Vinod Mankara,the National Award winner for the Sanskrit movie Priyamanasam is now ready with his new project KAMBOJI , a visual and aural extravaganza releasing this week.
Set amidst the spectacular colors of Kathakali and Mohiniattam, the film potrays not just the tragic love story of two artists but it is a unique blend of Keralas two most celebrated art forms.
For script writer- director Vinod Mankara,KAMBOJI is the cinematic representation of a real life incident that has shocked Killikurussimangalam,Palakkad in the 1960s.
The seeds of the story were sown by a feature story in a Malayalam weekly magazine in 1989.After reading this Mankara embarked on a journey to find the details of the tragedy. He got little information until Kottakkal Sivaraman recalled the incident during their train ride.
Once he heard the story, Mankara realised why his earlier efforts had gone futile: it was a real-life story that the world of kathakali prefers to forget. He also realised that his Kamboji will be a raga of love, lust, longing and loss.
KAMBOJI takes you back to the 1960 Killikurussimangalam a village in Palghat where everyone from the tea vendor to the village prostitute breathes art. It is the village of Uma antherjanam , the one who has dedicated her life for Mohiniattam .But when Kunjunni the charming disciple of a great maestro of Kathakali Ravunni asan comes to the village , Uma entrusts her now silenced kalari to him.Their passion for the arts ignites and soon they got hit by the cupid. But their romance got nipped in the bud and Kunjunni ends up as a convict in Kannur jail. The highlight of the film will be its amazing climax, some startling facts that unravel a few hours before his hanging.
KAMBOJI will feature some near perfect performances of Kathakali and Mohiniattam from its lead actors.And when the lead roles are played by actors like Vineeth and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, both of them being captivating dancers themselves, KAMBOJI promises to more than mere footnotes in Cinema.Vineeth and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy went through some rigorous training sessions . Though both are trained dancers they have never tried Kathakali and Mohiniattam before. Vineeth as Kunjunni will be the first actor in Indian Cinema to present a totally professional performance on screen , that too in a dance form he is not familiar with. Apart from the leading duo Harish Perady, Sivaji Guruvayoor, Indrans, Prasad Kannan, Kala Ranjini, Rachana NarayananKutty and Sona Nair appear in key roles.
Major part of KAMBOJI has been shot in Varikkasserry mana in Ottapalam. A couple of dance scenes were shot in the beautiful environs of Kuthiramalika.
Behind the scenes the movie has yet another poignant tale to narrate. The late poet O.N.V Kurup penned three mesmerising songs , his last ones for a movie. Five days after handing over the songs , the great poet left for his heavenly abode.
Besides O.N.V, Vinod has also penned lyrics for a magical song sung by Bombay Jayashree.
Setting the directors flight of fancy in melody , the films sound track and background score are done by music director M.Jayachandran.
K.J .Yeshudas, K.S. Chitra , Bombay Jayashree, Kottackkal Madhu and SreeValsan J Menon have rendered some soulful pieces of music for the film .
Kamboji also boasts of nine National Award winners in its crew .
The musical thriller KAMBOJI is produced by prof. Lakshmi Padmanabhan under the banner Padmalakshmi productions Pvt. Ltd.
Kamboji is more than a moving tale of a woman in myriad forms . It is a vivid portrayal of a man haunted by the fate traversing through diverse predicaments.
KAMBOJI is not a mere raga…. It is an epitome of eternal and passionate love.
Report by: Cynita Roy.
 (Cynthia is a mohiniyatam dancer and disciple of late Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma.)
