknown filmy treasures.Good achievement and great going.All the best!
Hi Sanju,
Thank you for writing in. Glad to know that you found it engaging. Look forward to more of you in these columns, going forward. Regards..cinematters
Great Great Work 🙂 Hope your work will continues to grow 🙂 Best wishes from theaterbalcony 🙂
Hi Sibin,
Thank you ! Glad you found something worthwhile at OMC. Hope to see more of you around these parts..regards, cinematters
Trip to Thrissur to meet GopalKrishnan.
About Thrissur -my first trip to Thrissur.
It is a beautiful town located around the Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple where the Pooram is held. Traffic congestion and narrow roads just like any other town in Kerala but much congestion is way less compared to TVM. People actually park roads in the parking area and not in the second lane of the roads as seen here. Food at hotels a bit ,more expensive here..
About Gopalkrishnan
He is 27 born in 1983. Gopal’s knowledge and passion for Old cinema be it Malayalam Hindi or Tamil is unbelievable. He is also a student of Insitute of Company Secreatries of India, which itself if a very difficult and time consuming course. Besides that he helps run his family business. I found him very energetic and hardworking. It amazing to see someone that young do so many productive things at at the same time.
About the collection
I went to his house where most of the second floor is like a library cum studio of old Cinema. Gopalakrshnan has great knowledge of OMC. He remembers the year and in most cases the production houses and directors of lots of movies. The best thing about his collection is that he has painstakingly captured his movies from DD,Asianet, when they were airing their best prints. He is still capturing these movies as and when they are aired.There are lots of original prints which are totally unedited. Harmony,Empire,Welgate and others and others usually edit these movies mercilessly for the purpose of fitting tow or three movies into a single disc. Hence a movie which is 3 hours may end up being 2 hours or so depending on who edits it.. He has seen all of his movies and has tremendous knowledge of Malayalam cinema. Like he told me the evergreen malayalam song “Alliyambal” featured P.J Antony and not Nazir sir as I thought. Gopal has several friends in the industry and also contacts with other genuine collectors. He has his way of getting very rare OMC and also makes efforts to contact personalities assciated with OMC. He was a freind of Mr.Venu, director of CID Nazir series. Sadly, Mr.Venu died two months back.
Apart from OMC..he also carries a collection of movies post 1980. His collection of Mohanlal and Nazir movies is amazing. There are also sections for Jayan,Soman-Sukumaran,Madhu,Satyan Master and Mamooty. His collection should be around 2500 to 3000 with Hindi and tamil. He is working on his list of movies which he will publish here shortly. I am so happy I came here at the right time and met him a day after I came to OMC. It is almost like we were destined to meet.
“Legality” of movies available in the market.
Most of the producers of OMC are no more. Lots of these movies have been made into VCDS in the market without proper legal permission by VCD companies, and in some cases without paying royalty to the producers. There are also “commercial” collectors who try to get hold of rare OMC and sell it to these vendors who chop them up and fit 2 or 3 to a disc. These commercial collectors have no love for OMC..they are around just to make some dough.
Tips for longevity of VCDS and DVDS.
I am not sure if anyone knows but I wasnt aware of these tips :
1. Always make a digital bacck up of your VCD in an external HD
2. Preserve your VCD in albums with built in sleeve
3. every 3 months or so wipe the vcds clean with a soft smooth cloth.
4. Cover the Album in a plastic bag to keep moisutre away.
Dear Sibi,
That was an exhaustive post-trip note ! 🙂 Glad that atleast ONE of your expeditions went exactly according to plan. So happy to know that you got to meet Gopalji and get access to his humongous collection. Sure hope to meet him the next time I am in Kerala. I totally agree with the ‘legal muddle’ that many of them self-styled producers find themselves in, in their half-baked methods to make a quick buck. Thanks so much once again for sharing your experience. glad this lil place helped a wee bit 😀 Enjoy your vacation, and I do look forward to your note and photographs of your favorite chayakkadas..regards..cinematters
what a description sirjeee…
Dear Mr.Gopalakrishnan,
I have gone through Mr.Sibi’s travel log and decided to contact you, Iam also searching for old Malayalam collections, I have already collected some and still looking for some early 60’s, can you please send me your email ID, Iam also from TCR but now out of the country.
you can collect my email from the moderator of this blog.. i dont think he entertain the publishing of email id in his blog…
Dear sibi,
Thank you for your trip to mr gopalakrishnans house. It is very nice to hear from you how mr gopalakrishnan has recorded the old movies from DD & Asianet.
