From Kummatty to Lokah Chapter 1 : Chandra: Malayalam cinemas lengthy tryst with Keralas wealthy folklore

Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, directed by Dominic Arun and starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, has grossed greater than ₹ 300 crores on the field workplace and has develop into the largest hit within the historical past of Malayalam cinema, changing Mohanlal-starrer Empuraan. It is a type of uncommon ‘pan-Indian’ blockbusters that appears to have rejoiced audiences and critics alike.

From its amazingly conceptualised world and beautiful visuals to Kalyani’s display screen presence and Jakes Bejoy’s hovering soundtrack, a number of causes are being attributed for its blockbuster run. But the one side that has made it universally cherished by Malayalis is the film’s connection to the story of Kaliyankattu Neeli, one of the crucial recognised characters from Kerala’s folklore.

In Aithihyamala (Garland of legends), a well-liked assortment of Kerala’s folktales compiled by the nineteenth century author Kottarathil Sankunni, Neeli is a robust yakshi (a malevolent spirit) who lures and eats lone (usually upper-caste) males who enterprise into the Kaliyankattu forest. This story has had a number of display screen adaptions over the previous few many years and is instilled deeply within the Malayali psyche.

Lokah, written by Dominic and actor-writer Santhy Balachandran, subverts this story by turning Neeli right into a nomadic superhero, Chandra, who has over the centuries used her powers to guard the susceptible. The film additionally flipped the favored delusion of Kadamattathu Kathanar, the Christian priest and highly effective magician, usually portrayed as the one that exorcised Neeli and turned her right into a benevolent goddess. In Lokah, he’s seen as an ally of Chandra/Neeli who has already inherited a way of righteousness from her mom.

“Dominic’s concept of putting the yakshi in a contemporary context and recasting her as a superhero excited all of us. Since audiences are conversant in superhero movies and see them as characters who make highly effective decisions, I felt it was essential to make sure that Chandra/Neeli has company — that she will not be forcibly reworked right into a drive for good by a determine of patriarchal spiritual authority. That is why we see Chandra receiving her ethical code from a girl — her mom,” says Santhy, including that myths, legends and folklore have all the time been dynamic entities open to reinterpretation as they’re a product of their occasions.

However, this isn’t the primary time Malayalam cinema has cleverly reimagined folklore, particularly the yakshi. KS Sethumadhavan’s Yakshi (1968) primarily based on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s eponymous 1967 novel, of the identical title, is among the first movies to characteristic a yakshi, and that too in a fashion that subverted the standard yakshi lore. It is a psychological thriller wherein a university professor (performed by Sathyan), who’s disfigured in a laboratory accident, meets and falls in love with a mysterious girl named Ragini (performed by Sarada), whom he begins suspecting to be a yakshi.

The 2011-movie Akam by Shalini Usha Devi, starring Fahadh Faasil and Anumol, is a feminist adaptation of the identical novel. While each motion pictures observe an identical plot, in Shalini’s retelling of the story the yakshi is used as a logo of feminine company and want in addition to a projection of the male insecurity. Like Santhy, Shalini too thinks folklore and myths must be open to reinterpretation. “There ought to all the time be area for reimagining these tales. It is the retelling that makes the feel of those tales richer over time,” she provides.

There have been different quite a few movies primarily based on the yakshi lore in between, together with at the least two motion pictures that featured Kaliyankattu Neeli. But most of them are poorly-crafted horror flicks that painting the yakshi as nothing greater than a vampire who preys on folks, particularly males.

The solely standout has been the 1998-classic Ennu Swantham Janakikutty, directed by Hariharan and scripted by the famend creator MT Vasudevan Nair. It explores the coming-of-age of a lonely teenager, Janakikutty (performed by Jomol), who encounters and befriends Kunjathol, a pleasant but melancholic yakshi (performed by Chanchal).

Kuttichathan (a mischievous, usually fearsome boyish spirit worshipped as a deity in elements of Kerala) is one other folklore determine that has featured closely in Malayalam cinema. The quirky chathan, performed by Tovino Thomas in Lokah, is simply the most recent onscreen model of the folks deity.

My Dear Kuttichathan(1984), India’s first 3D movie, was in regards to the kuttichathan residing with a bunch of children as one in every of them after being by chance launched by them from its enslavement.

More lately, Rahul Sadasivan’s Bramayugam (2024) with Mammootty within the lead and Nirmal Sahadev’s 2022-horror fantasy Kumari, starring Aishwarya Lakshmi, tried to floor chathan’s lore in a extra critical socio-political setting. While Bramayugam successfully used the chathan to symbolize the horror of unrestricted privilege and energy, Kumari used its fascinating folklore premise to painting how far patriarchs in a feudal society can go to take care of their energy and traditions.

