Appuni - 1984 Malayalam movie - Mohanlal as an anti-hero and Nedumudi Venu as the innocent man.

If you are a fan of a movie director and love his or her work, then it is great to start watching / analysing and immersing yourself in their creative work, from one of their first pieces. I'm a huge huge fan of Sathyan Anthikkad. It is a ritual at my home to watch Sandesham, Achuvinte Amma , Thooval Kottaram and many such gems visualised and created through his simple outlook towards a Malayali life. Almost every movie of his is a gem. So I decided to use my movie-freak-homemaker life to a better good and researched his filmography. And why should one miss even the lesser known movies from such an acclaimed director?




I decided to start with the very first of his movies which established the fantastic friendship between Anthikkad and probably one of the blessings to Kerala - Mohanlal.

Appunni is a 1984 Indian Malayalam romantic comedy film directed by Anthikad and penned by the then popular satirical writer Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair, commonly known as V.K.N. It is based on V. K. N.'s story Premavum Vivahavum and is known as the only screenplay he has written. The film stars Nedumudi Venu in the title role, while Mohanlal, Menaka, Bharath Gopi, and Sukumari play other lead roles.

  
                                                                                   

Let me first say head on that Lalettan is not the hero here, it is Venu sir. Yes. And Lal plays a slick, conniving anti-hero, not a villain, but a guy set to outsmart an innocent man. He doesn't use weapons, doesn't jump off old Mahindra jeeps and fencing guys in head-to-toe white uniforms. Nope that isn’t Anthikkad style ( and I am thankful for that because I am not a fan of action movies ! )

The film explores the love triangle between the characters. Appunni ( Nedumudi Venu ) and Ammukutty (Menaka) are lovers from childhood. While Appuni is a serious, brooding and grumpy man, he is kind hearted to one and all. And even more secretive is his love for Ammu. She is a vivacious and fun loving girl who craves attention and expression of love from him. Ammukutty's father Ayyappan Nair ( Bharat Gopy ) and his wife (Sukumari ) are aware of the love and the relationship between the two young people and have confirmed it long ago. So it is a well settled fact even in the entire village.


 

                                                

Things take a twist when a handsome,rich, slick-talker man from a higher caste arrives in the village. His wealth, status in the society and smart antics sit well with all including Ayyappan Nair and Ammu. Much to Appuni’s dismay, Nair arranges her marriage with a rich school teacher, Menon Maashu. Ammukutty is distracted and perhaps in her childishness, she ends her relationship with Appunni and decides to marry the Maashu.

However, Maashu fails to arrive on time for the marriage ceremony. Ayyappan Nair, who is embarrassed in front of his guests and the village folk is now in tears and hollowed out. He assumes that Maashu might have cheated his daughter. Now he can only turn to the ever-dependant Appuni for saving his honour.

In haste, he conducts Ammukkutty's marriage with Appunni. Much to everyone's amazement, Maashu arrives late at night. Once again he manages to cleverly trap the harassed and confused Nair in his excuses and lies of why he couldn't arrive in time for the ceremony.

Once again the bizarre night takes a new turn and now Nair wants Ammukutty to marry Menon Maashu.

Angry at the baseless thinking of her parents and the lack of sanctity shown towards an innocent man like Appuni as well as disrespect towards her marriage vows, Ammukutty takes a decision.

 



Appuni movie was Bharat Gopy’s first collaboration with Sathyan Anthikkadand was also the only movie where Bharat Gopy was paired opposite the legendary Sukumari as an onscreen couple. Sathyan Anthikkad pulled off the seemingly impossible task of adapting VKN’s multi-layered, contextual humour with just the right tinge of sarcasm and self-deprecation fairly well for the big screen, as his characters came to life in the able hands of some of the finest minds on the Malayalam screen. And as Perattupadaveettil Ayyappan Nair, Bharat Gopy was a treat to watch onscreen.

 

Director Sathyan Anthikkad with Gopy

Vainglorious, conceited and self-important – Perattupadaveettil Ayyappan Nair cannot think of an instance of existence where his purportedly militant, glorious ancestry is unattached to his personality. If not in character, at least by name, that is. If you are someone who has read the literary work and watched the movie, you would be surprised at how uncannily close both the creations are. Bharat Gopy effortlessly ensured that. Echoing director Sathyan Anthikkad recalling the “making of the character image”,


In half an hour he stood before me as Ayyappan Nair, the version you see in the film. “This moustache is a sign of pseudo-valour, for belonging to the ancient, militant, Perattupada lineage,” as he twirled it. “Ayyappan Nair is a devotee of the Devi, and hence the vermillion tikka on the forehead. This scant hair combed flat and across my bald patch shows his naivette and vanity to appear young and virile, a sort of ‘matching up to his warrior clan lineage.’ I was ecstatic. This was brilliant.

It was brilliant not just one time. It was, with every film he associated himself with. Every time.

Author VKN with Film Director Sathyan Anthikkad and Cartoonist Yesudasan.

Credits -
https://bharatgopy.com/filmography/appunni-1984/
https://ommst.weebly.com/appunni.html
 http://yesudasan.info/photos.html