The clash between age-old traditions and modern life, beliefs etc has been dealt with in umpteen films in many ways. Take for example the Jayaraj-directed Paithrikam. But in director Kukku Surendran’s second film Veeraalipattu (his first being the off-beat Oraal), the plot meanders along parallel lines and focusses more on the clash between traditions and the well-being of an individual and a whole family.
Hari (Prithviraj) belongs to a family in which the eldest male member of each generation is dedicated to the worship of the deity. As an oracle (Velichapaadu in Malayalam), he earns the right to preside over the proceedings of the village temple.
Hari had grown up seeing his grandfather (Jagathy Sreekumar) perform and do the rites as the Velichapaadu. In his childhood he even held his grandfather in dread. But Hari’s father (Murali), who shares a strong kind of bond with his family, promises to Hari that he would never take up from where his father ends. But when Hari’s grandfather passes away, Hari’s father takes up from there as the Velichapaadu. And this brings about a twist in the family. Hari, shattered and distanced from his father, goes away to Chennai, works there and falls in love with a young girl Pooja (Padmapriya), who has her own share of problems. All this leads to newer developments, which forms the plot of the film.
Prithviraj is good as Hari and does his role very convincingly. But the actors who impress us the most are Jagathy Sreekumar and Murali. Jagathy Sreekumar is seen in the film sans his trademark comedy and leaves an indelible mark on our hearts. Murali is equally impressive. Padmapriya as Pooja is good. All the others in the cast too have done their respective roles convincingly.
The comedy track involving Indrans and Suraaj Venjaramoodu could either have been avoided or trimmed a bit. It’s obvious that the makers had included it to lure viewers. However, their ploy hasn’t worked. The sequences where Suraaj’s character has to garland a plantain tree and take it as his wife doesn’t raise much of laughter too in the theatres. Of course it is obvious that one of the scenarists, being a teacher of English, had perhaps lifted it out of the essay ‘Trees’ by Gita Mehta, which was recently a part of the syllabus at the undergraduate level and which he had perhaps taught. Whatsoever, those sequences don’t impress us at all.
Jaffer Idukki’s barber is a good character. The inclusion of some the dialogues in English seems deliberate. It is rather unimpressive. But Ashok and Sasi, who have done the script, have otherwise done a very good work of it, thereby succeeding in bringing out the emotional states of the pivotal characters in a very effective manner.
The USP of Veeraalipattu however, is the background score by Mohan Sithara, who has used his knowledge of Traditional Kerala music and traditional instruments to retain the tempo and create the right atmosphere. Manoj Pillai’s cinematography too deserves special mention. Kudos to Kukku Surendran, Ashok-Sasi, Jagathy Sreekumar, Murali, Mohan Sithara and Manoj Pillai, to whom the film rightly belong! It doesn’t mean that the others have no role in the making of the film. Everyone involved deserves credit for having come up with a good and touching film, which however is not the one for the box office in today’s circumstances.
