Gajakesariyogam
| Gajakesariyogam | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | P. G. Viswambharan |
| Written by | Babu. G. Nair (Story) Kaloor Dennis (Screenplay) |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Saroj Padi |
| Edited by | G.Murali |
| Music by | Johnson |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Gajakesariyogam (transl. A good period of time[2] / The fate of owning an elephant[3]) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by P. G. Viswambharan and stars Innocent and Mukesh. The film is about the struggles faced by Ayyappan Nair after purchasing an elephant named Sreevidya from a North Indian circus company that only knows Hindi.[4][5] It was one of the many films in which Innocent and K.P.A.C Lalitha play an on-screen couple. The film became a box office success.[6]
Plot
[edit]Ayyappan Nair, a mahout, wants to own an elephant. He takes a loan to buy an elephant, however, trouble brews when he is unable to repay it.
Cast
[edit]- Innocent as Ayyappan Nair[3]
- Mukesh as Vinayachandran aka Vinayan[3]
- Jagadish as Parasuraman[3]
- Sunita as Karthika[3]
- K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Madhavi[3]
- Mamukkoya as Raghavan Nair[3]
- K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Vasu[3]
- Paravoor Bharathan as Khader[3]
- Thesni Khan as Suhara, Khader's daughter and Karthika's friend[3]
- Baiju as Gireesh, Thahasildhar's brother
- Siddique as Collector
- Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Thahasildhar
- Philomina as Thahasildhar's mother
- Sukumaran as Sethu
- Kunchan as Ajayan
- Balan K Nair as Nambiar
- Sainuddin as Minister Veera Raghava Pillai
Production
[edit]K. P. A. C. Lalitha shot for this film in Shoranur along with another film by her husband Bharathan.[7]
Themes and influences
[edit]Innocent plays a Malayali man who learns Hindi in this film. Innocent went on to play a Hindi-speaking politician in Sandesham (1991).[8] The film explores the bond between a man and an elephant. This bond is seen in other films, such as Aanachandam (2006).[9] A scene in the film was based on an incident in the unreleased Malayalam film Chottanikkara Bhagawathi. The incident revolved around an art director who was scared of the elephant and started moving after the director called action although the elephant and the mahout did not move.[10]
Soundtrack
[edit]The film features a song "Aanachantham" with Innocent and the elephant. It is one of the "cutest songs of Mollywood" according to the New Indian Express.[11]
Reception and legacy
[edit]In a review of the film in December 2021, Silpa Rajan of The Times of India opined that "The movie is absolutely engaging, entertaining, and heartwarming and also lays out the problems faced by naïve and gold-hearted people who step foot [sic] into the uncharted waters of business".[3]
The scenes where Mukesh's character teaches Innocent's character Hindi became famous.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "ഗജകേസരിയോഗം (1990)". malayalasangeetham.info (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
- ^ "Malayalam films which had animals as pivotal characters". The Times of India. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rajan, Silpa (10 December 2021). "#FilmyFriday: Gajakesariyogam: An elephant starrer headlined by Innocent". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ BR, Rohith (20 April 2018). "Jharkhand mahouts to get Kannada lessons, jumbos to learn Hindi". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Mukherjee B., Saswati (10 June 2014). "This jumbo needs to unlearn Marathi, learn Kannada". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Veteran Malayalam director P G Viswambharan dead - Sify, Wednesday, 16 June, 2010, 17:17
- ^ Kaloor Dennis (22 February 2022). "KPAC Lalitha was a terrible actor in real life". Manorama Online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Rajendran, Soumya (17 September 2019). "'Ek gaon mein ek kisan raghu thatha': Bhagyaraj on why he wrote the Hindi-fail scene". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ "From Kumki to 777 Charlie: Six moving films that explore the human-animal bond". The News Minute. 20 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ Sebastian, Shevlin (6 December 2017). "Location Diaries: A leaping lion". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ S., Bechu (15 August 2021). "Stealing the show with sniffs and trumpets: Malayalam cinema's favourite animals". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ "'എനിക്ക് ഹിന്ദി അറിഞ്ഞൂടാന്ന് ഈ മറുതായോടൊന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ് കൊടുക്കെടാ' മലയാളി പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ച 10 രംഗങ്ങൾ" ['If I know Hindi, please do not tell me this': 10 scenes where a Malayalee bursts out laughing]. News18 (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.