Today we start a series of episodes on star kids. We’re looking at nepotism, power structures, and connections (family or otherwise) in the Malayalam film industry, starting with Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban, and Vineeth Sreenivasan. A reminder that, as always, there are spoilers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Download Episode 7<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:00:26 ] Introduction of the new theme for the next few episodes: \u201cNepotism in Malayalam Cinema\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:01:30] Film is a family business<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:02:29] How do different industries view their nepotism\/power structures?<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:03:05] \u2013 Malayalam cinema is a small industry and doesn\u2019t have a big number of movie stars who went on to become politicians (as is the case in other industries in India), and we now have a generation looking to build some kind of legacy for the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:03:50] Mammootty has said (about himself and Sreenivasan) that they insisted their kids get engineering degrees, because the arts is a risky place to try to make a living. And that might be the reason they\u2019ve had a bit of hand\u2019s off approach to their sons\u2019 careers<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:04:45] Why Katherine prefers \u201cpower structures\u201d to \u201cnepotism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:05:25] When is nepotism good? When is it bad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:05:45] Malayalam cinema hasn\u2019t had the same kind of nepotism that exists in, say, Bollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:06:25] Class and caste based connections in joining the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:07:15] Inserting yourself into social networks in Kerala with respect to the film industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:08:10] Malayalam cinema does a good job of picking out talents who have no connection (or minimal connection) to the film industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:09:20] The reality is, though, that if you\u2019re coming to the industry with no connections, you\u2019re still going to be coming from a family that\u2019s fairly well off financially so you can have family support while you\u2019re struggling to work in cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:10:00] Katherine notes that whereas star kids in Bollywood may end up getting endless chances, in the Malayalam industry that\u2019s not necessarily the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:10:25] The first group of actors we\u2019re going to talk about had to work hard with the chances their family connections gave them, especially considering they weren\u2019t taken seriously at all, especially by society at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:11:15] Today: the “pre-new-gen” generation of actors: Kunchacko Boban, Prithviraj, and Vineeth Sreenivasan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:12:35] Prithviraj perceived as a kind of arrogant outsider, but also someone who refused to conform to the pre-set mould the industry seemed to be working with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:13:05] Prithviraj pushed the boundaries of what a Malayalam film hero could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:14:20] Prithviraj faced a lot of negativity early in his career, but where was it coming from? Prithviraj was a threat on many fronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:15:35] A little background on Prithviraj: who he is, where he comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:17:30] Prithviraj\u2019s admiration for his mother Mallika Sukumaran (who is still a working actress in the industry)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:18:10] Prithviraj was cast in Ranjith\u2019s Nandanam<\/strong> while he was finishing school in Australia. This is also the first film Katherine ever saw him in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:19:36] Please note: Nandanam<\/strong> is not really Prithviraj\u2019s film. It\u2019s centred very much around its female star, Navya Nair. No one really knew if Prithviraj was really going to have a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:20:02] Katherine found Prithviraj likeable, but was much more invested in Navya Nair. And then she watched Stop Violence<\/strong>. (Request: does anyone know about subtitles for this movie?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:22:10] Stop Violence<\/strong> is a very negative role. And Prithviraj was only nineteen, so there was a surprise that he went for a very violent role, when he could have easily had a traditional career track like that of Kunchacko Boban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:25:35] Prithviraj had to defend the choice he made to be in Stop Violence<\/strong>. Having to defend his choices became a constant theme in his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:26:23] Harsha confesses that she doesn\u2019t find Prithviraj captivating on screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:27:00] Prithviraj\u2019s brother, Indrajith, is a much warmer presence on screen, probably why Katherine prefers him (go watch his films!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:18:00] Katherine has always thought of Prithviraj as always thirty, and forgets sometimes how young some people started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:28:40] A sidebar into Prithviraj\u2019s directorial debut, Lucifer<\/strong>, starring Mohanlal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:29:10] Harsha feels that in recent years Prithviraj has become disappointingly unadventurous \u2013 he\u2019s settled into stardom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:29:55] We shift gears and turn to Kunchacko Boban, starting with a brief look at the family he comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:30:40] Kunchacko Boban\u2019s links to the industry are more distant \u2013 thinking especially of his grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:30:50] Kunchacko Boban was a *sensation<\/strong>* when he debuted, and Harsha shares a family story about his first film, Aniyathipraavu.