While on the subject of Rajinikanth, another topic came to mind… His very well acclaimed ‘Chandramukhi’ which is a remake of ‘Manichitrathazhu’ in Malayalam.
This particular film has been made in all 4 South Indian languages; ‘Manichitrathazhu’, the original (Malayalam), Apthamithra (Kannada), Chandramukhi (Tamil & Telugu), and Bhool Bulaiyya (Hindi). Very commendable effort indeed on the remakes. I haven’t had an opportunity to watch the movie in Kannada, though I heard that Soundarya the heroine gave a creditable performance as the split personality ridden heroine. But I did watch the other 3 and somehow maybe because I am partial to the original, I still liked the original a lot better than any of the remakes.
Well of course maybe it’s bad to compare the movies, but I figure when you actually do a remake of a movie you will end up having comparisons made with the original. I for one thought that Chandramukhi was a whole lot of crap what with special effects and the whole Rajini – effect coming into picture. A cinema which was supposed to be heroine-oriented totally turned into some sort of a showcase for Rajini’s prowess in psychology, and all that. A movie where the actual hero (Mohanlal) enters after the interval and still manages to carry off his role with a lot of elegance, Rajini comes in the first shot and does a major fight sequence etc etc… And someone please explain to me what the snake was doing in the movie??? What was the relevance of the same???
Now the Hindi version is a lot better than the Tamil version. I thought it did justice to the original script; thought the acting was a little tacky. But thumbs up for the Hindi version because it stuck to the original script and did not deviate much from it and I thought Vidya Balan did a great job too… Of course all said and done, it’s hard to hold a candle to Shobhana’s acting, but Vidya did do a good job too though she has to work in the dancing department…
And I totally did not like Vineeth in the last song at all… I thought that Kannada actor in Malayalam did a better job than opposed to Vineeth.. At least he looked like a male dancer which is not what I can say of Vineeth..!!
But all said and done, this is my rating for the movies... No rating for the Kannada movie as I have not seen it…. But as far as I go, Malayalam, Hindi and then Tamil is the order that I would go by for this classic!! :-)
I would have watched manichithrathazhu around 7/8 times..I am not tired of watching it and would love to watch it again..It will remain an evergreen movie forever in the hearts of movie buffs..that movie certainly rocks..
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no comparison between the original movie and its look alikes..I have watched Bhool Bhulaiya and bits and pieces of Chandramukhi - I am glad I did not watch it completely..Manichithrathazhu comfortably scores over the remakes in terms of acting, direction, music and what not!!!
I heard that there is a group dance in Chandramukhi :)
ReplyDeleteOru item number-oode aavaayirunnu :D
On a serious note, as the saying goes, "nothing matches the original". And it is proven here as well.
@ RAT --> Ejjactly..! :) but what group dance r u talking about.??
ReplyDeleteMe not seen Chandramukhi. Ppl who hav seen told me, there is a group dance in the movie :)
ReplyDeletemalayalam was the original one .. Kannada became hit .. then others followed ..
ReplyDeleteThough I am a ardent yesteryear Rajini fan, I cannot agree more if you say the original is a zillion times better... The only way to justify the remake(s) is "The proof is in the pudding (a.k.a the box office collection)" :)
ReplyDeletefor me chandramukhi tamil best than bhool bulaiyaa
ReplyDeletewht u said is r8. class is permanent... lal+ shobhana...acting chemistry.
ReplyDeletethe hindi version was made by a malayalam director and he knows what north viewers want.. and he made it.. considering kerala viewers they want a genuine story or story that is somewhat relevant to their culture..they always promote class and mass...not extra bullshit mass scenes.. coming to tamil viewers..they always love songs + mass and perception of film is all about too much entertainment..
I'm Tamil. I watched Chandramukhi and the climax scenes of all the rest. I would say in the Tamil version, the craziness of the heroine was brought out well, whereas in the original Malayalam, I didn't like the Tamil song in the climax(and this is coming from someone who thinks Tamil is the most superior btw) and I think the song in Chandramukhi was best among the 4 versions. Maybe even though the original has the best script, I think the Tamil version was crafted to suit it's own audience, and was good in it's own way.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the malayala m movie but I loved the Kannada version. Soundarya did a fantastic job. I watched chandramukhi. I didn't like it.
ReplyDeleteYou must have watched the Kannada version. The story, the dialogues,the direction is just fantastic. Moreover the star cast in the movies is simply awesome. Soundarya acting is just a ice on cake. Just watch the song if you have time. Just her eyes talk everything.
ReplyDeleteVineet is a phenomenal dancer. saying he "doesn't look like a male" is plain stereotyping. i agree the original is superior to the remakes by a long shot but personally i feel Vineet was the most graceful dancer and did a great job in both Tamil and Hindi.
ReplyDeletethere was a bengali remake also.
ReplyDelete