I had wrote to mr gopalakrishnan with a short list of movies,whether is he having those movies.But no reply.
I remembered 2 years back Sri sreekumaran thampi sir had gone to chitranjali studio for checking the prints of one of his first movie “chatambikalyani”.But the attempt was failed because the negatives were spoiled.So in this case if mr gopalakrishnan care the prints it is good. Anyway waiting for his list to get published earlier .
Thanks & Regards
Regi
mr. regi.. sorry to inform you that i have not got your email yet about your movie wish list… than how can i reply??
Hai sibi i am pleasently surprised to learn about ur viist to Gopalakrishnanji s house. u are very lucky. hope i should also do that one day . ifhe agress to see me . did we have to copy the filim in a pen drive or in a dvd . i am very eagerly waiting to hear from u and Gopalakrishnan pls convey to him my wish.
Dear sibi sir gopalakrishnan navjeevan sir contact details kittumo
Second attempt at DD tvm ended in failure..as I couldnt meet any one in the peon cadre..but not giving up hope…will try again next week after meeting with Gopalkrishnan..
Gulp :)..
Cinematters, was planing to do a write up on the movie Perumthachan but was surprised to find very little details about its director Ajayan. From the online info available, it seems he has done just that one movie, which is kind of surprising considering the appreciation that he’d have received for the movie.
Do you have any info on him and his cinema?
Dear Pradeep,
I remember sitting through an interview of him just last week, or the one before on Amrita TV, in their series on artistes of yester years – Innalathe Thaaram, and had been frantically searching for the videos, just as I finished through your message. They haven’t uploaded it yet on their channe on Youtube. Will keep an eye out. Hope you know that he is the eldest son of the Thoppil Bhasi, the legend, and hence also referred to as Thoppil Ajayan. I remember him as one of Padmarajan’s favorite understudys, and had been his main Asst director for many of his movies – Koodevidey, Oridathoru Bhayalvan, Moonnam Pakkam, Rathinirvedam, Kariyilakaattupoley, Innale..that I recollect offhand. I also remember him as being the favorite lieutenant of Venu Nagavalli, riding shotgun on Sukhamo Devi, Sarvakalashala and Aayirappara. He also suffered a major stroke and other complications in the prime of his professional career – I remember reading an interview of him post the release of Perunthachan where he mentioned about being in preliminary discussions with MT to make a children’s film, mostly fantasy and part adventure, but sadly it never took off. If you can wait a while, we could have the interview at Amrita TV also included..Regards..cm
Thanks, CM..Looks like I missed out on that episode of ‘Innalathe Thaaram’. Yep, I did read that he was the eldest son of Thoppil Bhasi and that he was an assistant director to a few others but that’s the most that the max info that I have.I was puzzled by the fact despite the acclaim, he did not do any other movie but as you mentioned above, the medical complications may have cost him and our cinema such a talent. Looking forward to the Amrita TV link – wanted to see that to understand what Ajayan’s perspective was on the movie and the original tale; will definitely include it in the post, even if it is later on….
Coming to think of it, maybe you could look at compiling the list of such film makers who were one time wonders like Satish Menon after ‘Bhavum’…
cinematters, I read with interest about Gopalakrishnan having good prints of Malayalam movies. And even more interest in knowing he is in Trichur (am I right?) Well, Trichur is my annual Haj, so I’m there every summer. Is there any way I can contact him and be able to buy some of the movies? Ive never been so excited!
Hi Anu,
Have mailed you..regards..CM
I have been living at trichur since my birth and also planning to die at trichur itself.. i am a 27 year old guy doing my company secretaryship course.. one of the member of O M C, Mr. SIBI is coming to meet me on this sunday and he will give all of you detailed information about me and my collection..
Dear Gopal ji,
There are no memberships given out here at Old Malayalam Cinema. This is still a personal blog, yet have been incredibly lucky and fortunate enough to have a tiny band of regulars who pass through and plonk here for a while for a Kaali chaya on their way about their daily business. 😀 Sibi had left a message that he was on his way to meet you and sounded very excited. Hope to hear his loooong report on the journey soon 🙂 Souls like you are rare. Don’t ever change. regards..cinematters
hum aise they… aisa hi hain aurr aise hi rahenge,,,
by the word MEMBER, i only mean, ” O M C is a big family headed by CINE MATTERS and we all are its family members living on different parts of the world, but joining on this site whenever possible, just like visiting our THARAVAADU during special occassions”
Wah ! Wah ! 🙂 I would rather be happy being the janitor, Gopalji..thank you for keeping this place thriving with your active engagement..cm
Mr.Gopal, your contribution for the new generation is really great, words are insufficient to congratulate you. Please do not forget the BIG World outside Trissur!
