Pazhassi Raja (1964 film)
Encyclopedia
Pazhassi Raja is a 1964 Malayalam biographical film
directed and produced by Kunchako. It is written by wellknown playwright Thikkodiyan
and is based on the life of warrior king Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. It stars Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
in the title role, and Prem Nazir
, Sathyan
, Satyapal, S. P. Pillai, Rajashree and Pankajavalli in other important roles.
Pazhassi Raja is the second historical film in Malayalam, the first one was Veluthamby Dalava (1962) by the same director. Pazhassi Raja was completely filmed from Kunchako's Udaya Studios, which resulted in the lack of technical perfection and eventually lead to the commercial failure of the film. Its music is composed by A. R. Rahman
's father R. K. Shekhar
, who debuted as a music director through this film. The music was widely appreciated and was a hit.
Tipu Sultan
invades Malabar
in an attempt to bring the city states that surrendered to the Company under his control. Unable to fight with the ferocious troops of Tipu Sultan, the British decide to have a treaty with Pazhassi Raja with whose support they hoped to defeat Tipu Sultan. Pazhassi's guerrilla warfare succeeds. The British manage to free all the city states captured by Tipu Sultan.
Pazhassi's crafty uncle convinces the British authorities to allow him collect the taxes in Kottayam
. He goes to declare that he is the real heir to the dynasty. Pazhassi Raja opposes this move. The British Commandant Wellesley (Satyapal) invites Pazhassi Raja to his bungalow to discuss the issue. Ammu Thampuratti and Unni who reach the bungalow in disguise inform Pazhassi about the treacherous plans of the British. When Pazhassi defies the British they try to arrest him. The Kurichya bowmen of Pazhassi defeat this ploy and rescue their king.
The British troops capture Pazhassi Raja's palace. The Raja and his military commandants and attendants, Kaitheri Ambu (Dr. Chandraguptan), Kannavathu Nambiar (Prem Nazir), Unni Moosa (Sankaradi) and the Kurichya leader Chanthu (Vincent Chacko) escape to the dense Puralimala forests from where they begin guerrilla warfare against the British. An official of the Company, Baber (Sathyan), who reaches Pazhassi's hideout with the help of Pazhayam Veedan (Kottayam Chellappan) is beaten up and sent back with a warning.
The British decide to go all out against Pazhassi. A bitter struggle ensues. Pazhassi manages to recapture his palace. In the meanwhile Baber takes custody of Pazhassi's wife Maakkam (Sreedevi) and his infant son (Ponnumol). The war intensifies. The British try all nasty tricks to defeat the Raja. They even set his palace on fire. Finally, Pazhassi Raja's men are beaten. Pazhassi swallows his diamond ring and commits suicide.
. It was his debut work, though he has worked in a lot of films as a conductor or as an uncredited music director. The songs became popular upon release and established a bright career for Shekhar. The soundtrack consists of 12 songs with lyrics penned by Vayalar Ramavarma
.
"Chotta Muthal Chudala Vare" (by K. J. Yesudas
), "Muthe Vaa Vaavo Muthu Kudame Vaa Vvaavo" (by P. Susheela
), "Saayippe Saayippe, Aslam Alaikkum" (by P. Leela
and Mehboob), "Kannu Randum Thaamarappoo" (by P. Susheela) and "Paathira Poovukal Vaarmudikettil" (by P. Leela) are considered evergreen hits.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
directed and produced by Kunchako. It is written by wellknown playwright Thikkodiyan
Thikkodiyan
P. Kunhananandan Nair, better known by his penname Thikodiyan was a well known Malayalam author. He was born in Thikkodi, a small village in Kozhikode district, in the Indian state of Kerala. He was a multi-faceted personality.Thikodiyan has written a number of plays, novels, screenplays, and...
and is based on the life of warrior king Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. It stars Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
Sreedharan Nair , popularly known as Kottarakkara and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was an Indian film actor in Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards...
in the title role, and Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
, Sathyan
Sathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
, Satyapal, S. P. Pillai, Rajashree and Pankajavalli in other important roles.
Pazhassi Raja is the second historical film in Malayalam, the first one was Veluthamby Dalava (1962) by the same director. Pazhassi Raja was completely filmed from Kunchako's Udaya Studios, which resulted in the lack of technical perfection and eventually lead to the commercial failure of the film. Its music is composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
's father R. K. Shekhar
R. K. Shekhar
Rajagopala Kulasekara Shekhar was a Tamil Indian music composer, who worked for Malayalam and Tamil movies. He composed music for 52 films, and was the music conductor for more than 100 films. He is best known as the father of music composer A. R. Rahman....
, who debuted as a music director through this film. The music was widely appreciated and was a hit.
