Pathemari
Pathemari is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language period drama film written and directed by Salim Ahamed and starring Mammootty in the lead role, with a supporting cast that includes Jewel Mary, Siddique, Sreenivasan, Salim Kumar, Shaheen Siddique, Viji Chandrasekhar, and Joy Mathew. The plot follows the life of Pallikkal Narayanan who migrated to the Middle-East in the early 1960s when the Kerala Gulf boom was just beginning.
Resul Pookutty handled the sound recording while music was composed by Bijibal and cinematography by Madhu Ambat. The principal photography began in October 2014. The film was shot in Kerala and the Middle East.
Distributed by Eros International, Pathemari was released on 9 October 2015 and received critical praise. Pathemari was selected for the Indiwood Panorama Competition section at the 2nd edition of Indiwood Carnival 2016 in Hyderabad.
Plot
A young Narayanan and Moideen along with a group of men travel to Dubai by Dhow in search of a better life. Launchi Velayudhan is responsible for smuggling young men into the Gulf. In Dubai, both Narayanan and Moideen find work as construction labourers and reside with other labourers. They sacrifice their happiness and work hard to earn enough money for their families.Narayanan regularly visits his home and gifts his family and friends imported items. During one visit, Narayanan informs his wife that he will not be returning to Dubai and will settle down in Kerala to start a business. However, after realising that his family value money more than him and that his wife is afraid of losing her social image, Narayanan returns to Dubai.
Meanwhile, Narayanan's widowed sister Nirmala's daughter, who both live in Narayanan's house is not getting a Bridegroom as she has no money or property. Chandraettan offers Narayanan land which belongs to Nirmala and in return asks him to give his share of the property house to Nirmala's daughter. Chandraettan believes that since Narayanan is wealthy, he can build a lavish house for himself and Narayanan happily agrees. Post-marriage, Chandraettan informs Narayanan that Nirmala's son-in-law is interested in renting the house to earn extra income. Narayanan is upset since he lives in the same house with his wife and children. Narayanan decides that he will pay monthly rent to Nirmala's son-in-law.
Many years later, Narayanan's children are now young adults, and are only concerned about Narayanan's wealth and not him.
Eventually, Narayanan passes away and his dead body is flown back to Kerala. His family still does not show any respect for him despite his death. After the final rituals, the family surprisingly see a Television interview of Narayanan, where he reveals that because of him, his family are happy and not in poverty. He never informed his family of the hardships he endured and never felt guilty of working hard because he was earning for his family despite their lack of concern for him. He is satisfied when people smile and is responsible for their happiness. His last wish is to be reborn and have the same family and friends and make them happy.
Cast
- Mammootty as Pallikkal Narayanan
- * Rohit Menon as young Narayanan
- Sreenivasan as Moideen
- * Stevin Kagoo as young Moideen
- Jewel Mary as Nalini, Narayanan's wife
- Siddique as Launchi Velayudhan
- Joy Mathew as Chandran, Narayanan's elder brother
- Salim Kumar as Narayanan's father
- Santhosh Keezhattoor as Majeed
- Shaheen Siddique as Satheeshan, Narayanan's elder son
- Viji Chandrasekhar as Narayanan's mother
- Anju Aravind as Pushpa
- Sruthi Lakshmi as Smitha, Nirmala's daughter
- Saju Navodaya as Narayanan's roommate
- Gokulan as Narayanan's Relative
- Parvathi Menon
- Anu Joseph as Nirmala
- Jennifer Antony as Girija
- Adv. Hashik TK as himself
- James Pottackal as Customs Officer
- Aakash Santhosh as Narayanan's younger son
- Mithun Ramesh as Najeeb, Moideen's son
- Nyla Usha as herself
Production
Development
In November 2013, Salim Ahamed announced that he would be directing a film that deals with the Gulf and various aspects of it and that it will star Mammootty in the lead, in his second collaboration with Ahmed after Kunjananthante Kada. Madhu Ambat was reported to handle the cinematography with the sound recording done by Resul Pookutty. It was in 2013 that Ahamed narrated the story to Mammootty. He expressed interest, and the total screenplay was finished in a span of one year. Salim said he chose Mammootty for the role of Narayanan because he could portray the three stages of life of the protagonist. “I did not model Narayanan on any one individual but on a few workers like him in the Gulf,” he said.Casting
In September 2014, Jewel Mary a television anchor was cast as the heroine, in her feature film debut as Nalini, while Mammootty's character was revealed to be named Pallickal Narayanan. Sreenivasan was also confirmed to play the role of Moidheen, while Siddique, Salim Kumar, Joy Mathew, and Yavanika Gopalakrishnan were signed for other prominent roles. Actress Viji Chandrasekhar was confirmed to play the protagonist's mother. Shaheen Siddique was selected to play Mammootty's son. Salim Ahamed had earlier denied the rumours that Suresh Gopi and Manju Warrier would be part of the cast.Filming and post-production
Principal photography of the film commenced in October 2014 and was completed by April 2015, in three schedules in and around Khorfakhan, Fujaira, Dubai, Chettuva, Nattika, Thriprayar, and Bepur. In the third week of March, Mammootty joined the crew for a five-day schedule of filming in the UAE, which was mainly held in Bur Dubai, Jumeirah, and Rola Square in Sharjah.Jothish Shankar designed the art for the film, collaborating with the director for the third time. Ninety percent of the scenes in Pathemari are sets, according to Jyothish. The set for Mumbai Airport of 1980 was erected at the parking area of Greater Cochin Development Authority Building in Marine Drive, Kochi. Every scene taking place abroad except the outdoors was shot in Ernakulam. The Khader Hotel where the expatriates were used to lend food was also erected at a studio in Kochi. The house was erected at Thriprayar. The scenes in the sloop were shot adopting a water-craft from Beypore.
It was during the shoot of Kunjananthante Kada that Resul Pookutty, the Academy Award winning sound designer, was roped in the project by Salim Ahamed. For the film, sounds of air conditioners, traffic and its changing over time in the Gulf were used by Resul in order to portray the development and transformation of the surroundings. He says that he did the sound design in the same as the images are arranged in the film; that "the past is represented colourfully and the present is monochromatic."
Real sounds were used for the scene in which the protagonist's first voyage aboard a sloop is featured. Resul used the 'gurgling sound of water' in the background for the scene, which, he says, the director had said "was spot on as it conveyed the loneliness and entrapment of the voyagers beautifully."
It was only three changes that the director needed to suggest to Resul in the final track of the sounds designed for the film.
Marketing
The production team released a making video of the film which features the creation of the 'storm' that appeared in a prominent scene in the film, where a group of youngsters are migrating illegally to the Middle East by crossing the sea on a sloop and are facing severe difficulties. The video, also featuring the VFX used for the scene, was uploaded by Mammootty on his official Facebook page on 27 October, which IB Times said "has gone viral, with more than 51,000 social media userswatching it at the time of reporting." In an event organised by World Malayali Council, some emigrants who have gone to Gulf during the 1960s period aboard the dhows were honoured by the makers of the film.
Soundtrack
The music was released by Eros Music on 14 September 2015. 15 Gulf expatriates from Kerala during the Gulf boom were specially invited for the audio launch.On 18 September, the first video song Padiyirangunnu was released. The Hindu included the song Padiyirangunnu in their weekend top-five and commented: "Bijibal makes the phenomenally appropriate decision to rope in Hariharan to sing this incredibly soulful melody. It seems — given it evokes strong memories of Karnan's Ullathil Nalla Ullam — to be set to Chakravakam raga. The result is sheer magic since the mellow tune goes really well with Hariharan's deep, sonorous voice."