I am about to make my biggest Cinema pilgrimage to Thrissur to meet Gopalakrishnan..coming Sunday..Went to DD TVM..was second saturday so they dint let me in.will try again tomorrow. also learned that there are a few “commerical collectors” of OMC not genuine lovers just sellers..who just want to sell these movies by hook or crook and make money of them..lets watch out for such people. Gopal is not only a collector but also an encylopedia of malayalam cinema..i learned a lot from him. See you soon Gopal.
“Kaavilammey, Sibiykku Shakthi kodukkoooo. “.. 🙂
also ANU WARRIER jee if you are e dev anand fan, this thrissurkaaran can help you in collecting dev saab’s movies and songs.. i am a big fan of dev saab.. and probably the biggest fan of DEV Anand in south india… i have got 81 out of the 114 movies acted by DEV SAAB..
Anu, THERE you go again :)..regards..cm
Gopal, please tell me you did not study in Hari Sri Vidya Nidhi? 🙂 I posted a couple of tributes to Devsaab on my blog; I know CM will not mind my posting the link here.
the linkhere. I have some of his movies; I’m not really interested in his post-70 movies except for Tere Mere Sapne, Jewel Thief, and Johnny Mera Naam. His B&W movies are a blast.
Oh dear God, it was real, after all ! 😀
Has anyone seen Nayika? It is supposed to be the story of Vijayasrees
CM .where is this Star Theater?
Hi Sibi,
Presume somewhere in Thrissur/Palakkad area. Came across it in the documentary Cinemayudey Kaalpaadukal and fell instantly in love with it. 🙂 Thought nothing would be more appropriate than this Old Showman for this blog. Thanks.cinematters
Dear Sibi,
Managed to contact the director of the documentary, MR Rajan. This is in Kaanjaani, in Thrissur district..regards..cinematters
Anyone knows what happened to
What happened to
1. Director Gireesh who made “Akkare ninnoru Maran”?
2. Raj Kumar- Lover boy of the early 80s..poochasanyasi fame..
3. Shafiq- Love story fame
Dear Sibi,
That would a No for all the three but now that you have asked, piques my curiosity too. I even went back and checked the 80’s Party photos hosted by Lizzie Priyadarshan for Raj Kumar, but he seems to be missing in that one too.Didn’t Girish direct one more movie, Katturumbinum Kaathukuthu?Shafiq – Nada :). I’m sure the answers would come through..regards..cinematters
Raj Kumar is in Chennai engaged in business
Thanks for the info Reji…any news on Shafiq and Gireesh?
CM..I am not getting any personal email from you.If you did send me any. Like the updated quiz list you said you sent I never got it. Also Gopalkrishnan’s email. Is something wrong with the system.
Dear Sibi,
Hope you have checked your Junk and Spam folders.? .Hotmail is a lil overzealous when it comes to filter systems..regards..cinematters
I am getting some updates on OMC. But I havent recieved any personal mails from you.
Have sent you a test mail from oldmalayalamcinema@gmail.com. Pls check and let me know..rgds..cinematters
Yes I got you email frrom OMC at gmail. Have you heard from Gopal K yet?
Hi Sibi,
Not yet . Have set him a reminder..regards..cinematters
Anyone remembers a movie called “Samayamayilapolum” directed by someone called U.P Tomy released in 1977. It had 3 beautiful songs by Salilda.. “Shyaamamegahame neeyen prema doothimayi”. Who is the actor in that song sequence? His acting doesnt really fit in with the song experience.
Dear Sibi,
Aah. Shyamameghamey.. 😀 This still remains one of the greatest puzzles of Malayalam cinema. 🙂 Will keep you posted. regards..cinematters
Dear Sibi,
The name of the actor is Prakash ( thanks to Rajagopalji from MSI ), mostly noticed for ‘being almost Kamal Haasan’ in looks and nothing else. I guess the song proves that. 🙂 Will keep you posted on more details..regards..cinematters
Thank you so much. Ever since I saw the video of that movie..i have been wanting to know his name cos I got so mad. Asked many old folks noone has any idea. Guess it was his first and last. I will never forgive him for that.
