Comments on No Man's Land?: Mohanlal: still pristine

Chotta Mumbai is super Hit movie.

2011-03-29T10:29:05.874+01:00

Chotta Mumbai is super Hit movie.

@ Balu, the list features Mohanlal movies which bo...

2010-08-13T21:48:46.125+01:00

@ Balu, the list features Mohanlal movies which bombed at the box-office. Devadoothan unfortunately falls in that criteria, doesn't it? Also Devadoothan, fyi is a remake of a Hollywood movie but Sibi Malayai very well transcripted it for Malayalee audience. (Forgot the name of the movie, will find out and inform if you're interested)

I think one of the movies in the list - 'Devad...

2010-08-13T18:50:50.136+01:00

I think one of the movies in the list - 'Devadoothan', from any perspective, doesn't deserve to be there. It was one of the finest flicks in Lal's career. Its camerawork, soundtrack, direction and what else....everything was so adorable. I request you to remove Devadoothan from the list as placing it along with utter craps such as Praja and Sradha will be like spitting on the face of great men who worked behind that - Sibi Malayil(director), Vidya Sagar(Music director) and Siyad Koker(Producer) and the crew.

Dear brother mohanlal, we want good films like...

2010-02-24T20:51:11.939Z

Dear brother mohanlal,
we want good films like thanmaathra,bhramaram, and ividam swargamanu from you.Kindly concentrate on your' Roles' here after so that you can reach upto 'Oscar'Ningallku ini nedann ulladu' Oscar' maathram.Nangallkum.We fans of mohanlal donot want any masala movies also negative charactors and super human charactors from you here after. Donot accept anything which spoil your immage .All the best Mohanlal.

Scorpiogenius, Like every 1980s-1990s born mallu,...

2009-11-09T06:06:50.225Z

Scorpiogenius,
Like every 1980s-1990s born mallu, I am also a fan of Mohanlal's movies that were released during his pristine years.. Even now, Thoovanathumbikal brings that sweet pain of love hidden in the depth of my heart. But one thing that Lal seems to have forgotten is the famous saying " swaram nannaayirikkumol pattu nirthuka". No offense to his age, but he has taken up to dancing to the sickly tunes of irritating songs in low-quality films.
I agree with Mr.Brijesh Nair. Mohanlal and Mammootty should seriously do an introspection and decide on what kind of movies they have to act.
Another thought I have on the matter is related to the public in Kerala. What happened to the film sense of the mallus who loved watching movies with substance! There was an era when malayalam movies were on the top, and Kollywood was sufferring from highly dramatic, nonsense movies. Now this trend is being reversed. Tamil film directors are trying to incorporate new technologies while malayalam movies are still filled with copycats and manglish dialogues.
Maybe it is cyclical.... Maybe it will come around... But for now... Let us think about the good ol' times when our hearts used to dance to the tunes of "megham poothu thudangi.."

@ Sreejith, it is sad indeed to see our films stoo...

2009-09-11T10:56:05.296+01:00

@ Sreejith, it is sad indeed to see our films stoop to such levels. :(

@ Nikhil, well said man! It hurts to be a Lal fan now-a-days

@ Xylene, lol the He-man stuff! I like that! :)

@ Abhi, Thanks for the response. To be honest I haven't seen Wanted. Its unfair from my part, but I stand corrected there. btw I didn't like Devedoothan much perhaps because I've seen the English original and didn't like it either :)

@ Nasrajan, yes, this 'kanji-kudi' reasoning is what has brought down the standards of our cinema. Anyway good suggestion though! :)

@ Charakan, but doc the actor is a movie's selling point in our set up, even though in micro terms it is the script. Well, lets hope things will change.

@ Harippadan, Its not fair to solely blame the superstars for the decline of malayalam cinema. There are other very obvious reasons.

I endorse the views of the author who depicted the...

2009-09-10T23:34:25.759+01:00

I endorse the views of the author who depicted the plight of Mohanlal to the bottom of stardom. I am indeed bored of his stereotyped dialogue delivery and the nauseating 'dance' scenes. Once I was proud of this actor, though he is not a versatile actor as his fans boast of. If Malayalam cinema is on the trials of doom, the so called super stars, Mohanlal and Mammootty are solely responsible for it. I pray, let them realise this and be choosy about their roles by dropping their superhuman roles.
-- Harippadan

In many of those flopped movies Mohan Lal was forc...

2009-08-30T19:23:52.834+01:00

In many of those flopped movies Mohan Lal was forced to act like a super star and characters were made for the super star, not for the actor in Mohan Lal. May be an actor should not be blamed or acclaimed too much for success of films

Totally agree with what you have written. Its the ...

2009-08-29T15:30:19.786+01:00

Totally agree with what you have written. Its the real downslide of a talent. Stil, let us be realistic, that Mohan Lalinum Kanji kudikkande? :-) What if all the scripts he gets in an year is in this genre, and he has picked the "best" of the lot. Imagine to what level Malayalam script writers are stooped!! :-)

May be, one of these days I hope somebody conducts a Lalettan Special Thirakkatha contest in blogger world :-D Just having my day dreams here..

