Polandine Patti Episode 17

Episode 17 sees us continue our journey with Malayalam supernatural films — in this episode, we look at Anandabhadram and Akam. Download Episode 17 (Right-click and ‘Copy Link’, then paste into your podcast app’s ‘Subscribe to feed’ field) Episode 17 Highlights: Spoiler Alert! We try to remember to alert listeners to…

Episode 17 sees us continue our journey with Malayalam supernatural films — in this episode, we look at Anandabhadram and Akam.

Download Episode 17 (Right-click and ‘Copy Link’, then paste into your podcast app’s ‘Subscribe to feed’ field)

Episode 17 Highlights:

Spoiler Alert! We try to remember to alert listeners to spoilers, but just in case, know that we talk about the films in-depth, so be sure to watch them first if you’re concerned about spoilers!

[00:00:15] A discussion about Prithviraj’s comedy skills leads into our first film for the episode, Anandabhadram.

[00:00:44] SPOILER ALERT!

[00:01:7] Anandabhadram is a Santhosh Sivan-directed supernatural film from 2005

[00:01:41] Prithviraj plays a young man whose mother elopes from her ancestral village to marry the man she loves.

[00:02:04] She tells her son before she dies that she wants her ashes scattered in her village.

[00:02:29] He meets his mother’s family who practice snake worship and their enemies who practice black magic.

[00:03:00] Katherine points out the black magician wants to gain immortality.

[00:03:30] There’s an ayurvedic cryopreservation chamber.

[00:04:01] Harsha is very confused about the plot and Katherine tries to make it make sense.

[00:04:48] Manoj K. Jayan has a magic toe!

[00:05:35] It’s very obvious this is a Santosh Sivan film with beautiful cinematography, songs and production design

[00:06:19] The actors in Pinakkamano were made up to evoke oil paint.

[00:06:45] Santhosh Sivan cinematography is known for using reflective surfaces like mirrors and water, which if found throughout Anandabhadram

[00:07:07] The film draws from both Raja Ravi Varma painting and the Kalari martial art, which takes center stage in Santhosh Sivan’s 2011 film Urumi.

[00:07:50] Harsha found the tharavadu setting and the NRI who falls in love with his cousin antiquated even for 2005.

[00:08:32] Prithviraj plays the same character as he does in Nandanam and Harsha found him awkward.

[00:09:21] He does a better job when he has to depict being possessed because he is better at menacing roles.

[00:10:35] The filmmakers didn’t want to commit to the darkness of its subject.

[00:11:27] Riya Sen is only in the film to be objectified and it makes us uncomfortable.

[00:12:40] Katherine appreciates that Anandabhadram made her look up a lot of Kerala supernatural folklore.

[00:13:02] Revathy plays Prithviraj’s mother and she looks beautiful in her cameo.

[00:13:38] A lot of supernatural elements get brought up in different parts of the film and then dropped, making the rules of the magical world seem incoherent.

[00:14:05] Other films in this series had consistent parameters to the supernatural, which this does not.

[00:14:55] Biju Menon shows up as a seemingly important character and is unceremoniously killed.

[00:15:45] Is Digambaran’s (Manoj K. Jayan) kryptonite sex or the magic toe?

[00:16:37] There’s a seed of a great story here that never comes to fruition.

[00:16:50] Could Riya Sen’s Bhama and Kavya Madhavan’s Bhadra have at some point been one role?

[00:17:09] Meera Jasmine was set to play the Bhadra role at one point and she might have been more comfortable with the risqué scenes Bhama ended up in.

[00:17:55] We don’t understand!

[00:18:18] We don’t like Kavya Madhavan for reasons on this podcast but she looks beautiful in the film.

[00:18:53] The importance of traditional stories passed down through generations are once again highlighted in the film, like in Manichitrathazhu.

[00:19:30] The tension between and coexistence of modern science and traditional practices is another theme, like in Sarppakavu.

[00:21:21] Next, we talk about Akam, directed by Shalini Usha Nair, based on the novel Yakshi by Malayattoor Ramakrishnan.

[00:21:52] The film was shot circa 2011 and stars Fahad Fazil and Anumol. This is very early in his career.

[00:22:14] FaFa plays a young urban man disabled by an accident. His partner leaves him and he becomes depressed. He meets a young woman and marries her but begins to suspect she is trying to kill him because she’s a yakshi.

[00:23:51] Yakshis are something between a female ghost and a vampire and are said to lure men to murder them.

[00:25:38] Many cultures have stories about the danger of alluring women and their sexuality like the nine-tailed fox.

[00:26:24] Katherine wonders where she can find more yakshi stories. We will discuss some in upcoming episodes.

[00:28:02] Katherine didn’t realize Manichitrathazhu is a yakshi movie.

[00:29:11] Bulbbul is another yakshi/chudail film.

[00:32:30] We found Akam quite impenetrable because of its minimalism and limited characterization.

[00:33:21] Malayalam movies are strongest when characters are placed in the context of their larger society.

[00:33:37] We understand the isolation of the characters is intentional as it adds to the feeling of paranoia experienced by Fahad’s character, Srini.

[00:34:30] The main characters’ marriage seem to come out of nowhere in the story.

[00:35:24] Srini’s paranoia is partly a result of the rushed marriage and the things he does not know about his wife.

[00:35:49] Harsha thinks Anumol is a great fit for a yakshi because of her frostiness on screen.

[00:36:22] The plot has a lot of gaps and leaps, and while it may be intentional, you still have to give your audience something to grab onto so they get through the film.

[00:36:42] We love the John Everett Millais’ Ophelia-inspired ending and it makes the message of the film explicit.

[00:37:55] Because of the dreamlike quality of the film, it’s never clear what is in Srini’s disturbed imagination and what was real.

[00:38:32] The director’s intentional choices, like the use of yellow to represent deception, make us wish she kept a firmer grip on the rest of the film.

[00:39:18] The novel itself is surprisingly urban and is ripe for another adaptation from a less minimalist director.

[00:40:30] Harsha really did not like the facial scarring make up on Fahad and thinks it did nothing to show his physical pain.

[00:40:49] The casting on this film was done by Geethu Mohandas.

[00:41:20] Harsha thinks Anumol is very underappreciated. She’s been doing a lot of work but most of them fly under-the-radar.

[00:43:33] Aashiq Abu’s upcoming Neelavelicham is a yakshi film.

[00:43:59] Bally Sagoo’s music video Noorie also centers a yakshi.

[00:45:17] We are here to learn (about yakshis and other stuff).

[00:45:30] Next episode, we will talk about Ennu Swantham Janakikutty, Mayilpeelikkavu and Bhoothakaalam.

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