LOL..There are a whole lot of them who share that sentiment..You are not alone..cinematters
PRAKASH
Thanks Reji..
Is K.P Rasheed still acting? The only films I remember are “Kannaram pothi pothi” and Vadakan veeragatha. Did he act after that?
Dear Sibi,
The Rasheed in Kannaaram Pothi Pothi is our “Oridathoru Bhayalwan.” Will check on this and let you know….cinematters
Are you sure? Kannaram Pothi Pothi, If I am not mistaken was the launch for Rasheed. Infact he was called Rasheen then. The female lead was some one called Ashwini and also had Bheeman Reghu in it. I havent seen the movie..this is just my recollection of reading some cine magazine of 1985- 1986. Like I said I havent seen the movie..
Dear Sibi,
Now I’m really confused :). Let me check on this and get back to you..Though I have watched the movie, don’t have any recollection of it, sadly.Regards..cinematters
Dear Sibi,
Kannaram pothi pothi is realeased in 1985 acted by Rasheed son of K.P.Ummer acted also in Vadakkan veera gatha.
The other one is also is a Rasheed acted in Oridathoru Bayalwan,parannu parannu parannu ,Vietnam Colony …etc.
Both are different persons.
Regards
Regi
Cinematters this is a great blog. Well this is the best blog I have been in. From Today this is going to be my facebook. :))
Sibi
Dear Sibi,
Awwwww..that doesn’t have to be. Glad you found aspects that engaged you and held your attention. I guess that’s what happens when sepia junkies find each other. Hope to see more of you in these parts, going forward..regards..cinematters
Yes..sure. I am signing up to be a member. When I was living in the US IN Texas there was an old Kerala Store.in fact the oldest one in Dallas with a huge collection of B/W movies. VHS Castettes. When I went there for the first time I was surprised by the collection. I rented a lot of those and used videos into dvd format using a Panasonic convertor. I found “resthouse” “Tumbolarcaha” Ponnapuram Kotta, Tacholi Ambu, Nazhikakallu, Anubhavanagal Palichakal, Kalachakram, Panchami. etc. and a few more. The owner of the shop Korah died and all of a sudden the shop chanegd hands. One fine day they closed the shop and empltied out all casetets and other things. I had no idea these were still available. In Dubai a godo place to buy them will be Lulu Hyper Market Quisais. You should be able to get some old ones for DIrham 10. I havent been able to buy from Maebag yet. Now that Gopalkrishnan has them too..I should check it out his colelction too.
Dear Sibi,
There is no ‘membership’ required. Everything on this blog is free for everyone to read 🙂 I could share a few similar stories from Dubai and Abudhabi too on the video rentals stores. Fortunately, all the titles that you mentioned are available in crappy VCD format now, as legal copies. Maebag is good for old movies, and now so is myindiashopping., with the latter having more dvd selections on the old titles. Gopal Krishnan was godsend. He would have a lot to share 🙂 ..Thanks again for writing in..regards..cinematters
you dont have to go U S or dubai to collect old movies.. most movies are available here at kerala itself in the hands of private parties. i collected my entire malayalam movie collection staying at kerala..
Dear Gopalakrishnan,
Nobody mentioned anything about going to Dubai or the US for collecting old movies. Living in an age where there are tools, domains and capabilities to grun an enterprise that can cater to a real business need, and using sensible and effective solutions rather than addressing it with clunky, aged solutions is all what I’m trying to say. And it brings someone who is seeking them right to exactly whom you mentioned, “private collectors.” A very amorphous, faceless term. What would a die-hard aficionado do living in the US or Germany for instance, to get hold of the movies that you have so painstakingly collected over the years? He/ She would either have to come down to Kerala as and when it is required of the private collector’s convenience to get hold of it. What if this was a legal enterprise, e-commerce portal online? It could have been delivered to their doorstep ! And the ones with the werewithal, tends to still deliberately serve you technology defunct a decade ago . One just hop that things were a lot more streamlined, efficient and better. That’s all..regards..cinematters
Gopal ,is Doordarshan open to giving its rare movies to collectors?? I am sad to hear about Kottaram last print lost by them. Have you contacted them before?
i am die hard fan of old malayalam movies and i have good clarity prints of over 2000s of old malayalam movies.. not only the original master vcds available at market, but also some real gems of 1950s and 1960s.. please contact me those who really interested…
Dear Gopal,
You just made my day ! 🙂 Why not compile them in an Excel sheet so that it would be easier to peruse and make an informed choice from the list? Wow . This is wonderful..Of course, there would be a lot of people who would be glad to hear of this. Regards..cinematters
Yes Sir, please email me with your contact number.
