‘Pazhassi Raja’ will be an event in film history: Mammootty
October 11th, 2009 - 2:49 pm ICT by IANS ( 2 comments )Kochi, Oct 11 (IANS) Malayalam superstar Mammootty says his forthcoming magnum opus “Pazhassi Raja”, said to be the costliest Malayalam film to date, will be an “event in the history of films”.
There are huge expectations from “Pazhassi Raja”, which sees Mammooty, eminent writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair and director Hariharan coming together for a film after 20 long years.
The actor maintains he is not nervous before the release, scheduled for Friday.
“Is there any use if I’m under pressure now? That time is over and this film is going to be an event in the history of films,” Mammootty told IANS.
The film has been made at a budget of over Rs.25 crore and will be dubbed in Hindi, Telegu and Tamil.
The film is set in the 18th century and is about Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of the Kottayam royal family. Irked by the revenue policy of East India Company in Malabar, Pazhassi Raja’s was one of the first voices to be raised against British rule in India, though not many people are aware of him outside Kerala.
Vasudevan Nair, Hariharan and Mammootty last teamed up for “Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha” and created magic on celluloid. The film fetched the actor a National Award.
“Pazhassi Raja” has music by Illayaraja and the sound effects have been looked after by Oscar winner Resul Pookutty.
The film’s release had been delayed and Mammootty is relieved that it will hit theatres soon.
“It has certainly been a very long wait and of course I am relieved that it is finally going to be released,” the actor said.
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Tags: crore, east india company, first voices, history of films, illayaraja, kochi, long wait, m t vasudevan nair, magnum opus, malabar, malayalam film, mammootty, mammooty, oct 11, oscar winner, pazhassi raja, resul, royal family, telegu, vasudevan
October 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am
There was no Kottayam Royal Family in the history of Kerala. Kottayam in the south erstwhile princely state of Travancore was formed by Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore only in 1754 by uniting Thekkumkur and Munjanad which had annexed starting 1749. Later Devikulam was added to make Kottayam larger. The prominence of Kottayam district is due to English education, and the press set up British CMS missionaries, and the wealth generated by plantation of tea by the Dutch and rubber by the British.
There was NO Kottayam in North Kerala, erstwhile Malabar District during British Raj. The prominent rulers were Zamorins of Calicut. Haider Ali and his son, Tippu Sultan, annexed all of North Kerala and parts of central Kerala (Palakkad) starting from 1766. The British started direct rule in all parts annexed by Tippu Sultan after defeating the Muslim army at the request of Hindu feudal rulers in the area.
Pazhassi Raja College in Kannur District of North Kerala, erstwhile Malabar District is run by the Syro MALANKARA Catholic Church, NOT the Syro Malabar Catholic church. Syro Malankara Catholic Church was formed only in 1932 in Thiruvalla of Kottayam district in erstwhile Travancore State. They claim that Kerala used to be known as Malankara, although the name exists only in their church records and only members of their church believe in the fiction of such a non-existent name. The story of Pazhassi Raja is yet another propaganda possibly by the same group because they run a college by that name.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Not only that no one outside Kerala is aware of Pazhassi Raja and his “independence struggle” against the British. Nobody in Kerala is aware of it. It has been invented by a film script writer as propaganda, supported by the Syro Malankara Catholic Church which runs a college by that name, and accepted unconditionally by politicians because in India the film industry and politics are very closely linked. Film makers are treated as intellectuals in India, the trend being even bigger in Bollywood.
The state of Kerala was formed only in 1956, and this supposed revolt took place between 1797-1805. So where does the title “Kerala Veera Varma” come from? Only kings of Travancore and Cochin had the names Varma. They never ruled in North Kerala at any time.
This is a propaganda film. The name Kottayam Royal Family is invented to make up for the lack of antiquity and history of Kottayam in south Kerala, which was merely a revenue district of Travancore kingdom. But it gained importance due to British missionaries, English education, press and plantation of rubber. The importance of Kottayam is associated entirely with British missionaries - CMS in upper Travancore and LMS in lower Travancore - starting 1806. Plantation of rubber by the British, at the advice of British Resident came soon afterwards which led to immense wealth in no time. Plantation of tea by the Dutch had also increased the wealth of Kottayam.
So in order to get some history, the name of a non-existent Royal Family is being invented and the place of action is being shifted to North Kerala, Malabar District.
Why does ThaiIndian want to propagate historically false claims? Indian movies are known to be fairy tales. This is just another of them. They have merely taken one name and spun a story around it.