For this week’s “Hidden Gem”, let’s take a look at this forgotten gem of 2004, ‘Kaazhcha‘. This Malayalam dramatic movie is inspired by the 1986 Iranian film, ‘Bashu, the little Stranger’. Directed and written by Mollywood filmmaker Blessy, this brilliant Malayalam film went on to get multiple film awards. Featuring a multi-star cast of Mammootty, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Manoj K. Jayan, Innocent and Augustine, ‘Kaazhcha’ has gone on to tug many heartstrings by the very end.
The movie follows Madhavan, a simple man living in a village with his family and makes a living as a projectionist. As a young boy, he got bit by the “film bug” and that set him down this career path. One day, he meets a young Gujarati boy, Pavan, who seems to have somehow made his way to Kerala. After getting someone in his village to translate Gujarati, he understands that the boy somehow came to Kerala after the 2001 Gujarati earthquake struck his home and killed his family.
The film then shows Madhavan introducing the boy to his family and taking care of him as his own son. His family eventually grows to love him as well and take care of him like he is part of the small family. However, due to the fact, his parents’ death can’t be confirmed, there is no way for him to legally adopt the boy, which is where Madhavan hits a snag. The rest of the movie is Madhavan trying to find a way to adopt Pavan into his family.
And it was already mentioned, but we are going to say it again – Mammootty was brilliant. He carries the film on his back with his charisma and presence. That is not to say that everything else about the movie was bad (not true). The actor who plays Pavan, young Yash Chawli was brilliant as well. All the side characters were memorable and the film’s setting and songs were iconic. Mammotty does a brilliant job, but he did have a hand in making the movie brilliant (“Brilliant” is overused here, so excuse us).
Check out ‘Kaazhcha’ on MXPlayer and Eros Now.