Sibi
Hi Sibi,
Why not share it here on what exactly is that you are looking for? It would also benefit those who would be seeking the same information online too. Regards..cinematters
Mr Gopalakrishnan,
please can you send me the list of this 2000 old malayalam movies.The one which i had not seen , i am interested to buy from you.
Regards
Regi
Dear Regi,
Thank you for writing in to OMC. I have passed on your email id to Mr Gopalakrishnan, as I donot leave active email addresses open in public domains, and hence deleted it from your message displayed.He will get in touch with you..Thanks..cinematters
i have not maintained a printed list so far.. please let me know the movies you want and i will check it in my collection..
Dear Mr gopalakrishnan,
Do you have the old malayalam CD or VHS of Adavukal 18,Shikarangal,Karimpoocha,Hamsageetham,Karinizhal,Agnipushpam,Sindhooram,Pallavi,Thiruvonam,Rasaleela,Prethangalude Thazvara,Aa Nimisham,Raju Rahim,Aparajitha .
Please reply
Regi
Dear Gopalji,
All these years ive been collecting vcds of whatever old movies that are available in the market. Im a die hard fan of old movies. Im so crazy about these movies that i never missed any opportunity to watch it on TV (whenever it was shown irrespective of timings and channels). I will be delighted to have all old classics copies and it is one of the top priority things i wanted to own in this life. Im a native of TCR (although im from Kochi and currently working in Bangalore). I sincerely request you to help me out in getting me copies of the same. Could you please share the list of old movies (particularly all 50s, 60s, 70s) you have?. This is gonna be one of my biggest dreams come true.
Cheers,
Deepak
hiello gopal .do you have the vcd of rosy with the song – aliyambal .also a vcd of navalokam .if so please let me know .
couldnt find a platform for this , so sharing here so that you can archive (need not publish the comment)
http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=10328595&tabId=3&BV_ID=@@@
Dear Rajesh,
Thank you so much. Had already archived it from my morning web ‘trawls’. Portals like manoramaonline.com hardly have an archive system in place unlike The Hindu, and the fact that it is in Malayalam makes it for excruciatingly painful search exercises. I take high-res Screen grabs of the pages, appropriately label them, and save them as images. Thats the only way I have found to deal with it. You could make use of Abduction in Firefox. It does a great job. Works for me. I am in the process of compiling as much as I can on the legendary actor so that I can share them here and will do soon. The most important thing is not to let their memories die. Also trying to get in touch with Rasheed, his son, who is also an actor to learn more. Thanks again..cinematters
I think I have work for you 🙂
http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamProgramView.do?tabId=3&programId=7940855&contentType=EDITORIAL&pageType=section&catNames=Movie%20Nostalgia
Dear Rajesh,
That has been systematically archived right from the very first article 🙂 There are similar columns in Mathrubhoomi ( Frames), Deshabhimani, Mangalam and I have found another little nook in a site called MollywoodFox 😀 which you can check out here. Regards..cinematters
I have subscribed to the RSS feed here, so when any new topic gets posted, Im alerted. I normally comments on topics of interest and will check the blog for couple of days to see if there are activities in this thread. Then I check the ‘Recent Comments’ section to see the general activities. I am interested to go through all comments 🙂
Here lies my problem. You update recent 10 comments. These mostly will be in the new posts and will have your replies to each post. So basically this is 5 for me rather than 10. My problem is, I feel Im missing out some actions which might be beyond the latest 10 comments. Can there be some more displayed here? May be 15
Dear Rajesh,
First off, thank you so much for being a regular part of OMC. Value and appreciate it a lot. Regarding the comments, I have increased the ones on display to 15, and i hope this gives you a far greater range in exploring the levels of engagement on topics at OMC. Thanks again..cinematters
Thanks for that!
Happy to note that traffic to this site has increased and there are a set of regulars who actively discusses on the posts made.
