A word called ‘Malayalitham’ is used to describe anything that pours out the essence of the culture and tradition of Malayalam or Kerala. No other words can describe movies of Sathyan Anthikad. Let the story take place in the countryside, crowded cities or even outside Kerala, his films ooze out with ‘Malayalitham’. And this is one of the main ingredients of his success.
He is a person who can see through the minds of his audience and know exactly how to please them. He has the knowledge about the pulse and thoughts of an average Malayali and has the ability to transcend these impulses of an everyday Malayali into the celluloid.
His films are so transparent to the common man and at the same time they are entertaining that he seldom has known failures. His movies are mostly social satires that lay heavily on an ensemble cast of common people. He has this touch to arrange any social issue with light hearted humor coming from natural characters.
It is an interesting fact to notice that most of the actors that he cast are those with minimal glamorous side or none at all. The presence of common man’s heros like Mohanlal and Jayaram in his movies have helped the people to judge him as just another common man who makes films. He regularly casts character actors like Oduvil Unnikrishan, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent and Mamookoya in his movies which widen the common cast.
His associations with writer/actor, Sreenivasan is also notable. Together they have produced movies that not only have met with financial success but also were critically acclaimed. The duo has created many of the finest movies in Malayalam Cinema.
His association with Johnson and Ilayaraja in the musical department has also given numerous soulful and popular compositions.
-Shatru thinks:
Everytime I catch a Sathyan Anthikad movie on air, I watch it. His movies like Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu and Sandesham are my all time favourite movies. It is through his movies that I started to love the performances of Mohanlal, Jayaram, Sreenivasan, KPAC Lalitha, Mamookoya, Oduvil Unnikrishnan and Innocent. KPAC Lalitha’s monolougue in Sanmanasullavarku Samadhanam still gives me that same disturbing sensation that I felt when I first saw the movie.
But his recent works does not impress me at all even though most of them have been great success. His movies after Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal never gave me that enthusiasm that I felt from his earlier works. His recent works tend to be more rehashing of old situations and characters.
It’s just a personal view. if you have an opinion, please comment.
:)
Enne Swantham Shatru…
Important Movies
Gandhinagar 2nd Street(1986) (Wiki Link)*
Irrattakuttikalude Achan(1997) *
Katha Thudarunnu(2010) (Wiki Link)
Links
Interviews and Videos:
[** - must watch
* - really good]
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