''Ee.Ma.Yau'' (Malayalam: ഈ.മ.യൗ) is a 2018 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 2 ...
-language
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
tragedy film directed by
Lijo Jose Pellissery
Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...
and written by
P. F. Mathews. It stars
Vinayakan,
Chemban Vinod Jose, Pauly Valsan, Bitto Davis,
Kainakary Thankaraj
Kainakary Thankaraj ( ml, കൈനകരി തങ്കരാജ്, 18 October 1946 – 3 April 2022) was an Indian actor, who worked in the Malayalam movie industry and Malayalam Drama Theater Industry.
Life and career
Kainakary, the son o ...
,
Dileesh Pothan
Dileesh Philip (born 19 February 1980), also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 comedy drama film '' Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', st ...
and Arya Salim in the main roles. The film had its premiere on 30 November 2017 and was theatrically released on 4 May 2018. The film revolves around the death and funeral of an older man from the Latin Catholic community in
Chellanam
Chellanam is a village and a suburb of Kochi city in the Indian state of Kerala.
History
Chellanam formed the southern border of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Cochin.
In 1510, Goa was captured by the Portuguese general Alfonso Albuquerque fr ...
,
Ernakulam district
Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part ...
. Lijo Jose Pellissery won the
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
* BA ...
Award at the
48th Kerala State Film Awards
The 48th Kerala State Film Awards, presented by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy were announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs, A. K. Balan in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum ...
for ''Ee.Ma.Yau''.
The film won the
Silver Peacock-Best Director and
Best Actor (Chemban Vinod Jose) awards at the
49th International Film Festival of India. It also won two awards at the
International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...
viz. the NETPAC Award for Best Asian film in Competition and the Golden Crow Pheasant Award for the best director.
It was included in
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
's top 25 Malayalam films of the decade and is widely regarded as one of the defining movies of the
New Wave Movement.
Plot
Set in
Chellanam
Chellanam is a village and a suburb of Kochi city in the Indian state of Kerala.
History
Chellanam formed the southern border of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Cochin.
In 1510, Goa was captured by the Portuguese general Alfonso Albuquerque fr ...
, a coastal village with significant fishermen population in
Ernakulam, the film revolves around the death of Vavachan mestri. After returning from a long journey, Vavachan gets into a fight with Chowro after Chowro informs and shames Vavachan regarding a premarital relationship between his daughter Nissa and Sivanapan. Somewhere in the beach, in a shack, two people are playing a game of cards, lamenting over how the game will get interesting now. On arriving home, his wife Pennamma asks him to stop going around and to settle. When his son Eeshi returns home, Vavachan drinks and tells him that Vavachan's father had the most splendid funeral in all of Chellanam. Eeshi promises that Vavachan will also have a big grand funeral. After some time, Vavachan falls to the ground and dies.
Eeshi's wife Sabeth informs neighbors about the death. Ayappan, the
Panchayath
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...
ward member and Eeshi's friend arrives at the scene and takes control. Ayyappan asks Paanji and Lasar, two neighbours of Eeshi, to bring Dr. Gervasius to confirm the death. But Gervasius's wife tells them that he is drunk and asleep and they have to go to a head nurse living nearby to confirm the death. Arriving at the scene and seeing the injury in head, nurse tells them that she cannot do anything and only a doctor can confirm. Fr. Zacharia Parapurath, a rude vicar of the parish and a crime novel enthusiast hears about the head injury and informs the police.
The next day, another wife of Vavachan arrives with her son and family and claims rights for the body. This leads to a clash between two wives and the families. The family of the second wife alleges that Eeshi and family murdered Vavachan and they want justice. Fr. Zacharia, who is interested in finding mishap surrounding the death, tells Eeshi that he won't allow burial of Vavachan unless there is a proper investigation and autopsy. On hearing this unintelligent requirement from the vicar, a furious Eeshi slaps Fr. Zacharia, and Fr. Zacharia out of vengeance and shame declares that he will not conduct or allow the burial in church cemetery. The gravedigger, who was digging the grave for Vavachan dies suddenly and his burial takes place in the same grave he dug for Vavachan.
The two guys earlier shown to be playing cards, are still playing in the morning also and discuss that how the situation has become complicated and that now things will fall in place.Ayyappan goes to police station to seek the help of circle inspector to clear the clouds. Inspector comes to Eeshi's house and tells that there is no crime element in the death and concurs with Dr. Gervasius's opinion. They lament Fr. Zacharia's attitude to matters of humanity. Since there is no positive confirmation from the Vicar about the burial, the morning rain, and all the problems that is going on Eeshi decides to take matters into his own hands.