How to make it work?

“One of the methods you can also make folklore related and nonetheless respiratory is rooting it in a up to date world. That is what makes Lokah stand out. It makes you’re feeling that the lores belong in your world and are usually not simply tales that maybe your grandmother informed you otherwise you learn in a ebook someplace,” says Kishore Mohan, Thiruvananthapuram-based idea artist and author who has labored on a number of fantasy graphic novels.

Jithin Laal, director of Ajayante Randaam Moshanam or ARM(2024), feels that when the story is happening in a fantasy world, writers and filmmakers must construct a bridge to make the viewers relate to this world. “When I got down to make ARM, what I heard probably the most was that fantasy was not one thing viewers in Kerala would have the ability to digest. However, I used to be assured that it will likely be accepted whether it is carried out organically, portraying the socio-politics of the interval wherein the story is a technique we are able to make it grounded and relatable,” he provides.

ARM, written by Sujith Nambiar, is an instance of this strategy. It entails the whole lot from a narrative of a village the place a meteor fell and the tales of valour of a fabled warrior to the lore of a legendary thief and the thriller behind a magical lamp he stole, all of the whereas rooting it within the altering socio-politics of the village from the medieval occasions to the Nineties.

Such an natural integration of folklore into a up to date setting is one other characteristic that makes Lokah an attractive watch. “Maintaining a stability between the spirit of the unique materials whereas offering a contemporary perspective takes a while. Cracking that could be a enjoyable train because it usually exposes our biases and pre-conceived notions about iconic characters,” provides Santhy who additionally did the dramaturgy work for Lokah other than co-writing it.

In that regard, it’s much like one in every of Jithin’s favorite Malayalam fantasy movies, Sakshal Sreeman Chaathunni (1993), directed by Anil–Babu duo and written by Kaloor Dennis. It starred the late actor Innocent as a playful and pleasant grownup model of the chathan who’s launched from his bondage to a robust black magician by two unemployed kids (Jagadheesh and Baiju Santosh), whom he finally ends up serving to overcome numerous issues utilizing his supernatural powers.

Not simply fantasies

While a lot of the folklore-based motion pictures lean into the supernatural, not all of them are fantasies. Numerous movies are primarily based on the tales of real-life legendary thieves Kayamkulam Kochunni and Ithikara Pakki, each of whom are featured in Aithihyamala, with the most recent one being Kayamkulam Kochunni (2018) directed by Rosshan Andrrews starring Nivin Pauly as Kochunni and Mohanlal in a cameo function as Pakki.

The different main motion, interval motion pictures embody Palattu Koman (1962), Thacholi Othenan (1964), Thacholi Ambu (1978) and Kadathanadan Ambady (1990) which are primarily based on vadakkan paattukal (Northern Ballads) — a group of story-songs from the medieval interval showcasing heroic tales of north Kerala’s warrior clans. Most of those haven’t aged nicely owing to their kitschy type.

However, the 1989 Mammootty-starrer Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, one other movie from the MT-Hariharan group, stands out as not simply as the perfect of those motion pictures but additionally one of many biggest interval dramas of Indian cinema. MT reworked the story of Chandu Chekavar, a treacherous determine who betrayed and murdered his cousin within the unique folklore, as a tragic warrior who was misunderstood by everybody as a result of unlucky circumstances. It gained 4 National Film Awards and eight Kerala State Film Awards.

Beyond the mainstream

While most of those have been mainstream productions, there are a couple of within the non-mainstream class as nicely. Like Perumthachan (1990) directed by Ajayan and scripted by MT primarily based on the legend of Perumthachan (grasp carpenter) from the well-known Parayi Petta Panthirukulam (story of twelve kids birthed by a Paraya girl). It explores the battle between Perumthachan (Thilakan) and his extraordinarily expert son (Prashanth) who needed to interrupt out of traditions.

Although not primarily based on any recorded lores, P Padmarajan’s Njan Gandharvan (1991), and G Aravindan’s Kummatty (1979) and Esthappan (1980) borrowed closely from the folklore custom. While Njan Gandharvan unabashedly explores the sexual awakening of a younger lady utilizing gandharva as a personification of affection and want, each of Aravindan’s motion pictures are a couple of wandering mysterious males who carry out methods and miracles.

One of probably the most visually beautiful movies ever made in India, Kishore cites Kummatty as a significant affect on his love for speculative fiction. He says, “The language and the pacing of the film gave me the area to create an entire one other world inside my head as a child. I might lay awake in mattress eager about the place the magician comes type, the place he goes away to and what else is occurring to the kids within the locations he travels by.” Kummatty was restored to its full glory in 2021 by the World Cinema Project of The Film Foundation, a non-profit created by filmmaker Martin Scorsese.