Prem Nazeer has passed away. The famous MARAM CHUTTI PREMAM hero is no more. Out of the three superstars of the 60s , everyone carved a niche for himself and developed an identity of his own. The nithyaharitha naayakan Prem Nazeer (born on 16.12.1929) started his career as a romantic hero (from Marumakal - 1952) with the traditional moustache on his face. However in the late fifties, he clean-shaved himself and adopted a new style suiting a fun-loving hero. Devasundhari (1957) was the first noticeable movie in this context and Jnhanasundhari (1961) set him on top of the world.
While paying my tribute to the legendary hero, I am reviewing his last movie as a romantic hero which is Suprabhatham (1974) in which he starred opposite the Swapna Sundari (the dream-girl) - Ushakumari with the then superstar of Malayalam cinema - Vincent starring in a guest appearance.
Suprabhatham (good morning) is a family drama. It tells the story of a widow and mother of a son, sheethal (Ushakumari) and a widower and father of a daughter, Ravi (Prem Nazir) who come across each other through their children and start liking each other. Ravi is the step-son of the (female) head of a business family and his unscrupulous and licentious younger brother, Baadal (Sudheer) is always conspiring against him. Sheetal is, in fact, the daughter-in- law of a rich man (Thikkurishi Sukumaran Nair) who had discarded his son, Raj (Vincent) and herself for marrying against his wish. She, while preserving the memories of Raj who had passed away in an accident, is fostering her little son by making a living through working as a teacher in the school where Ravi's son is also her student. Ravi, on the other hand, has been licking his wounds and tackling his loneliness since the demise of his wife - Mona (Manjula). Feeling that himself and Sheetal can fill the vacuum in each other's life (because their griefs and loneliness are similar), Ravi proposes to Sheetal and she too, accepts his proposal. However their marriage is not acceptable to his step-mother (Kaviyoor Ponnamma). When his step-brother Baadal rapes a working woman - Mahua (Sadhina) and after her committing suicide, throws the blame on his head, life seems to be becoming hell for him. However everything falls in place in the end and the union of Ravi and Sheetal eventually takes place. M.Krishnan Nair (the director of the legendary movie - Viyarppinte Vila) has directed this emotional family drama pretty well. The movie is not only interesting but also through the characters of the little children, touches the heart of the audience at many places. The song - Cholloo Pappaa, can be viewed in this light. The story is a formula-based one but the skilfully written screenplay is able to entertain the viewers throughout.
G.Devarajan has composed praiseworthy music for this movie. It contains the immortal song of P.Jayachandran - Indheevaranghal Poothu (penned by Vayalar Ramavarmma). Its shorter version is in Madhuri's voice too in the movie. In addition to the song mentioned in the previous para, other songs are also quite good. Madhyamo Chuvanna and Mindappenne are specifically notable.
The technical and production value aspects of the movie are quite in line with the trend of the late sixties and the seventies as well as the repute of the A.L.S Productions.
It's the last movie of Prem Nazir as a romantic hero and his role demanded maturity not only on face but also in performance. And Prem Nazir has done it perfectly. Nowhere is he over the top and portrayed the widower and an affectionate father on the screen with finesse, bringing all his experience as a hero over the previous 22 years into his performance. Ushakumari is miscast in the role of a widow having a school-going son because of her tender age (barely 23 years), yet the dream-girl has made it up through maturity in gestures and performance. Then superstar Vincent has delivered a heart-winning performance in the guest role. Others are routine. However the child-artists are the heart and soul of this movie and they were instrumental in making this movie a box-office hit. I unconditionally recommend this entertaining family drama to the movie buffs and bow my head in the memory of the legendary actor - Prem Nazeer. May his soul rest in peace.
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