Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja

<p>The film starts in 1796, four years after the occupation of Malabar by the and towards the end of the First Pazhassi Revolt (1793–1797). The revolt is led by , the Raja of Pazhassi Palace, of . The exploitation of the native Indian resources by the company had culminated in popular revolts against its authority across the district. With the help of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja’s uncle Kurumbranadu ruler Veeravarma, who is jealous of Pazhassi Raja for his success and influence, and Raja’s old companion , the Company act against Pazhassi Raja. This forces Pazhassi Raja to escape to the forests of Wayanad. The tribal force led by Neeli captures Assistant Collector Thomas Hervey Baber and his fiancée Dora in the jungle, in spite of his commander’s objection. The Raja treats Thomas Baber and Dora as his guest and releases them. From there, he begins guerrilla battles against the company. He is supported by his army chief and his brother-in-law . In the guerrilla battle-front, Pazhassi Raja uses the expertise of Thalakkal Chandu, a Kurichya soldier, and Chandu’s fiancée Neeli. During the initial phases of the battle, the Company loses many men and much money. This compels them to make a peace treaty with Pazhassi Raja. Raja agrees, hoping that this move will bring peace to the area and his people. However, the conditions of the treaty are never observed by the company. This prompts Raja to start the battle again. Similarly, Dora leaves Thomas Baber for England, having learned the betrayal done by the company to the Raja and despite her objection to the hanging of a father and son, who refused to reveal the location of the Raja to the company. He forms useful alliances with many rulers and powerful families in the nearby places like Unni Mootha and his men. Pazhassi Raja and his army successfully restart the battle. But the Company use heavily armed forces against him and succeed in luring many tribal leaders. This leads to the capture and subsequent hanging of Thalakkal Chandu as he was cheated by a tribal head. The Company started hunting for Pazhassi and his army chief Edachena Kunkan. In a bloody fight, Edachena Kunkan kills Pazhayamveedan Chandhu. But he is surrounded by the company. Instead of surrendering before them, he commits suicide. This makes Raja’s army weaker. But Pazhassi Raja, even though knowing that he is going to die, goes for a last fight against the company. After a glorious fight, Pazhassi Raja is killed by the company. The film ends with the assistant collector Thomas Baber placing the body of the Raja in a litter and his famous words: “He was our enemy. But he was a great warrior, a great man and we honour him.” The Company officers respond by saluting the corpse of the Raja and acting as . In an interview with in January 2007, Hariharan said: “We had first toyed with the idea of a film on , a warrior, and then we thought of making a film on , Pazhassi Raja’s lieutenant, as the hero. But eventually we realized that it was the story of Pazhassi himself that needed to be told, in a new light. In this film, we would be focussing on his valiant fight against the British.” M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Hariharan, and Mammootty were working together after two decades; their previous association was , which turned out into a landmark film in Malayalam. It was about Chanthu, a legendary warrior in the . Through , they made another biopic, on the life of Pazhassi Raja. Gokulam Gopalan was the film’s producer. The total budget of the film is about 20 , which makes it the most expensive Malayalam film ever made. The sounds in the battle scenes of the film were recreated under winner as he joined in the project only after its completion. The Kerala High Court ordered the producers of the film to avail the benefit of entertainment tax concession for viewers of . plays the title role of . The female lead was offered to former Malayalam film actress, but she refused the offer. There are three heroines: Padmapriya appearing as a tribal girl, Kanika as Pazhassi’s wife and as Dora Baber, fiancée of Assistant Collector Thomas Baber. Linda is a theatre artist in New York who also acted in the film . Through this film, makes his debut in . He portrays Edachena Kunkan, the chief lieutenant to Pazhashi Raja. was originally cast for the role. However, he refused to accept. Later, he clarified that he couldn’t act in the film for personal reasons, and it would always be a loss for him. portrayed Pazhayamveedan Chandu which marked his acting debut in Malayalam. was originally cast for the role, but he opted out after a few days of shooting, citing physical difficulties in shooting fight scenes. The filming began in February 2007 from . The filming lasted for two and a half years and was completed in August 2009. Sound mixer Resul Pookutty recreated all location scenes to ensure perfection. About the delay in making, Hariharan said: “The film’s shoot took two years to complete, when it should have been completed in eight months. The delay was not because of me. Neither was it because my producer, Gokulam Gopalan, was short of money; I must really thank my producer, without whom a film like would never have been made. The delay was because some of the stars were not willing to allot the extra time that was required for the film. They probably didn’t realise this film would become a milestone in their careers. Making was a great challenge for me. Directing was a cakewalk, compared to this.”. Specifically, a sword fight sequence between ’s character, Pazhassi Raja, and ’s character, Pazhayaveedan Chanthu, was initially removed from the theatrical release due to the film’s lengthy runtime. This scene was later reinstated into the film after 75 days of its release. However, it remained absent from television broadcasts and digital streaming platforms like , leading to disappointment among fans who appreciated the intensity and choreography of the fight sequence. The scene gained renewed attention when it surfaced on social media, where it quickly went viral. Fans praised the sequence for enhancing the film’s dramatic impact and expressed regret that it was omitted from home video releases. The film features six original songs composed by . The original background score was composed by , conducted by and performed by the in . It took three months for Ilaiyaraaja to complete the background score. On 25 September, released a soundtrack album, featuring only the songs. The songs received mixed to negative critical reviews and “did not go the way that it was expected”. Following the setback of the soundtrack album, Ilaiyaraaja stated that he was not satisfied with the lyrics of the poet , who penned two songs for the film. Ilaiyaraaja won the Source: All lyrics are written by ; all music is composed by . All lyrics are written by Manoj Santoshi and Manisha Korde; all music is composed by . The film was released on 16 October as a release with 130 prints in the original version and later on 17 November with 150 prints in . Later, on 27 September 2013, Goldmines Telefilms launched the trailer of the dubbed version of the film, at their channel. The full Hindi version of the film was digitally released on YouTube on 11 October 2013. Home Entertainment released the film on , , SuperDVD and in . The home video rights was bought by Moser Baer for a record sum of 62 lakhs. was the first regional language film to be released in the format. The DVD version of the film was released on 1 May 2010 as a two-DVD set. Film was screened in HBO internationally as per the reports of Siju Krishnan, a famous Mammootty fan. It was the only instance that a Malayalam film got screened in HBO. It is available in , , 24 , and format. Nowrunning comments that the film is an “exotic chronicle that stuns us with its fascinating tale”, and that “this is the stuff that are made of”. gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, praising the script and the technical brilliance of the film. described the film as one “that will be treasured for years to come”. However, Rediff also stated that “sentimentalism bogs down the pace [of the film]” at several occasions of the story. Ilayaraja’s music also received criticism, and the critics further accused the film of taking some cinematic liberties on history. said, “the host of people who play English Lords and East India Company chiefs appears theatrical. Even Linda Arsenio, the English Lady Dora Baber, isn’t spontaneous” and “while on editing, certain parts seem to have been trimmed in haste and hence hang without relevance. Strangely, despite an action-oriented story and mind-boggling stunts, the film sags at points.” Other critics pointed the sloppy fight scenes and the English accent of who has dubbed for herself in the film. collected around 1.65 crore from first day over the all releasing centres. The film had a record opening, collecting 7.65 crore in its first week, which was the highest ever first week recorded for a film in Kerala, at the time it was released. The film collected ₹ 31 lakhs in its first week in Chennai box office. In 2 months, the film grossed ₹18 crores. The film collected a revenue of about ₹32 crore after its theatrical run. The film ran for 150 days in 5 theatres in Kerala and grossed ₹49 crore in total as revenue and business.</p>