Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha

Most Mallus are familiar with the tale of the cousins Chandu (Mammootty) and Aaromal Chekavar (Suresh Gopi) who are famous warriors from North Kerala. Legend says that Chandu jealous of Aaromal skill and wealth, betrayed him as a second, in a fight where he had metal rivets in a sword replaced with wooden ones. M.T. Vasudevan Nair, the genius he is, took this premise and turned it on its head. He potrays Chandu as a misunderstood soul who had life itself conspiring against him.

Mamootty dominates the movie with his brilliant portrayal of Chandu which won him a National Award. Madhavi is stunning as Unniyarcha. But it is Captain Raju as "Aana mayaki" Aringodar who in my opinion that steals the show.  So if you can ignore the poorly choreographed Kalarippayattu sequences, you are in for a epic masterpiece.

Rating: * * * *

Manichitrathazhu

Newly weds Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) and Ganga (Shobana) arrive at their ancestral tharavad to live there for a few months. A legend surrounds the house that a spirit of a young dancer who was brutally murdered centuries ago, haunts it. Rumor is that her spirit is contained in part of a house that is no longer opened. Paying scant attention to the pleas of their relatives, the young honeymooners throw open the doors. Soon things start to go bump in the night and people suspect that the dancer's spirit has possessed someone in the household. In exasperation Nakulan persuades his psychiatrist friend Dr. Sunny (Mohanlal) to come down and put an end to all the nonsense. A rare thriller infused with graceful comedy that won critical acclaim and box success in 1993, holds it ground even today.

Rating: * * *