By:
Settu
Shankar
Thursday,
November
15,
2007
In
the
late
eighties,
K
Balachander
had
tried
making
real
different
Tamil
films.
Oru
Veedu
Iru
Vaasal
was
one
such
and
in
which
he
told
two
different
stories
in
a
single
movie.
Now
director
Adoor
Gopalakrishnan
is
trying
the
same
thing
but
he
tells
four
different
stories
in
single
movie,
that
too
with
in
2
hours
30
minutes.
Naalu
Pennungal
is
surely
different
from
other
Adoor
films
with
four
different
stories,
each
distinct
from
the
other
with
no
apparent
attempt
to
link
them
together.
But
there
is
an
underlying
link.
All
the
four
stories
(penned
by
the
late
Thakazhi
Sivasankara
Pillai)
speak
about
feministic
concerns.
Moreover
all
the
four
stories
have
narrated
well
by
the
director.
The
first
story
in
Naalu
Pennungal
is
'Oru
Niyamalanghanathinte
Katha',
which
has
a
street
prostitute
named
Kunjipennu
(Padmapriya)
as
the
pivotal
character.
The
story,
set
in
the
backdrop
of
the
1940's,
speaks
about
what
happens
when
Kunjipennu
at
last
finds
someone
who
loves
her
dearly
and
who
wants
to
lead
a
life
with
her
by
his
side
as
her
husband.
How
society
reacts
to
this
is
narrated
subtly
and
forms
the
rest
of
the
plot.
The
second
story,
titled
'Kanyaka',
is
about
a
very
bold
and
industrious
peasant
girl
Kumari
(Geetu
Mohandas),
who
marries
a
man
named
Narayanan,
who
runs
a
shop
and
who
has
been
praised
by
all
as
someone
who
doesn't
have
a
single
vice.
As
everyone
expects
a
very
good
family
life
for
the
couple,
Narayanan's
business
skills
and
obsession
with
food
with
little
liking
for
everything
else
including
his
wife,
leaves
Kumari
in
dire
streets.
When
she
left
back
to
her
home
Kumari
starts
life
afresh,
passing
off
her
marriage
as
an
unpleasant
interlude
that
never
happened.
The
third
story,
titled
'Chinnu
Amma',
tells
the
story
of
a
middle-aged
homemaker
named
Chinnu
(Manju
Pillai..
And
there
is
Nara
Pillai,
who
is
on
a
visit
to
his
native
village
after
being
in
Tamilnadu
for
a
long
time
and
who
visits
Chinnu
frequently
with
the
intention
of
sharing
her
bed.
But
Chinnu,
the
mentally
strong
woman
protects
herself
against
a
sin
that
should
not
be
committed.
The
fourth
story
'Nityakanyaka' is
about
Kamakshi
(Nandita
Das),
a
girl
from
an
affluent
family,
who
remains
a
spinster
even
after
her
younger
sisters
and
younger
brother
get
married
and
live
with
their
families
(like
KB's
Aval
Oru
Thodarkathai).
The
plight
of
Kamakshi
and
the
way
society
sees
her
and
the
way
she
reacts
to
the
responses
of
those
around
her
forms
the
plot.
Though
all
the
four
stories
haven't
any
direct
link,
the
director
maintains
feminism
and
sexual
exploitation
on
women
is
the
under
current.
Another
important
aspect
of
the
film
is
that
even
the
minor
characters
are
portrayed
with
due
importance.
For
example
the
character
played
by
Sona
Nair
in
the
first
story
and
the
character
played
by
Ramya
Nambeesan
in
the
fourth
one.
Performance-wise
everyone
has
done
justice
to
their
roles.
Padmapriya
as
Kunjipennu,
Geethu
Mohandas
as
Kumari,
Nandu
as
Narayanan,
Manju
Pillai
as
Chinnu,
Mukesh
as
Nara
Pillai,
Murali
as
Raman
Nair,
Nandita
Das
as
Kamakshi,
Kavya
Madhavan
as
Kamakshi's
sister
Subhadra
and
Ravi
Vallathol
as
Subhadra's
husband
Parameswaran
Nair,
all
have
more
or
less
lived
in
their
characters.
On
the
technical
side,
Radhakrishnan
cinematography
is
noteworthy.
The
editing,
artwork,
and
the
background
score
make
the
film
as
classy.
One
couldn't
compare
this
film
with
Adoor's
previous
excellent
movies
like
Kodiyettam
or
Elipathayam
but
it
is
surely
a
welcome
effort
by
the
director
to
maintain
the
Malayalam
cinemas
classic
flavor.
Verdict:
Very
Good!
Credits
Cast:
Padmapriya,
Geethu
Mohandas,
Manju
Pillai,
Nanditha
Das,
Kavya
Mathavan,
Sreejith,
Nandu,
Murali,
Gopakumar,
KAPC
Lalitha,
Ramya
Nambeesan
and
Sona
Nair.
Direction:
Adoor
Gopalakrishnan
Production:
Benzy
Martyn
–
Adoor
Gopalakrishnan