Im not as regular visitor as before.My status recently got updated as a Sathyan Anthikkad-Jayaram movie title. So I again make a suggestion for my problem stated in my last post here. Can I view ‘most active posts’ where posts are sorted based on new comments or a modified recent comments section where only the last comment per post is shown? Sorry to bother with these requests but i dont want to miss the action 🙂
Dear Rajesh,
Think of this as your local Chayakkada :)Regarding your request, I don’t think ANY blogging CMS platform offers an algorithm that updates on real time in a finite unit set ( say Top 5) based on a grading system that takes into account the most read posts by the hour, the mostly commented ones/ modified sections and then process the top ones, and keep them updated. 😀 . As of now, (1) There is a Top 5 Popular posts by the hour module and (2) 15 of the Most Recent Comments on another module updated in real time, thanks to WordPress. I guess, we will just have to pamper our ‘lazy eyes’ with an informed decision based on the above two 😀 ..Thanks so much for being the Wayfaring Regular..(remember Oduvil from Devasuram ? 🙂 )..regards..cinematters
Wow. What an awesome blog you have. A google search for Venu Nagavalli brought me here.
Kudos to you for all your hard work. Growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, we (me and my husband) so desparately miss those nostalgic goodold movies. It was a trip back to my childhood days when I saw a lot of them listed here. You now have another dedicated regular visitor 🙂
Thanks a lot,
Vidya
Dear Vidya,
Thank you for your kind words. To me, this is more of sharing all I know and turning the spotlight on things I don’t know and would want to seek and resolve. Glad to have found another sepia junkie 🙂 Look forward to seeing more of your interactions here at OMC..Regards..cinematters
Hi,
Interesting .. I am trying to collect the same-tune songs of Tamil and Malayalam one after the other for my listening, and came across this site.
Good to read about Mal movies.
Recently, when I was in Kolkata, I heard the Bengali-equivalent song having the same tune of “poomanam poothulanju” of movie Etho oru Swapnam.
Any idea what move, where I can get an MP3 of the Bengali Song?
Hi Murali,
That’s a fantastic pastime 🙂 Hunting down the sonic twins from Malayalam and Tamil 🙂 Regarding the song that you mentioned, it was rendered by Kishore Kumar and Lataji for the Bengali movie Antarghaat (1980), which was released again after a decade renamed Swarnatrishaa. I donot have a copy of the song but it is available on Youtube. Maybe you could contact the uploader for more information. You can listen to the song here.
Thanks for writing in. Hope to see more of you in these parts.. Regards..Cinematters
Murali, any Salilda composition which has been used across languages, can be found at Salilda.com. It’s run by Gautam, a long-time fan of Salil Choudhary. He’s also fortunate in being having known the great man himself, and in being a friend of the family. I do not know if the songs are still downloadable, since Gautam mentioned some copyright issues, but you could mail him to find out.
Dear CINE MATTERS,
I very much liked your venue. I could quite well conceive how ardent your affection and respect for the old Malayalam Cinema is. When we see those films now on DVDs, we are strongly reminded of our proud ancestral society who made those films possible. We see our disciplined fore-gone generation in those films and after seeing them we really wish to be those characters. Those films were pleasant poems in Black & White. And those songs! And that Tabala the thrill of which has all of a sudden vanished from Malayalam Film Songs. One single song- Arayilotta Munduduttha Penne, listen to the song and watch the video. It was the real virtuous Kerala. As Oliver Goldsmith in his Deserted Village pointed out, the rural virtues are one by one saying farewell to our land. Those good old Films and their Songs are the only relics. So it filled my heart to feel the dedication towards them. Please converge more on the Black & White Age. Best Wishes.
Thanking You,
Yours Sincerely,
P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor,
Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum- 695562.
Dear Remesh ji,
Thank you for those kind words. Its true that the B&W had its own charm and its identity, but just like any other popular artform, it more or less fed off from the society around it and reasonably reflected the social dynamics on screen. The interactions were simple and technology was in the background of those lives. It has now moved forward to be a part of this generation’s life and brought with it, its own defining changes that has even affected our social mores. I see it that way. It is just another phase in our journey onward is what I would like to think about it. Thank you once again for passing through..Regards..CM
Recently I found this website, and i liked it very much because for a long time i was searching for informations about old malayalam movies and songs. Can you please help to find a source to download movies of 70’s to 80’s.