Good overall insightful article. As a Mohanlal fan...

2009-08-25T19:46:33.074+01:00

Good overall insightful article. As a Mohanlal fan I would have to disagree with you on two movies in the list you had.

Devadoothan - I enjoyed the movie and Mohanlal's role in this supernatural thriller.

Wanted - Mohanlal only appeared in a Cameo but was best part of movie as a cop.

Nice post. I dont like watching those HE-Man stuff...

2009-08-18T10:48:39.155+01:00

Nice post. I dont like watching those HE-Man stuff movies from Mohan lal. I do like those down to earth characters portrayed by him like in Thanmatra.
Same goes with Mamooty. If they act their age, they are the best.

Good stuff.There is no actor better than mid caree...

2009-08-17T16:44:50.562+01:00

Good stuff.There is no actor better than mid career Lalettan.
The dip in his career,each one of us have followed it so closely and we all hoped against hope that he will get back to form, until disasters like Vpuram, H Pillai etc.
Bhramaram is a welcome change :-)

-Nikhil

This is a great post. A very impressive analysis. ...

2009-08-16T17:34:17.378+01:00

This is a great post. A very impressive analysis. Mohanlal has been a great actor, but one must see the fact that he has only been carrying the good name he created years ago. The moment he was cast as a super hero, his decline began. In fact, the same applies to Mammootty also. I could not understand from the climax of Maya Bazaar that the film actually ended. It is sad to see such films...

@ HK, yes Im aware of the mentioned criticisms of ...

2009-08-13T17:37:14.164+01:00

@ HK, yes Im aware of the mentioned criticisms of the movie but its a better produce of the times from the actor! Its watchable, thats the whole celebration about ;))

@ oh, another Lal die-hard.. and this one seems blind! lol..

@ Rohit, I cant believe you watched all those never-see movies!! Jeez, you must be a very tolerant individual..

@ Anish, thanks for the compliments, this Vamanapuram bus seems to be everyones favourite, from the bottom ;)

aliya a true tribute to mohalal....as wish i can s...

2009-08-13T06:23:17.910+01:00

aliya a true tribute to mohalal....as wish i can show this post to all hardcore mohanlal fans...Basically i'm not a mohanlal fan(more into mammoty :) ).....in fact i stopped watching mohalal movies after seeing alibhai and vamnapuram bus route....But i'm a hardcore fan of old mohalal movies(i have the collection of all the 80's mohalal movies)....even i can't remmber how many times i have seen chithram,vandanam,mithunam,nadodicatu etc(those are the golden days of mallu movies...may be we love those movies because ,we grown seeing those movies...well i don't knw).....i guess the fans play a majour role in mohanlals downfalll(and also some stupid directors)....they expect typical craps like baba kaliyani,alibhai from him(between halo was good)......have to watch bhramaram,heard it is too good....in between superb post dude :)

I love your posts for the amount of research that ...

2009-08-12T18:09:32.588+01:00

I love your posts for the amount of research that goes in to them. Excellent post indeed ! Well, I am a huge lalettan fan and I have watched every movie in that disatorous list. To be honest I dont think we can get to see the Mohanlal of old because of various factors including age, but one can only hope that he chooses the right movies going forward. I watched Bramaram. I liked it. But being a lalettan fan , I am not sure whether I liked the movie because I desparately want to like it. I guess, one can say it was a welcome relief compared to some of his previous releases.

Hello scorpiogenius, Another awsome post from u ...

2009-08-12T08:15:34.038+01:00

Hello scorpiogenius,

Another awsome post from u dear.

Mohanlal ,the versatile actor has given numerous MEGA HITS for us.
Well ,the facts also shouldn't be ignored that some flops have occured.Mohanlal's brilliance lacks a proper channel to express itself like late Lohitadas or Padmarajan.Thats what I feel.

I am an ardent fan of Lalettan.No matter what genre of movie it is,If Lalettan is acting I wouldn'nt miss it.The only one movie which bored me terribly was [vamanapuram bus route].Oh God!I couldn't stand it.

But I think We all love this down-to-earth man despite his flops..

East or West;India is The Best!
Mammooty or Bachanji;Lalettan is THE BEST!
Always THE BEST;BEST BEST BEST!

mirage:))

Loved Thanmathra.. though I wished Blessy would st...

2009-08-11T06:56:35.359+01:00

Loved Thanmathra.. though I wished Blessy would stop making movies with so much pathos [I cried shamelessly:)] and Mohanlal's acting was superb too... but Calcutta News was another disappoinment.. maybe it shouldnt have been Dileep.. the story was good but somehow Blessy seems to be losing somewhere..

as for Bhramaram, the long drive in the jeep made one in the cinema hall say thus.. "eyalude veedentha, himalayathilano"! nd it aptly described the mood.. the film dragged.. nd we also realized that every cast is important.. the litle girl who acted as Mohanlal's daughter did a pathetic job... with the reality shows discovering so many talents who could have been used instead, I wonder if Blessy or the producer was compelled to cast her.

