''Kaazhcha'' () is a 2004 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

-language

family drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

written and directed by

Blessy Blessy Ipe Thomas (born 3 September 1963), best known mononymously as Blessy, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. He has won one National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and nine Kerala State Fil ...

, in his directorial debut. The story revolves around the boy Pavan (Yash Gawli) who reaches

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

after he loses everything in the

2001 Gujarat earthquake The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, India. The earthquake had ...

. Film

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

Madhavan (

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

) happens to meet the boy and takes him with him. The film won three

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

, including the debut of actress

Padmapriya Padmapriya (born Padmalochani; died 16 November 1997) was an Indian actress who worked in Kannada, Tamil language, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu language, Telugu films. Her first movie was in Telugu, ''Adapillala Tandri'' (1974). In Kannada, sh ...

Plot

Madhavan, a simple village man who gets bitten by the film bug in his childhood, gives up his studies and finally ends up as a

. He tours the countryside with his

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

projector and shows films at temple festivals and other public events. Madhavan's family consists of his wife and a daughter. Madhavan comes across a six-year-old boy who was displaced from his native land (

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

) and separated from his family after the devastating

. He was taken into a gang of beggars from where he managed to escape. Madhavan takes the boy home and cares for him, just like a son. He and his family takes a fondness for the boy, but eventually find out that they cannot adopt the boy legally. The boy is taken away from Madhavan to a juvenile home and allegations of ill treatment is charged on Madhavan, but soon dismissed. The issue gets media coverage. Madhavan then goes to Gujarat with the boy with hopes of finding his family or adopting him. At the disaster camp in Gujarat, Madhavan understands that the boys relatives are all probably dead but due to legal hurdles, the boy must stay at the camp as there is an expectation that his real parents might be traced. Madhavan, dejected, returns to his family in

Cast

Production

Initially, actor Vikram had been considered to play the lead role, who was later replaced by Mammootty. The film marked the debut of

as an independent director, and

as actress. It was also the debut of Ranjith Ambady, who was an assistant of

Pattanam Rasheed Pattanam Rasheed is an Indian make-up artist. He won the 55th National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist. Awards ;Kerala State Film Awards * 1992 Kerala State Film Award for Best Makeup Artist - '' Aadhaaram'' * 1997 Kerala State Film Award for ...

Critical reception

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...

gave a verdict "Excellent" saying "The biggest asset of Kazhcha is the story and screenplay by Blessy, (an associate of Lohithadas) which is perfect. Another plus point of the film is the racy way in which the director has been able to tell the story with right mix of comedy and sentiments woven into the plot." The critic praised Mammootty for his "perfect comedy timing", also saying "Mammooty is the heart and soul of the film and he has proved once again that no actor can match up to him in such roles." ''Rediff'' ranked Kaazhcha amongst the best films of 2004, writing, "''Kaazhcha'' was different from the majority of films seen over recent years. After a long time, a film was made with an original concept. Blessy's apprenticeship under the late Padmarajan was evident in each frame."

Box office

The film was released onam weekend.Initially it had slow response. But later the film gained popularity and emerged as box office success.

Soundtrack

Except for the song Jugunure, lyrics for all other songs were written by

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 19 ...

, while lyrics for Jugunure were written by K.J.Singh. All songs were composed by

Mohan Sithara Mohan Sithara (born 30 May 1959) is an Indian music composer. He received the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Music Director (2009) for the songs in Priyanandan's ''Soofi Paranja Kadha''. Since 1986 he has been an active musician in the Mal ...

Awards

;

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

- 2004 * Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular appeal & Aesthetic quality – Kaazhcha * Kerala State Film Award for Best Debutant Director -

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed direct ...

–

Kerala State Film Award for Best Child artist The Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India for the best performance by a child actor in the Malayalam cinema. Until 1997, the awards were managed dire ...

– Baby

Sanusha Sanusha Santhosh is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She started her career as a child artist to leading actress and supporting character roles. She also appears in some Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films too. Ear ...

& Master Yash ;

- 2004 *

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

– Kaazhcha *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

–

* Best Actor –

;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says an awards ceremony has been instituted to honour artistic and ...

- 2004 * Best Film – Kaazhcha * Best Actor –

* Best New Face of The Year (Female) –

* Best Child artist – Master Yash * Best Cameraman - Azhagappan ; Others *

John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film The John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film is an Indian film award instituted by the Kerala Chapter of the Federation of Film Societies of India in memory of filmmaker John Abraham. The award is given annually since 1998 for the best film in Ma ...

(2004)"John Abraham Awards for Best Malayalam Cinema - Looking Back"

Federation of Film Societies of India Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) is the umbrella body of film-screening societies in India. FFSI is currently a member of the International Federation of Film Society that has its organisation is an associate member of UNESCO. Histor ...

(Kerala). Retrieved 27 January 2023.

References

External links

* {{Filmfare Award for Best Film – Malayalam 2004 films 2004 drama films 2000s Malayalam-language films Films scored by Mohan Sithara Indian family films Indian films based on actual events Indian remakes of foreign films Films shot in Alappuzha Films directed by Blessy Indian drama films Films about racism Films about race and ethnicity Films set in Gujarat Films shot in Gujarat Films set in Kerala Films about earthquakes Indian disaster films Films about adoption