NEELATHAMARA    1990

( Blue Lotus)

Neelathamara (Malayalam: നീലത്താമര) (English: The Blue Lotus) is a 2009 Malayalam romantic drama film written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by Lal Jose. It is the remake of the 1979 film of the same name, scripted by M.T. himself and directed by Yusuf Ali Kechery .The film was produced by Suresh Kumar under the banner of Revathy Kalamandir. It stars Kailash and newcomer Archana Kavi in the lead roles. The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit.

Neelathamara, though was announced as a remake of the old film with the same name, had several changes. While the old film was a love story between Kunjimalu and Haridas, the remake focused more on the contemporary lives of both Ratnam and Kunjimalu. M. T. Vasudevan Nair himself re-worked on the script.
This film had mostly newcomers, which was more like an experiment by Lal Jose.
The camera work by Vijay Ulaganath was well appreciated.
The performance of Archana Kavi also received positive remarks from both critics and masses.
This was actress Amala Paul’s first film. Her next release was her debut as Anaka in Tamil; the critically acclaimed and box office hit Tamil film Mynaa.
The main villain role was played by Suresh Nair, the younger brother of Ambika, which was originally portrayed by Sathar.
Noted Malayalam Poet and Lyricist Mullanezhi played a small role, as an old man sitting under the banyan tree near the temple.

Story

Beena (Amala Paul), a program producer with NDTV 24×7, is visiting her ancestral village for a television program. She wants her fiancé to meet her grandmother, who has just been discharged from hospital. Beena, the daughter of K.P. Haridas, who died a few years back is not in good terms with her mother Ratnam over her second marriage.

Ratnam happens to visit the house at the same time. There she meets Kuttimalu, a middle-age lady, who was once a housemaid in her teenage days. Kuttimalu is welcomed by grandmother with the same warmth that she enjoyed long back, and she says that her daughters are now well settled and are leading a happy lives. Ratnam is also affectionate towards Kuttimalu, who had once had an affair with Haridas.

In the night, while arranging the old books of Haridas, Ratnam comes across the snaps of Kuttimalu, which he had taken in his college days. She hands them over to Kuttimalu, which takes her back to the old days. The story switches to the late 1970s, when Kuttimalu (Archana Kavi) had arrived as a maid with Appukuttan, her cousin and her grandmother.

Haridas’s  mother takes an immediate liking for her. She was an innocent village girl who is very hardworking too, who always found fun in sharing secrets with Ammini (Rima Kallingal), a girl of her age.

Ammini tells her about the myth of Neelathamara (blue lotus). According to believers, if they offer a one rupee note at the temple pond and prays deeply to the god, the flower will blossom the next morning and his/her wish will turn into truth.

Haridas who is doing law comes home for vacation. He was attracted by her charm and started moving close with her .Kuttimalu being so innocent , thought he is in love with her. She fails to understand that it was just fun that Haridas is looking for. Her prayer at the river pond results in blossoming of Neelathamara,  made her believe that it is true love.

But news of the engagement of Haridas to Ratnam comes in as a shock, which breaks her down mentally. But she has to swallow it as bitter truth as she has no other place to go accepts it and starts  serving her new mistress Ratnam. Ratnam one day comes to know about the affair and, when asked, Haridas replies casually, which makes her go berserk. Ratnam orders Kuttimalu to leave the house’ she accepts silently. She is taken home by Appukuttan, whom she married.

Many years have passed. Haridas is no more now. Ratnam and Kutty Malu too have become old. There is no more enmity. Kuttimalu is as usual ready to serve Hardas’s mother with a smiling face. She proves she is a born caretaker.

Music

This film features a successful soundtrack composed by  Vidhyasagar with lyrics penned by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma. Vijay Prakash, famous through recent A. R. Rahman songs, was introduced to Malayalam through this film. The track “Anuraga Vilochananayi”, sung by Shreya Ghoshal and V.Shreekumar (Shreekumar Vakkiyil), turned out to be one of the most successful songs of the year. It was the chart topper for many continuous weeks.

Vidyasagar won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and Mathrubhumi-Amrita Film Award for Best Music Director, for his work in the film. The track “Anuraga Vilochananayi” won the Most Popular Song of the Year Award at 2009 Vanitha Film Awards.
1 “Anuraga Vilochananayi” Shreya Ghoshal, Shreekumar
2 “Neelathamare”
3 “Pakalonnu” Vijay Prakash,
4 “Entho Mudo”
5 “Needhaya Radha”