Thanks in Advance
Stalin Raj
Hi Stalin,
Thank you for passing through and writing in. Glad that it was able to provide with what you were looking for on Malayalam movies of 70’s and 80’s to some extent. I think I have made it amply clear about the ‘movie download’ part of it here. I DONOT DEAL IN FREE DOWNLOAD MOVIE FILE LINKS OR SONG FILE LINKS. You will please have to look elsewhere for that. Every single movie in my possession is a legal copy and I urge you to do the same. I have spoken about the sources from where I get my movies here.
Thank you once again,
Regards, CM
Im doing a Malayalam Movie quiz this Saturday in Kozhikode. Im inviting you to participate in the event and it would be great if you could announce this .
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#CommMsgs?cmm=36111789&tid=5408545611720589655&na=2&nst=30
There are other quizzes as well
Let me know if you need more details
Thanks,
Rajesh
Hi Rajesh,
Thank you so much for that invite. I donot know whether I would be able to join in owing to my professional commitments at my workplace.Regardless, wishing you all the very best in your efforts in keeping the spirit live 🙂 The Orkut Link that you sent seems invalid . A problem with all the wall gardens out there which we call social networks – the links go dead if you are not a part of that community or a part of the network. I would be happy to put that up here if you could send a Text Invite or a soft copy of the Poster designed for the same…Warm Regards..CM
Came here via IndiBlogger. Excellent work – you’re writing all about the films I want to see! Do you have any idea whether there are any editions of classic Malayalam films with English subtitles? I live near Thiruvanathapuram and have been slack with learning Malayalam, but I am a lover of all things cinema and have badly wanted to see older Malayalam films since I arrived here.
Hi Barns,
The very reason to sit down and let this all out was the disappointment and sadness in the lack of a worthwhile place for old malayalam cinema. About the classic Mlayalam films that you mentioned, do you have any titles in mind? The severe lack of Malayalam movies with subtitles have also “instigated” yours truly and another fan to take upon the responsibility to do the job ourselves and are in the process of completing our first project, KakkothiKkaviley Appooppan Thadikal. We are keeping this as sort of a Classics movie restoration project for private circulation. Funny how the dinosaurs aka the Malayalam VCD format peddlers also believe that no one beyond the state borders are interested in watching Malayalam films. Enough of my ranting. Let me know the titles you have in mind, cos there are a rare handful that is in the market as DVDs with subtitles!!(Its a miracle!!)
Thanks once again,
CM
The films of Adoor Gopalakrishnan seem to be a good place to start – how available are they? Also, everyone around me says that Mohanlal is a genuinely fine actor, but all I know of his work is the recent rubbish he keeps churning out – star vehicles like Twenty20. What are my chances of finding films like Hey Auto, Varavelpu or Rajavinte Makan with subs?
I’d welcome any recommendations as well, obviously.
Adoor’s works sadly are very very hard to find. The handful that are in the commercial market place are the three titles avbl at ebay for as long as I can remember. The National Film Development corporation has his entire films, with subtitles, from what I can gather as they come on once a while on the state run Doordarshan. But sadly thats about it. His later works, post 2000 are avbl locally as DVDs with subtitles. You are quite right when it comes to Mohanlal’s career graph. Hey Auto, Varavelpu are available as DVDs with subtitles on Moserbaer.They have recently started the Classics series across all languages. Try this place Welgate at Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum. +(91)-(471)-2439141. Check with them. Else will find a way 😀
..CM
Hai, I want to watch some Adoor Bhasi-Bahadur-SM Pillai stuff. Can you recommend anything with them that has subtitles?
Hi Updendra,
Adoor Bhasi – SP Pillai stuff, that too with sub-titles is something akin to impossible :D. For one, you literally can count on your fingers the DVD titles that are out in the market from their times, and I don’t even remember a single one with sub-titling !Also, did you mean both of them together in a movie or their solo act productions? Do write in..regards..cinematters
cinematters, I know that Adoor’s works are being remastered (with subtitles) by a French company that is also remastering Satyajit Ray’s masterpieces. It’s a matter of shame that we need foreigners to take an interest in our films, and to preserve them. Friends of mine and yours truly were thinking of offering our services to Indian DVD makers so we could have decent sub-titles instead of the bastardised English that now passes off for translations. If I can help, let me know.