Plot
The story is set at a time when the English East India Company was trying to establish its control and most of the city states in Kerala had surrendered to the company. Sankara Varma (Nanukuttan), king of Kurumbranad, had also surrendered. Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair), king of Pazhassi and nephew of Sankara Varma, fought against the Company. Sankara Varma's niece Ammu Thampuratty (Rajashree) and nephew Unni (Boban) escape and seek refuge in Pazhassi Raja's palace.Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
invades Malabar
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
in an attempt to bring the city states that surrendered to the Company under his control. Unable to fight with the ferocious troops of Tipu Sultan, the British decide to have a treaty with Pazhassi Raja with whose support they hoped to defeat Tipu Sultan. Pazhassi's guerrilla warfare succeeds. The British manage to free all the city states captured by Tipu Sultan.
Pazhassi's crafty uncle convinces the British authorities to allow him collect the taxes in Kottayam
Kottayam (Malabar)
Kottayam is a former Hindu vassal feudal city-state in the erstwhile province of Malabar in present day Kerala, in the Indian subcontinent. Kottayam is famed for Pazhassi Raja , one of principle leaders of Wynaad Insurrection .-Geography:The Kingdom of Kottayam covered what is today Talassery...
. He goes to declare that he is the real heir to the dynasty. Pazhassi Raja opposes this move. The British Commandant Wellesley (Satyapal) invites Pazhassi Raja to his bungalow to discuss the issue. Ammu Thampuratti and Unni who reach the bungalow in disguise inform Pazhassi about the treacherous plans of the British. When Pazhassi defies the British they try to arrest him. The Kurichya bowmen of Pazhassi defeat this ploy and rescue their king.
The British troops capture Pazhassi Raja's palace. The Raja and his military commandants and attendants, Kaitheri Ambu (Dr. Chandraguptan), Kannavathu Nambiar (Prem Nazir), Unni Moosa (Sankaradi) and the Kurichya leader Chanthu (Vincent Chacko) escape to the dense Puralimala forests from where they begin guerrilla warfare against the British. An official of the Company, Baber (Sathyan), who reaches Pazhassi's hideout with the help of Pazhayam Veedan (Kottayam Chellappan) is beaten up and sent back with a warning.
The British decide to go all out against Pazhassi. A bitter struggle ensues. Pazhassi manages to recapture his palace. In the meanwhile Baber takes custody of Pazhassi's wife Maakkam (Sreedevi) and his infant son (Ponnumol). The war intensifies. The British try all nasty tricks to defeat the Raja. They even set his palace on fire. Finally, Pazhassi Raja's men are beaten. Pazhassi swallows his diamond ring and commits suicide.
Cast
- Kottarakkara Sreedharan NairKottarakkara Sreedharan NairSreedharan Nair , popularly known as Kottarakkara and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was an Indian film actor in Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards...
as Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja - Prem NazirPrem NazirAbdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
as Kannavathu Nambiar - SathyanSathyaneshan NadarManuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
as Baber - Satyapal as Commandant Wellesley
- Rajashree (Gracy) as Ammu Thampuratty
- Boban as Unni
- Pankajavalli
- Dr. Chandraguptan as Kaitheri Ambu
- Nanukuttan as Sankara Varma
- Sreedevi as Maakkam
- Kottayam Chellappan as Pazhayam Veedan
- Vincent Chacko as Thalakkal Chanthu
- SankaradiSankaradiSankaradi was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artiste, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit....
as Unni Moosa - S. P. Pillai
- Manavalan Joseph
- Nellikkodu Bhaskaran
Soundtrack
The film features an acclaimed musical score and soundtrack by R. K. ShekharR. K. Shekhar
Rajagopala Kulasekara Shekhar was a Tamil Indian music composer, who worked for Malayalam and Tamil movies. He composed music for 52 films, and was the music conductor for more than 100 films. He is best known as the father of music composer A. R. Rahman....
. It was his debut work, though he has worked in a lot of films as a conductor or as an uncredited music director. The songs became popular upon release and established a bright career for Shekhar. The soundtrack consists of 12 songs with lyrics penned by Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma , often known as Vayalar, was a modern Malayalam poet and lyricist. His famous works include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha, Oru Judas janikkunnu.-Biography:...
.
"Chotta Muthal Chudala Vare" (by K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...
), "Muthe Vaa Vaavo Muthu Kudame Vaa Vvaavo" (by P. Susheela
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela is an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese.-Personal life:She is the daughter of Pulapaka...
), "Saayippe Saayippe, Aslam Alaikkum" (by P. Leela
P. Leela
Porayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
and Mehboob), "Kannu Randum Thaamarappoo" (by P. Susheela) and "Paathira Poovukal Vaarmudikettil" (by P. Leela) are considered evergreen hits.