@ Brijesh, the 'old' Mohanlal we loved is ...

2009-08-10T21:47:37.701+01:00

@ Brijesh, the 'old' Mohanlal we loved is dead. He himself is responsible for that. :(

@ OG, kuura..lmao, yeah good term! Blessy is an encouraging talent who knows to exploit the strengths of Lal.

I saw Alibhai in theater a week after my marriage bcoz my die-hard Lal fan wife wanted to see that film. I tried to warn her but she wanted to see a Mohanlal film..FULL STOP> I donno how I managed to spend 2-n-half hours in the theater.. I was almost dead coming out.. :((

@ Mathew, yes man. I couldn't stick it anymore. His movies during that era were truly unbearable. And thank God I didn't watch Vamanapuram Bus, and never will. But I saw Red Chillies in patches man, and I'll never forgive myself.. Plz dont ever think about seeing it. You'll jump into the Elbe.

@ HK, interesting to note your views about Bhramaram, may be it all depends on our taste. Did you like Thanmamthra?

@ Admin, I disagree that Lal's greatest hits came from Priyan. They were torchbearer's for each others success but Mohanlal gained much more name and fame through Lohitadas, Satyan Anthikkad, Padmarajan and the likes. This is not just about commercial hits. :)

@ Sakshi, happy to meet another Lal fan! *shake hands* :))

@ Praveen, how many times have we begged Lal to stop acting the almighty. Any use? He'll still act in that Shaji Kailas movies and the producer will lose all his money again. The Mohanlal of our childhood is a sweet memory. Perhaps Lal could look at Mammootty for this one aspect to learn some good lessons.

@ Karthik, hello and thanks for the comment :)

I agree with you.

2009-08-10T21:42:05.632+01:00

I agree with you.

awesome post man... It took me back to my childho...

2009-08-10T21:01:39.116+01:00

awesome post man...
It took me back to my childhood when I laughed and cried with Mohanlal..There was never a movie I missed in those days...and it helped to have a family full of Lal fans..
and then suddenly came this eternal slump with only a couple of movies which stood out...It pained me to watch him do such 'shitty shitty' roles like the one in vamanapuram bus route...As u did, I stopped going to the theatre..the load of super hero crap was too much to bear..It was ok till aaram thamburaan..
then it was too much to handle..

I really wish Lal somehow read this post. Am surprised that he's still not realising how much of crap he's turning out these days. I do wonder whether he reads those scripts these days..I cant take that argument of 'not able to say no'...Its your career man! and also u r stealing ur fans' happiness...please come back to ur old self..we dont want your big meesha..we dont want you to save the world..we just want you to live among us as one among us..so that we can again cry with you and laugh with you..for old times sake, come back laletta!

Ha so am the wonly lucky Mohanlal fan who never go...

2009-08-10T15:44:49.018+01:00

Ha so am the wonly lucky Mohanlal fan who never got to see any of the hazardous movie list you have here. Yipeee...let me dance to that. Well it was not intentional though as after leaving Kerala I never got to sit and watch a malayalam movie with a non mallu husband who once while we were watching a mallu movie wanted to know the meaning of every single word uttered even by the gangsters. So I gave up!!

psst psst I still like Mohanlal and my husband tells everyone that she thinks Mohanlal is the only best actor in this universe.

I also agree with your views. Mohanlal should beco...

2009-08-10T11:00:02.873+01:00

I also agree with your views. Mohanlal should become selective and not just act depending on how big the director or the banner is. On the otherside Mammooty gives dates to new comers and those movies delivers too.

Mohanlal's greatest hits occured working with Priyadarshan, once he switched to Bollywood, Mohanlal had to compromise with the comedies like Vamanapuram Bus route and Hariharanpillai.

Scenes and dialogues from Shradha, Vamanapuram, Red Chillies etc left me with severe headache for several days after watching it.

Well written.. guess Mohanlal could never say no...

2009-08-10T09:04:47.851+01:00

Well written..

guess Mohanlal could never say no to his friends in the Movie industry and hence..

but Bhramaram.. ouch... it was another painful watch.. Blessy did try to do something with the plot but it dragged eternally...we chose the release day to watch this movie and just couldnt bear the numerous Fans who would hoot and howl.. nd there were fans of Mamooty too...I think these Fans Associations has done more bad than good and will not let Mohanlal get out of this rut.

I echo exactly your thoughts...like you stopped wa...

2009-08-10T08:27:07.440+01:00

I echo exactly your thoughts...like you stopped watching Lal flicks after vamanapuram bus stop...and only if i get really rave reviews do i watch...like udayanaanu tharam...its sad that a stellar actor like him is unpretentious about his own decline...