Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja - The Lion of Kerala

Pazhassi Raja, one of the most eagerly awaited films of the recent times, is based on epic proportions. The mega-budget film (made at a budget never heard of before in Malayalam Cinema), has none other than Mammootty in title role. The National award winning actor met Screen at Palani (Pazhani), where he was shooting for his new film, Chattambinaaduv How did this film happen, with you, Hariharan and M.T.Vasudevan Nair coming together after so long, a gap of time? It was twenty years back, in 1989, that we had got together to make Oru Vadakkan …, which was taken from the folklores of Kerala. The film got many awards and I got the National award for that movie , along with of course Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s film too. And after that, we were thinking of doing another film on the same lines. We thought of many stories from the folklore. Then we started thinking of a historical. But the thing was that earlier Kerala was divided into many smaller kingdoms and hence there were not many war hero...

Most Indians today were not even born when the freedom struggle happened almost 60 years ago. Many have heard of the Sepoy Mutiny but due to lack of documentation, few know about the valour and struggle put up by Puliyur Devar in the 1800s. One such man who braved the British was a patriot from Kerala named Pazhassi Raja of Padinjare Kovilakom, who opposed the British revenue system. The story of this legend is being revived and the man behind this revival is none other than M.T. Vasudevan Nair, with director Hariharan calling the shots. Pazhassi Raja has Mammootty in the lead role and efforts are being made to release the film simultaneously in five languages, including English. Sarath Kumar plays a pivotal role in the film and music is composed by Ilayaraja. Also, Oscar winner Resul Pookutty has decided to be a part of the project. The film will soon hit screens and will give a detailed glimpse into India's glorious past!

Interesting accounts of the lives of great patriots of India: Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Tipu Sultan, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Veerapandia Kattabomman and Pazhassi Raja

After winning an Oscar for Danny Boyle's Mumbai-based underdog drama 'Slumdog Millionaire',Kerala-born sound maestro Resul Pookutty is coming full circle, as he will design sound for his firstMalayalam movie 'Pazhaasi Raja'. 'Resul is doing 'Pazhassi Raja', which will be his first film in his mother tongue as well as the first in south India. He will be doing the post-sound work for the film and is very excited about the project as it is an amazing film. It is also one of the very big-budget films in Malayalam cinema,' Pookutty's manager Baiju told IANS over phone from Mumbai. The 39-year-old started his career in Bollywood in 1995 with Rajat Kapur's 'Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One' that never saw the light of day. He then went on to design sounds for films like 'Black' (2005), 'Traffic Signal' (2007), 'Saawariya' (2007) and 'Ghajini' (2008) before bagging an Oscar for 'Slumdog Millionaire...

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Kottayam royal family in Malabar led struggle against the British in different parts of Malabar. Pazhassiraja had helped the British in their fight against Tipu Sultan. After the war, the right for the collection of revenue in Kottayam was given to his uncle Kurumbranad Raja, who was more loyal to the British, instead of the Raja of Kottayam. This was the cause of the struggle. Pazhassi Raja stopped the collection of revenue from Kottayam against the British action. Subsequently Pazhassi had several encounters with the British in Wayanad forest with the help of a major section of people including Muslim peasants, Kurichyas and Nairs. Though the British army had to taste several crushing defeats, at last on 30 November, 1805, Pazhassi Raja was killed in an encounter.

Veteran Malayalam superstar Mammootty says he is not only excited about his forthcoming historical epic 'Pazhassi Raja', but also has huge expectations from the movie that is dubbed inthree languages.'Of course, I'm really waiting for it because it is one Malayalam film which is likely to have a nationalrelease as it is dubbed in Hindi, Telegu and Tamil. Lot of hard work has gone into the film by eachone associated with it,' Mammootty told IANS. It's a Ramadan month and despite being a devout Muslim, the veteran actor is busy moving fromone set to another and running from one dubbing studio to another. 'Rain or sun, I have a job in hand and I do it with all my sincerity. Right now I'm driving towardsChennai to complete the dubbing of the Tamil version of 'Pazhassi Raja'. Due to lack of time I'm notdoing the Telegu and Hindi dubbing,' said Mammootty. Scripted by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by Hariharan, the film is set in the 18th cen...

Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma was one of our earliest freedom fighters : A Tough opponent THE night of November 29, 1805 was surprisingly hot and humid in the jungles beyond Wayanad. A small army of rebels from Malabar had crossed over to the Mysore side and was holed up there, hiding from the British. None of them could sleep properly and there was a sense of unease. The next morning, their leader, Kerala Varma, was up early. It was an important day for him, his mother's death anniversary. He bathed in the Mavila Thodu, and finished his prayers. He discussed strategy with his men for a while, and then they formed a protective circle around him as he sat on the bank and the ceremonies began. Suddenly, in the middle of the rituals, they found themselves surrounded by the English a...