P Padmarajan performs magic as he juggles two improbable genres; romantic journey of a teenage girl and an equally perilous tale of the supernatural world. Intermingling dark and fantastical imagery with an abiding respect for character, Padmarajan questions our notion of the polarity between reality and imagination. Visually seductive, it approaches the magical in its use of every element of filmmaking to give physical shape to the experience blend, defying viewers to determine where reality ends and fantasy begins.
THE PLOT
‘Njan Gandharvan’, is a story of the complicated relationship a teenage girl has with an Angel. Angels often visit virgin girls and one among them falls deeply in love with an innocent girl. The love makes him break all rules of his world and pretend to be a human. But not for long, as he is recalled by the Creator and the penalty of breaking his rules is scarier than a human could ever imagine.
THE DIRECTOR
P Padmarajan, a decorated visionary of the Malayalam cinema, was the leading man of the so-called Anti-Cabaret revolution of the 70s. He was a prominent contributor to the Golden Era of cinema. He had his unique style in narrative, which was incomparable with others of his time (or as a matter of fact, even of this time). He was a master in blending the trivial abnormalities of human life with its absolute natural emotions. In other words, he brought fairy tales to the present world. Padmarajan was a director who had a great knowledge in every aspect of film making, which is very evident in ‘NJan Gandharvan’. The imagery that he chooses makes us shout that “This COULD easily happen, but it never did, to me or to anyone I know”. That was his USP, I would say. As a filmmaker, ‘Njan Gandharvan’ was the high point in Padmarajan’s career. Unfortunately, it turned out to be his Last Film. Padmarajan passed away soon after the movie’s official release. Padmarajan's wife Radhalakshmi has written an autobiographical account of her life with him titled Padmarajan Ente Gandharvan ("Padmarajan, My Gandharvan"), published by Imprint Books, which includes some information on their exploration into the deep realms of Hindu esotericism, and how these events led Padmarajan into making Njan Gandharvan, eventually leading to his death under mysterious circumstances.
THE ACTORS
Nitish Bharadwaj’s (Krishna, Mahabharatha) is an intensely arresting and complex portrayal of an angel who travels into the world of humans. He was naturally charming both in his human disguise and in the raw angel form. You can’t take your eyes off Suparna, the innocent and beautiful girl, even though her acting skills were subpar. Rest of the cast was so believable and they delivered a natural performance henceforth forcing us to believe in the supernatural story being told in parallel.
THE GREAT SCENE
Though the movie is full of amazing sequences, my personal favorite is when Devan (Nitish) and Suparna are out in their backyard one night and discussing their future. Suddenly Devan loses his voice. The nearby Paala tree falls down making a big sound. A voice speaks to Devan from the fallen branch of the tree, whose sap starts to bring forth blood dripping on to Devan’s forehead. The Voice Says “Indrante puthranaya Gandharva, nee kandupidikkapettirikunnu”. (Angel, Indran’s Son, You’ve been found). In the background we hear an enigmatic pad sound with a few strokes on a loose Veena string. It was an emotional and at same time, a scary moment.
OUR VERDICT
If you have never seen it, you could probably get a spot on the evening news!
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