Cinema is rife with scenes that stay with you long after the movie has ended. These might be scenes that inspire us or move us emotionally or lead to us developing a new perspective about something. Personally, I have come across several such movies and scenes. In this article, I will list 7 such Malayalam movie scenes that have had a huge impact on me; they didn’t just move me emotionally, but also made me think about society and its functioning. In no particular order, here are my favourite Malayalam movie scenes.
NB: Spoilers ahead!
Ennu Ninte Moideen
BP Unni Sahib realising that Moideen has no hate for him, though Sahib tried to kill Moideen for the sake of honour and pride.
BP Moideen (Prithviraj) was a prominent figure in the village of Mukkum, Kozhikode. He was deeply in love with Kanchanamala (Parvathy Thiruvoth), who also reciprocates his feelings. However, both their parents, though being really close family friends, did not approve of this relationship and turned into foes. Moideen’s father, BP Unni Sahib (Saikumar), is an individual who values the pride and honour he receives from the villagers and would go to any extent to regain it. In an attempt to do so, he stabs his own son to kill him.
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When the case reaches court, we expect Moideen to testify against his father and punish him for his acts. However, he testifies in favour of his father and makes him free of any legal complications. This scene and its staging are really heartwarming as it not only shows a son, who is forgiving his father for a fatal crime but also shows that he still has the hope that his father would accept the relationship and understand what he feels. Prithviraj’s and Saikumar’s formidable performances, along with the brilliant chemistry they share on screen, combined with the brilliant making, well-laid-out dialogues and superb background music, make this scene something which would melt the viewer’s hearts and remain memorable.
Home
Oliver Twist’s innocent smile when Annamachi comes over to his house after realising that Oliver was the one who helped save her child’s life.
Oliver Twist (Indrans) is an individual who isn’t as tech-savvy as his two sons. Due to this non-modern way of living life, his sons have a distance from him. When his elder son Antony (Sreenath Bhasi), a film director and screenwriter, searches for some extraordinary story, Oliver narrates an incident from his life. As viewers of the film, all of us wondered why this was relevant to the storyline. However, in the climax, this story finds importance. When Annamachi, played by KPAC Lalitha, narrates how the heroics of two young boys saved her son’s life, Antony reminisces Oliver’s story and understands him better. Oliver tells Antony not to tell anyone that one of the guys Annamachi mentions is himself. Still, he eventually tells Annamachi and her son, who is Antony’s prospective father-in-law. When Annamachi comes home and tells her heartfelt thanks for Oliver’s heroics, Oliver smiles, and the makers close in for a while.
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This smile is layered with a lot of emotions, as it shows recognition, pain, happiness and the feeling of being considered, after having been left out for several years by his kids. Oliver becomes a hero in front of his son again after his innocent mistakes had caused them a lot. This smile and the deep meaning behind the smile are absolutely heartwarming and make the viewers weep. This scene, for sure, has to be one of the most heartwarming and emotional scenes in Mollywood, in recent times, and it has become such a brilliant scene, all thanks to the acting prowess of Indrans, whose small gestures can make the viewers empathise with his character. Though the film contains several other heartwarming scenes, this one remains my personal favourite amongst them all.
Jana Gana Mana
Constable Murthy reveals to Sajjan Kumar that Aravind Swaminathan was not just getting the 4 individuals justice, but was also fighting the injustices he had faced in his professional life.
After all the drama and twists in the court, we see Sajjan Kumar (Suraj Venjaramoodu) being convicted for the murder of the 4 accused in a sensational case. When his trusted subordinate, Constable Murthy (Pasupathi Raj), visits Sajjan in prison. Sajjan praises Murthy’s choice of advocate for the case. When Murthy states that Arvind Swaminathan (Prithviraj) wasn’t his choice just because he wanted the 4 accused to get justice, but to bring out the bigger players in this charade, who were responsible for several personal as well as professional losses for Arvind.
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Constable Murthy’s character is, thus, shown to be loyal and faithful to his seniors, and also that he knows how to help his seniors when they need him. Murthy could have given the details of the encounter case to any advocate, but he chose Arvind Swaminathan after having closely seen the losses he had to go through, just because he stood for what is right. The scene where he gives a small smile and walks away from Sajjan, with pride, is a scene that is extremely high on emotions. Murthy is shown to have a facial expression, which conveys that he is proud of what he did because he has served justice, by placing his seniors in the correct positions. The film Jana Gana Mana is indeed a strong film, with several scenes that inspire and motivate you, but this particular scene of Constable Murthy visiting Sajjan Kumar, only to make Sajjan know who Arvind Swaminathan really was, is something special.
Usthad Hotel
Kareem ikka and Faizi talk about the philosophies of love, Kareem ikka’s love life and Faizi’s surprised reaction to the truth.
Faizi (Dulquer Salmaan) faced the wrath of his father Abdul Razak (Siddique) when he got to know that Faizi had spent his days in Switzerland learning to become a chef. This put an end to Abdul’s dream of seeing Faizi run a 5-star hotel. However, Faizi decides to go to his grandfather Kareem ikka (Thilakan). Faizi gets life lessons from Kareem ikka on how to become a good cook. All these Malayalam movie scenes have emotions filled in them, but the one scene that stands out for me is when Kareem ikka and Faizi have a conversation along the shores of the Arabian Sea while sipping their glasses of Sulaimani. In this conversation, Kareem ikka makes a very interesting comparison between love and a glass of Sulaimani.
