Gulmohar

Cast: Renjith, Siddhique, Neenu Mathew, Meghanathan, Nishanth Sagar, Manoj K Jayan, Jagathy Sreekumar, I.M Vijayan
Language: Malayalam
Director: Jayaraj
Producer: Mathews
Camera: M. J. Radhakrishnan
Story: Didi Damodaran
Screenplay: Didi Damodaran
Dialogue: Didi Damodaran
Lyrics: O.N.V Kurupu
Music: Johnson
Year: 2008

'Gulmohar' is a truly memorable and genuinely affecting motion picture, loosely based on the real peoples’ court action of the 80's immediately after the emergency period .A mildly effective political movie, ‘Gulmohur’ generates honest interest mainly due to the  powerful performance of its lead actor Renjith,   the realistic  account of the events   and to its lively  conversations .

'Gulmohar’ takes us into the life of Indhuchoodan, the idealist headmaster of a local school. Once day when his old time friend,  a terminally ill Harikrishnan, (Siddhique) who has been more like a brother to him, turns up at his house, Indhuchoodan floats off to his revolutionary  past  when he and his friends were the spearheads of a movement  organized to fight against corruption, and the  injustice against  the downtrodden.

Induchoodan then a guest lecturer at a college, and his gang, couldn’t accomplish their ''Mission April’’ which was planned to eliminate one Chacko Muthallali who was a venomous womanizer and estate owner .After the failed operation, Indhuchoodan known in the code name of 'Gulmohar' and his friends were nabbed by the police, sentenced to long term imprisonment for charges of murder and for not cooperating with their questioning methods.

Life usually doesn’t give a second chance to everybody. But that was not the case with Indhuchoodan who even after two decades maintained the rebellious fire within himself, to voice his thoughts against injustice.

The highlight of the movie is definitely the inspired performance from director Renjith, this time as an actor, who dons the role of the Indhuchoodan with meticulous perfection. His strong voice and downy eyes permeates every scene speaking with a lot of aggression.

The scripts by Deedi Damodharan are also mentionable, though built on conventional stereotypical norms. As usual with the movies of the similar genre, ‘Gulmohar' also have a one dimensional male at the centre who is obsessed with martyrdom, literature and social bonding. The movie even showcases the then trend of addiction to poetry's of Chullikkad, Brecht and Neruda. 

‘Gulmohar’ doesn't really condemn supporters of armed activism, as they are shown with heavy positive attributes who are never vulnerable to being usurped by any kind of stronger influences, even a Narco analysis. Deedi was indeed absolutely brilliant with her dialogues, proving herself as an able successor to her father, dialogue king T Damodharan.

‘Gulmohar’ is undoubtedly one of the best movies from Jayaraj in recent times. But the director definitely could have shown little more carefulness in the depiction of the flashback periods in the movie .Also is the unwarranted sequences of Narcoanalaysis,  which  only started in India in the last decade of the 20th century .

This is a movie that has its share of weaknesses, very few in fact, but the strong points are so intriguing that it commands attention and respect for its complexities and shades of brilliance. Great use of locales, and a solid supporting cast make this a realistic and tense drama all of the way. With all the savvy technical finish - excellent camerawork by M.J Radhakrishnan, brilliant sound design by Ajith George and flashy editing by Vijay Shankar - working quite well in making us believe in the story at large.

Perhaps one more interesting point is the parallel between the two experienced directors Jayaraj and Renjith during the making of this movie, with Jayaraj trying so very hard to put Renjith in the mould of his making, and the later obstinately fighting him in every step, which is almost a mirror of the plot of the movie that sparkles off in every sequences.

All in all, ‘Gulmohar’ is an engaging, thought-provoking, and ultimately moving portrait of an aged revolutionary. Demanding a look at the pathetic lives and to examine our own, the movie wants us to treat each other better.

Recommended for everyone, who are in the lookout for substance and content in films.

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