Dear Anu,
It is really a matter of shame. I think really really hard before getting a subtitled DVD to gift to my Non-Malayali friends beacuse most of the time, they say they enjoyed the sub-titles more than the movie. I had even written to the major producers, and even spoke to someone at Moserbaer DVD, offering my services and help but it as usual, nothing happenend. Surprisingly, I still remember the old VHS Printsa by RAFA International and some of Thomsuns had some brilliant instances of subtitles, English and Arabic,and I found a VCD with subtitles some time back, an inadvertent error but wow 🙂 I think it was Thulaabhaaram ! It is not that there is a dearth of talent or expertise..its pure callousness and sloth..I had in fact, started off on my own for a friend, who manages goodtamilfilms.com, as he desperately wanted to understand Kakkotthikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal. I have done about 90 pc. Will do and send it to him soon. Been some time now. You can listen in on how it came about here. 🙂 Will surely keep your generou offer in mind..regards..cinematters
Hey didnt see the recent comment section . cool
One more suggestion 🙂
It will be a nice idea to have a ‘recent comments’ in the home page. This will enable people to see discussions happening in multiple thread. Else many will miss a new comment and reply to it as they might have already finished those pages much earlier.
I dont know the effort invovled, but a discussion forum would be a great idea
Hi Rajesh,
There is already a Recent Comments module on the Right Nav Bar, which in itself is a fair indicato as to what topics are buzzing most at the moment. As far as discussion forum is concerned, the end user activity of a ‘discussion forum; is interacting on a topic – here, the post. The replies thread on a post, along with the post becomes your discussion, with the post as your subject. The ‘discussion forum is a Web1.0 idea..:)” We have the capability to add pix, videos to that orthodox two liner thread of old times..You can even share it via FB and Twitter to your social circles too. Within the limited capabilities of WordPress Blogs, I guess its a bonus. I intend to shift the whole thing at a future date to a WordPress backed independenant Online entity. Till then, I believe, this is good for me.
And appreciate your feedback.It means a lot. ..Thanks…CM
Interested in quizzing and used this id for quizzing purposes. 🙂
Noticed that there is no way to contact you in person. Would be a good option to add. Also would be nice if there is an option where you can browse all tags
:). But, here I am, having an involved conversation with you, regardless. My only aim was to encourage more interactivity on the subject matter. Regarding the tag pool, but then the sheer number made it look more like a textual cesspool 🙂 ..Maybe, will activate a popular tags repository. Thanks for the headsup..
Happened to see your page on a chance google search. All the more happy to see that it is new and updated 🙂
great effort, hope to see more
Hi Rajesh,
Glad you liked the place :)..Just because it means Old doesn’t mean it has to stay so :D. When sepia is passion, I guess time makes itself available for the pursuit. Hope to see more of you in these parts. That’s one more friend earned, thanks to Sergey Brin 🙂 and his Search Engine
Am also curious about the ‘quiz’ part on a personal id.. 🙂
Priya Suhruthey,
I am amazed, dumbfounded and moved. Moanlalinteyum Mammoottiyudeyum peril kadipidi koodunna ennathe thalamura ithonnu kandirunnengil. Its not that there are no learned discussions happening on the web, but all of them are behind closed doors/forums. To have shared your knowledge and opinions in this manner, and that too beautifully laid out, I am overwhelmed…Thank you. Thank you. I’m an old Malayali settled in the US since the past decades, but still hold a flame of nammude naadu in my heart intact. I am sending this across to all my friends here. Am sure they will be delighted.
Great job! Please don’t leave this halfway.
– Arvind Nair
Dear Arvind,
Thank you so much for those kind words. Means a lot. It is interactions like these that makes the effort worthwhile. Cheers..CM
Quite surprised to see this site and really appreciate the thought behind it.
at the outset, when you talk about malayalam cinema, you must dedicate a page for one of Malayalams all time Great Actor one and Only Sathyan. What an actor!
Also a page on the Legendary Yesudas and Vayalar, Devarajan and some great Directors Sethumadhavan, Padmarajan, Bharathan… may be this site can help malayalees to download some nostalgic old songs etc.
best wishes and a Million Thanks on your initiative
Ramesh
Hi Ramesh,
Thank you for passing through, and those kind words. Its been only a while since I started on this initiative in sharing my perspectives on Old Malayalam Cinema, and everyone that you mentioned, all occupy pride of place in my thoughts on Malayalam films. You can be assured that you will find more about them, slowly but surely. Thanks for your wishes, once again,
CM.