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Following this, Kareem ikka asks Faizi if he has had a mohabbat in his life, to which Faizi brushes away the question saying nothing of that sort has happened. Kareem ikka then goes on to describe his love story, where we get the melodious and evergreen song Vaathilil Aa Vaathilil. When Kareem ikka tells Faizi that the hoori he had fallen in love with, was the bride at the function he was cooking at, Faizi mocks his grandfather and laughs. But Kareem ikka instantly tells that the hoori was in fact his grandmother, which leaves Faizi shocked. At this point, the viewers get to know Kareem ikka’s character and how he valued the feeling of love. He justifies his comparison of the Sulaimani to love through his love story. The warmth and chemistry between himself and his grandson Faizi is also shown in this scene. The whole scene and its environment are brilliantly penned down by the writer Anjali Menon, and superbly visualised and conceived by Anwar Rasheed. The brilliant song by Gopi Sundar, along with the spectacular performances of Thilakan and Dulquer Salmaan makes this scene one of the most heartwarming scenes of the film and remains memorable for its simplicity.
Ann Mariya Kalippillaanu
Baby talks to Girish about how he regrets the loss of his daughter in an accident.
After having duped a school-going girl, Girish (Sunny Wayne) sells the iPhone she gave him as payment to Baby (Siddique) who is a rich merchant. Girish soon joins Baby and becomes his trusted man. The film which until then was peppered with light-hearted scenes moves on to an emotional track for just one scene (proof of Siddique’s acting prowess).
In the scene, Baby is seen telling Girish that if a child approaches one with a wish, one should try to fulfil it if it’s reasonable enough. He goes on to recollect how he lost his daughter in a road accident when he prevented her from taking part in a school arts festival dressed as the bride in an Oppana Kali competition. Baby says that he didn’t want his daughter to dress up as a girl from another religion and sent her to a relative’s house forcefully. However, the bus she was travelling in, met with an accident, while the dance team won the competition. He weeps and says that if he had chosen to send his daughter to the competition, he would have had her with him. This scene is very beautifully penned down and conceptualised by Midhun Manuel Thomas. He wrote the dialogues in such a way that the verbal description of the whole scenario of the accident is enough to touch the audience. Siddique’s splendid acting and voice modulation while delivering the dialogues, along with an equally brilliant supporting performance by Sunny Wayne, makes this scene impactful and emotional. The impact of the scene is enhanced because it is placed at a juncture where the comedy has the viewers entertained, and suddenly we are thrown into this emotional sequence.
Ayalum Njanum Thammil
ASI Purushothaman breaks down and pleads before Dr Ravi Tharakan to treat his daughter, which eventually leads to Dr Samuel slapping Ravi.
After having reached extremely late for his registered marriage with his lady love Sainaba (Samvrutha Sunil), Dr Ravi Tharakan (Prithviraj) is enraged at the acts of ASI Purushothaman (Kalabhavan Mani). Purushothaman was waiting for an opportunity to take revenge against Ravi for having him suspended from service. Due to this personal grudge, Ravi lost the life he had dreamt with Sainaba. As fate would have it, Purushotaman’s daughter is brought, in a serious condition, to the hospital where Ravi practices. Ravi chooses not to attend to the child, even after consistent pleading by the staff. Purushothaman himself falls at the feet of Ravi and sheds tears, pleading to attend to his daughter, but Ravi remains unmoved.
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Dr Samuel (Prathap Pothen) arrives and saves the girl. He later goes and slaps Ravi, which leaves Ravi distraught. This particular scene is emotional and beautifully written by the writer Bobby-Sanjay. After having shown ASI Purushothaman to be a man who is extremely strong and aggressive, and a person who has a lot of male egos, he is shown as someone who would abandon it all for his daughter. This scene leaves the viewers emotional due to its brilliant staging and a very well-written sequence. The moment Prathap Pothen enters the scene and slaps Ravi Tharakan, it sends out a message to the viewers; that if our enemies ask for forgiveness, we have to be humane and forgive them. This message is sent out just through a slap, and not through preachy dialogues. Though Ayalum Njanum Thammil is a film that was a brilliantly crafted emotional journey, it is this scene that stands out for me. The superb performances of Kalabhavan Mani, Prathap Pothen and Prithviraj increase the emotional quotient of this scene by leaps and bounds if the brilliant making of Lal Jose and beautiful writing by Bobby-Sanjay weren’t enough.
Action Hero Biju
Pavithran breaks down in front of SI Biju when he gets to know that his daughter is not genetically related to him.
What was essentially a compilation of realistic scenarios and the realistic response the police force would take to the different cases, which were laced with black comedy, transforms into a film that tests the emotional vulnerability of the viewers for 7 minutes. This happens when a shabbily dressed Pavithran (Suraj Venjaramoodu) enters the police station to meet SI Biju (Nivin Pauly) to file a complaint against his wife saying that his child was missing. His wife and her lover are summoned to the police station, and eventually, Pavithran gets to know that the child is not genetically related to him. A heartbroken and shattered Pavithran is seen leaving the station.
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This is one of those Malayalam movie scenes that were high on emotions. Firstly, because of the simplistic nature in which the scene was written, without melodrama. The second reason is Suraj Venjaramoodu’s outstanding performance, which conveys the pain and agony of a man who is painfully made aware of an unpleasant truth. Suraj’s brilliant performance, Abrid Shine’s brilliant conceptualisation, and realistic dialogues make this scene one of the most notable Malayalam movie scenes in the entire film. It not only became a track changer in the film but also redefined Suraj Venjaramoodu’s career.
Those were my picks for Malayalam movie scenes that won my heart. Which other Malayalam movie scenes do you think should make it to the list? Do mention them in the comments below.
