Back in the late 1980s (exactly in 1988, according to some searches)—there was a much-loved Malayalam serial called Mandan Kunju. Ever since then, our family developed a deep appreciation for Nedumudi Venu. His acting was often compared to that of Sivaji Ganesan, who was widely celebrated at the time. There were even debates about how Nedumudi was surpassing Sivaji with his unmatched natural style. Even in his 30s, Nedumudi would appear with grey hair, convincingly portraying elderly characters.
About 35 years ago, I happened to watch a film in which Nedumudi Venu actually played the lead role—something quite rare in his career. I couldn’t remember the plot or the supporting cast, but what stayed with me vividly was the setting. The film had been shot in Munnar’s Madupetty Estate, with the estate school serving as one of the locations. I also remembered a Carnatic-influenced song filmed outdoors in the estate, which left a strong impression on me.
For years, I tried to rediscover that film through Google searches. Strangely, nothing came up. Even my Malayali colleagues couldn’t help; in fact, most of them confidently told me that Nedumudi had never acted as a hero.
Fast forward to just a week ago—I decided to turn to ChatGPT for help. At first, it also struggled, but after several rounds of back-and-forth, we finally struck gold. The film was Marmaram, released in 1982.
I watched it right away, and what an experience it was! Bharathan’s direction was remarkable, and the performances of Nedumudi Venu and Jalaja were simply brilliant. Nedumudi was just 34 at the time, while Jalaja was 21. To my delight, my favorite singer Unni Menon was part of the soundtrack, with all the songs rendered beautifully by S. Janaki. The biggest surprise was that the music was composed by none other than M. S. Viswanathan (MSV). While MSV was a giant in Tamil Nadu, Tamil cinema never quite gave him opportunities like this. In Marmaram, his genius shone through.
Watching Marmaram made me realize once again how extraordinary Nedumudi Venu was—and how underappreciated he remained. The Malayalam industry was blessed with him, yet I sometimes feel that Malayalis never truly gave him the recognition he deserved.
Disclosure:
The following ChatGPT prompt is used in this blog post:
Please fix the language of the below text and highlight the changes in bold:
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