Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sorry state of Malayalam Cinema!

The 60's and the 70's they say were the best times for the Malayalam Film Industry- K G George, Padmarajan, Bharathan, Mohan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sobha, Srividya, Jalaja- there were many talented names who contributed immensely to the cause of cinema and those were the days when at the national level, everyone was on the lookout for what stuff Malayalam filmdom has to offer.
Circa 2008! We have the industry down in the dumps! Agreed, the 54th National Film Awards have bought some relief to the industry (thanks to Priyanandan, Thilakan, Kamal, Major Ravi, Madhu Kaithapram, Nedumudi Venu and the Samudhra institute of dance) but the recent MACTA fiasco makes one feel that the industry wallahs are more interested in settling personal scores rather than focusing on the quality of films that they are making.
How else would one explain a director lodging a complaint with the MACTA (Malayalam Cine Technician's Association, for the uninitiated) that an actor has accepted advance from the director and then refused to work with him? When did directors start booking actors? Where is the producer here? And what is wrong if Thulasidas was removed from the director's chair? When was the last time Thulasidas made a movie that was, to put in mild terms, bearable? College Kumaran, Rakshakan, Melevaryathe Malakhakuttikal, Mr. Brahmachari- oh, come on!
The audience would be happy that Dilip did not give another chance to Thulasidas to test the patience of the viewers. Also, the feelings that Vinayan has for Dilip is well known. Occupying the position of General Secretary of a respectable association, Vinayan should not be using his position to settle scores with anyone. He might be the messiah of the under- privileged but in a creative industry that involves huge amount of money, there is no place for non performers. I completely agree with the faction of creative artistes who left MACTA to form a different federation and fully agree with the stand of AMMA on the whole issue.
Anyways, now that FEFSI has intervened and the adhoc committee has been formed, it is time for another round of elections. This time, let us hope and pray that the positions that matter in the association are taken up by people who are interested in making quality films. At least then, we might get some respite from the inanity that has become the identity of Malayalam films these days!

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