Chattakkari Malayalam Movie
Julie is an iconic character, in the sense the that the film 'Chattakkari' which was released way back in 1974, is seen by an entire generation of film viewers as the tale of a girl who committed a cardinal sin, of having given in to the desires of her body, as much as she remains beguiled by love.
Almost forty years later, when 'Chattakkari' is remade, an adaptation of the very same story could prove fatal, if alterations that time demands on it aren't made. The 2012 version of 'Chattakkari' does not specify the time in which the story takes place in Connoor, and the viewer should assume that a few decades must have flown by, since the story that unfurls on screen had occurred.
Nothing much has changed since 1974, and Julie (Shamna Kasim) is very much the stunner of an Anglo-Indian girl, who falls prey to the charms of a Hindu boy, Sasi Warrier (Hemanth Menon). On second thoughts, probably a little bit has indeed changed, since Julie this time around makes an entry that is magnifique, accompanied by a resplendent melody in that slicingly enticing voice of Shreya Ghoshal.
All the other characters in the story remain the same, whether it be Morris (Innocent), Julie's drunkard of a dad or Margaret (Suvarna Mathew) her mom, or Richard (Harikrishnan), the neighborhood boy who could only watch as his love is snatched away.
The social issues that 'Chattakkari' deals with, might very much hold relevance even today, but the film makes a mistake in assuming that the audience might still be interested to hear out a story that has been told a million times after 1974, in zillion forms. This is predominantly where the film loses out on, and there is no escape from this oversight either.
On paper, probably remaking 'Chattakkari' seemed like a good idea, but in reality and on screen, one wonders if the all the efforts have really paid off. The sentimental obviousness that rules over the entire film is unlikely to have many takers any more.
To be fair to the actors, I guess there is no significance in comparing Shamna Kasim to Lekshmi or Hemanth Menon to Mohan. Shamna, I should say, has done a neat job of portraying the travails of the young Anglo-Indian girl, and looks remarkably charming. Hemanth is equally good as the youngster who naively wrecks Julie's life, only to rebuild it again. Harikrishnan leaves a mark with his relatively brief appearance as Richard. Malu Raveendranath and Shelly Kishore are two young talents to look out for, given their striking performances in the film.
'Chattakkari' has been shot quite impressively and Vinod Ilampally's frames add a rich appeal to the film. The truly awesome soundtrack by M Jayachandran has to be specially mentioned.
Well, 1974 seems so far away, and unfortunately, so does the remake of the movie that was made that year. And so much has changed, believe me, in the last forty years.
