legend in the state and he is widely
considered as one of the first Indian
rulers to have openly defied British
authority. His armies, along with
the organized efforts of the Tribals
of Wayanad region, fought many a battle
against the British armies, handing
them defeat on many occasions. During
the later years of his resistance,
he along with the tribal leaders led
guerilla combat which took the British
army unawares. It is this legend that
has been created on an epic scale
in Pazhassiraja.
Mammootty, in the title role, bringing
back memories of the majestic performance
20 years back in ‘Oru Vadakkan
Veeragatha’, was enough to set
the bar for the movie very high. But,
the biggest factor was that the same
team that created the hugely successful
movie 20 years back was getting together.
Director Hariharan and above all,
the legendary literary figure of Malayalam,
M.T. Vasudevan Nair, penning the script
were things that made Pazhassiraja
a marquee film much before it hit
the screen.
Apart from Mammootty, the film has
been noticed for some sterling performances
by others in the cast. Supreme Star
Sarath Kumar has bowled over Kerala
audiences with his first Malayalam
film. Playing ‘Edachena Kunkan’,
the lieutenant of Pazhassiraja, he
has delivered a performance which
many are counting as one of his best
ever. There are reports that he has
been getting offers galore from Malayalam
after the movie’s release.
Just a few weeks after the movie’s
release, the Annual Malayalam Movie
Awards were announced which saw Pazhassiraja
sweep the honors. Apart from Best
film, director and script writer,
Kanika won the best actress award
for her role as ‘Kaitheri Makkam’
while Padmapriya won a special mention
for playing ‘Neeli’. Manoj
K Jayan won the best supporting actor
award for playing ‘Thalakkal
Chandu’.
Pazhassiraja also has Suman playing
the role of ‘Pazhayaveedan Chandu’.
As is evident, though Pazhassiraja
is a Malayalam film, it has got a
considerable percentage of actors
from Kollywood. And, the music has
been scored by Maestro Ilayaraja.
Technically too, Pazhassiraja boasts
of some high-quality stuff. Sound
has been designed by Oscar winner
Resool Pookutty. With so many positives,
Pazhassiraja, the tale of one of the
first freedom fighters of India, is
definitely a movie to look forward
to.
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