Originally Posted by
critic
The Last of my 3 day Series on Top 5s of 2009, the third one is Top 5 Movies of the year.
Rationale - Majority points are for whether I liked the film personally. Secondly what it did at the BO and how it may be changed the course of Malayalam Cinema over the time.
Top 5 Movies of 2009
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5 - Puthiya Mugham - Just an average movie by standards, 'Puthiya Mugham' rose to a different level altogether with a spirited 'fire in the eyes' kind of act by Prithvi Raj, some racy action sequences and fitting soundtrack & BGM by Deepak Dev. The movie soon captured the imagination of the young and turned out to be a super success of 2009. After years of toil, Prithviraj could finally claim an undoubted solo super hit. And it also marked the definitive end to the belief that young stars would not have much of mass following in Malayalam. Puthiya Mugham also saw the debut of a promising director in the commercial action movie space in Dipan. Deepak Dev made a strong comeback.
4 - Pazhassiraja - The most ambitious movie of the year lived up to the expectations at least on the technical and scale front for sure. With the ensemble cast chipping in with good performances, 'Pazhassiraja' began his historic run. Mammotty, Sarathkumar, Manoj K Jayan, Padmapriya. The performances didn't go unnoticed. Hariharan was impressive as the director of this massive project. May be the script lacked the punch and had some holes, but the technical perfection was never attained in Malayalam before. Audiences seemed to be curious to take a peek. The hype around the budget also worked. Resul Pookkutty did his part well. The producer needs mention for his bravery. With release in Tamil, Telgu and Hindi, Pazhassiraja has probably become the first pan Indian Malayalam cinema or at least has tried to be that. Pazhassiraja has broken some untested grounds and for that it’s at Number 4.
3 - 2HariHar Nagar - May the most controversial choice on this list, coz even though you may have enjoyed it while seeing, still you may feel like discarding this is a mindless mad cap some months later. But try watching it again on CD and you may end up really enjoying it to the same level as you did the first time. I did that and that’s when I probably realized that 2HHN deserves to be on this list for being the best commercial entertainer of the year. Lal was in superb form as the director of the movie and the second half some breath taking pace. The twist in the climax was deliciously done. The 4 stars seemed aged but still managed to hold on to their own. And we had the summer blockbuster of the year. Nostalgia + Smart direction + a tight script with a twist + some time pass comedy resulted in one of the biggest hits of the year which cannot be ignored. Hence at Number 3.
2 - Bhramaram - More of a personal choice than the BO success, Bharamaram is on No.2 for the single best performance of 2009 by any actor. Yes, Mohanlal’s ‘Shivankutty’ was brutally awesome. To bring out that kind of performance in a movie which is completely based on the emotional fluctuations of a character, is beyond description of words. Blessey brought to Malayalam a new genre where the whole movie was driven on facets and variations in one character. The movie ended up as an average Hit, only because may be Blessy is too ahead of his times for the majority of Malayalees. With some awesome visuals, ‘Bhramaram’ was loaded with suspense and was a delight for movie lovers. For the most breathtaking performance of the year along with a very good non loosing movie at the BO , Bhramaram is at No.2.
1 - Passenger - Yes, even after watching it again on CD, 'Passenger' still gives me the thrills. Honest to the core, 'Passenger' is the kind of movie Malayalam needs to be looking for. 'Passenger' is the future. Directed ably by Ranjith Shankar in an awesome debut, 'Passenger' kept the audiences on the hook all the while it lasted. Be it the thrills or the message, 'Passenger' never tried to be cinematic, pretentious or over preachy. Srinivasan, Mamta and Dileep were impressive in that order. 'Passenger' was the story of the common man yet challenged each one of us to be extra ordinary. Apart from the minor glitch in the graphics and the preachy dialogues in the end, ‘Passenger’ was few cuts above the rest. Simply superb …nothing more and nothing less. ‘Passenger’ is at No.1 in the Top 5 movies of 2009.
Note - Will revise the list by 31st Dec 2009, only if need arises for the same.
Thank you being with my three Top 5s! :-D:-D:-D
