The MT Classic 500 Contest | Here is the Winning Entry .

[ This is the prize-winning entry from the MT Classics 500 Contest entries submitted, which ran in the month of May, 2011 at Old Malayalam Cinema. The author Mohammed Naseef is a software engineer working in Bangalore, from Malappuram, passionate about films and reading. He says, “M.T Vasudevan Nair is one of my favourite literary & film personality, and Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha is one of my favourite movies. This prompted me to put forth my thoughts about it at your site. I owe a lot to my friends with whom I have discussed this movie, whose thoughts are also reflected in what I have sent as my entry for the contest.” ] Congratulations Mohammed !

The Ragini chronicles in Sarangapani’s Vadakkan Pattukal

The early editions of Vadakkan pattukal that came out from Udaya studios had a delightful set of commonalities. The scripts were either by TK Sarangapani or N Govindankutty, and until Sheela came along, it was Ragini who brought to life the women-centric ballads onscreen. I have tried to feature the ones that TK Sarangapani and Ragini came together in this post, and then go on to the similar roles Ragini did in other Malayalam Cinema productions (both for Udaya and others), and onto the Vadakkan Pattukal scripted by N Govindankutty.

Unniyarcha (1961)

The genre of Vadakkan pattukal in Malayalam cinema as we know it, starts with Udaya Studio’s Unniyarcha (1961). In addition to creating  a genre out of thin air, Sarangapani also set the template for all the future ones to follow.  Iwould say with some reasonable amount of conviction that even Unniyarcha (1961) was the blueprint for Hariharan‘s magnum opus Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), even to the point of borrowing sequences and scenes, but with a far greater sensibility of the medium than its Black and White predecessor.

TK Sarangapani | The Master Craftsman of the Vadakkan pattukal on celluloid.

With TK Sarangapani’s passing, Malayalam cinema lost something significant that it would have never even realised in the first place  (or though realised, callously relegated it to those places where one normally stores stuff which don’t have ‘dollar’ value) – he was the last living custodian of Udaya studio’s history, one who was Udaya Studio’s soul-keeper (I know that sounds tacky but that comes close to it). Sarangapani, who was virtually whisked away in his work clothes from his ‘lowly’ existence as a seamster at the Alleppey South Indian Rubber Works to the the hallowed portals of Udaya Studio bowled over Kunchacko, the reigning emperor of Malayalam Cinema ( read Udaya Films) with his very first attempt in rewriting a couple of lines of  Moidu Padiyath‘s screen adaptation of Umma (1960).

Northern Ballads | Navodaya Appachen, and delivering kitsch with world’s best technology.

In the annals of immortalising the Kerala Samurai onscreen, Navodaya Appachen was no less in contributing his vision on kitschy celluloid.

Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan, I believe,  came into the limelight ( literally) starting off from where his illustrious and legendary Kunchako left after Kannappanunni (1977), which was Udaya’s 75th film. Appachen started off with his multi-starrer Thacholi Ambu (1978), bringing MN Nambiar as the arch nemesis in the costume-drama (and what a costume-drama it was, folks! ), followed by Kadathanattu Makkam in the same year!

The Kerala Samurais in Technicolor

Though the Northern Ballads and its variations had been adapted to local folk theater, I think the reigning God of Malayalam film production Sri. Kunchacko who owned the biggest studio  of those times, Udaya saw the mother lode of a possibility by translating them on screen. Sri.Kunchacko, I think, was the Yash Chopra of the Malayalam film industry.He started off the filmi ballads with Unniarcha, a B& W production, in 1961.

Sri.Kunchacko added variations, brought in new characters, spun off sub-stories, all of them wrapped up in the same gaudy, kitschy costume trains and ornaments borrowed straight from the local theater. I always thought there was a divine connection between the bright and flaring silk embellishments to its ‘original’ counterparts across the sea, the Samurais of Japan! 🙂

The Vadakkan Pattukal Legacy on Celluloid.

Way back in the mid-60’s, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone transformed spaghetti westerns to such a degree that these movies walked right out of Hollywood and caught the fancy of millions of cine-goers all around the world. It still maintains its chunk of admirers in India – the Texan drawl, the ‘fastest draw’ and a fancy for Louis L’Amour – all of them pointers to the fascination for the sheer effect of incredulity and larger-than-life characters who were progeny of a harsh, unforgiving landscape and glorified the underdog’s tilt at social class windmills.