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:32:10] Kunchacko and Shalini were such a classic pairing. Harsha had seen all of his early films, and he felt so much more accessible than the bigger stars, Mohanlal and Mammootty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:33:45] Katherine confesses that she uses Kunchacko Boban\u2019s films as comfort films in tough times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:34:40] The Break \u2013 Kunchacko Boban took one, and we talk about the reasons for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:35:15] After the Break \u2013 we see a shift in his career, particularly in the last year or so, and he came back just at the absolute perfect time in Malayalam cinema (see especially: Traffic<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:37:35] Traffic<\/strong> was a signal that Kunchacko Boban was coming back to be a little something different than what he had been, especially to dispel the \u201cchocolate boy\u201d image that he was growing out of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:38:40] Kunchacko Boban made a choice to do a negative role in Manju Warrier\u2019s comeback film, How Old Are You?<\/strong>, a film where there were threats made to those who were in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:39:45] Kunchacko Boban is a gentleman; Katherine notes that she\u2019s not into celebrity gossip, but she felt happy when he and his wife announced they were having a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:41:00] We move to the next star kid under discussion, Vineeth Sreenivasan. Harsha gives us, once again, some background about him and his family \u2013 and his father Sreenivasan was responsible for writing the first film Katherine every watched (and set her on a journey with Malayalam cinema).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:42:25] The importance of Mappila in launching Vineeth Sreeivasan\u2019s career, and he was expected to be a singer (note that he was a playback singer for the first six years of his career).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:44:15] Being a playback singer allowed him to differentiate himself from his father, and garnered a lot of affection for him before he ever became an actor and a director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:45:25] He\u2019s really so much more than a playback singer now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:45:50] Katherine talks a bit about one of Vineeth\u2019s early films, Cycle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:46:35] Harsha was surprised when he was cast in a lead role, but there\u2019s also a tightness in his performances that prevented him from becoming the kind of side-kick characters that someone like Aju Varghese has become known for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:47:25] Malarvaadi Arts Club<\/strong> \u2013 the first film for Vineeth Sreenivasan as a director. You could see he had some talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:47:40] Thattathin Marayathu<\/strong> -Vineeth Sreenivasan\u2019s second film \u2013set Kerala on fire with its cast. It was a HUGE sensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:48:30] Katherine notes that Vineeth Sreenivasan also took a break, and instead of coming back as an actor, he came back writing\/directing Malarvaadi Arts Club<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:49:00] For whatever his shortcomings as an actor, Vineeth Sreenivasan comes across as a very likeable person, and it often works to his favour (especially in a film like Traffic<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:49:30] Harsha\u2019s favourite Vineeth Sreenivasan role is Chaappa Kurishu<\/strong>, where he played a very beaten down character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:50:15] Katherine agrees with that, and feels that Vineeth Sreenivasan makes more of an impact in that film than his co-star, Fahadh Faasil (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:51:05] Harsha notes that there\u2019s such a contrast between Thattathin Marayathu<\/strong>, and Thira<\/strong>, the film he followed it with as a director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:51:35] Vineeth Sreenivasan brought back Shobana to the industry, and it\u2019s the only time she\u2019s ever dubbed for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:51:53] Thira<\/strong> also introduced Dhyan Sreenivasan, Vineeth\u2019s brother and Sreenivasan\u2019s son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:52:15] Katherine doesn\u2019t think Dhyan will have the kind of career that his brother or his father has had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:53:00] Vineeth Sreenivasan\u2019s casts are full of immensely talented actors, and he has such a talent for finding these people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:53: 35] Katherine notes that there are lots of groups\/connections, ie the Maharajah group, various friend groups that work with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:54:40] Katherine hopes that what we see over the course of several episodes is that in terms of star kids and nepotism, it\u2019s not always a negative to have connections. Do you agree with her that if you don\u2019t have the talent, you just won\u2019t get the work (or you\u2019ll get work in smaller, supporting roles)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:56:35] Vineeth Sreenivasan\u2019s eye for choosing actors is undefeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:57:00] Katherine notes that the next film he\u2019s directing is Hridayam<\/strong>, with Pranav Mohanlal and Kaliyani Priyadarshan (there are some star kids for you!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:57:20] We both have a lot of things to say about Pranav Mohanlal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [00:58:55] We close by noting that in our next episode we\u2019ll look at some of the more obvious examples of nepotism in the industry with Dulquer Salmaan, Pranav Mohanlal, and Fahadh Faasil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subscribe to our feed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can connect with us on Twitter: @PolandinePatti<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n