Eeshi digs a grave in his courtyard and forcefully makes everyone move-out from the courtyard, locks his family inside home. Finally asks his father's forgiveness for not fulfilling his wishes and buries him. Everyone who came for the funeral stands in the rain and looks at him with remorse and reverence.
In the mid-credits scene, we see the corpse of the dog that would accompany the grave-digger everywhere. And in the far away horizon of the sea we see two boats with lit lanterns and people dressed in cloaks, approaching the beach. It's revealed that the two men playing cards from the beginning of the movie, were in fact Angels who had come over to the beach to carry forward the souls of Vavachan, the mallard, the gravedigger and the dog to their respective destinations; Hell and Heaven.
Cast
*
Kainakary Thankaraj
Kainakary Thankaraj ( ml, കൈനകരി തങ്കരാജ്, 18 October 1946 – 3 April 2022) was an Indian actor, who worked in the Malayalam movie industry and Malayalam Drama Theater Industry.
Life and career
Kainakary, the son o ...
as Valiyathuparambil Vavachan Mesthiri
*
Chemban Vinod Jose as Eeshi, Vavachan's son
*
Vinayakan as Ayyappan, Eeshi's friend
*
Pauly Valsan
Pauly Valsan is an Indian actress who has been acclaimed for acting in Malayalam films and plays. She debuted in Malayalam film industry with the supporting roles in the 2008 movie ''Annan Thambi'' In 2017, she won the Kerala State Film Award for ...
as Pennamma (Mariam Thressia), Vavachan's wife
*
Dileesh Pothan
Dileesh Philip (born 19 February 1980), also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 comedy drama film '' Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', st ...
as Fr. Zacharia Parappurathu (Vicar)
* Arya Salim as Elisabeth (Sabeth), Eeshi's wife
* Bitto Davis as Paanji
* Krishna P. as Nissa (Agnissa)
* Kunjunju as Chowro
* Sudarshanan as Manikan
* Anson as C.I. Mathen
* Liji as Karuthamolly
Production
The film's title is an abbreviation of "
Eesho
''Eesho'' is an Indian Malayalam-language thriller film directed by Nadirshah featuring Jayasurya and Namitha Pramod in the lead roles. The film written by Suneesh Varanad is produced by Arun Narayan. Roby Varghese is the cinematographer while N ...
Mariyam Yauseppe", which in some Christian communities, is a prayer, especially whispered in the ears of the deceased. The film, a satire, is set in the coastal village of
Chellanam
Chellanam is a village and a suburb of Kochi city in the Indian state of Kerala.
History
Chellanam formed the southern border of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Cochin.
In 1510, Goa was captured by the Portuguese general Alfonso Albuquerque fr ...
in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
and the story revolves around the death of Vavachan Mesthiri. Filming began in August 2017. Originally planned to shoot in 35 days, the film was completed in 18 days. Besides the main cast, most of the supporting roles were played by newcomers from Chellanam area.
The film was produced by
Rajesh George Kulangara, but later director-producer
Aashiq Abu
Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema.
He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), ''Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female Kottayam'' (201 ...
bought the complete rights of the film.
Release
''Ee.Ma.Yau'' had a preview screening on 30 November 2017.
The film, originally planned to release theatrically soon after the preview, was postponed to next year for undisclosed reasons. The film was released on 4 May 2018.
Critical reception
Nirmal Jovial of
''The Week'' says that Ee.Ma.Yau will certainly be counted among the classics of Malayalam cinema. Navamy Sudhish of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' praises PF Mathews' screenplay and calls director Lijo Jose Pellissery and cinematographer Shyju Khalid as the heroes of the film. Gokul M. G. of ''
Deccan Chronicle
''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'' calls Ee.Ma.Yau as the one of the finest films in Mollywood in a very long time. He also added that nobody is leaving without shedding a drop of tear or without a heavy heart. Film critic Veeyen, was all praise for the film, rated the film 'Excellent' and wrote that "..With ‘Ee.Ma.Yau’ Lijo Jose Pellissery surpasses himself, asserts once and for all that he's a master craftsman who astutely sees his dough even in a theme that is as stiff and unmalleable as a corpse (pun intended), and crafts a chimerical ode to mortality.
Baradwaj Rangan
Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu' ...
of Film Companion South called it "A laugh-out-loud, yet deep, meditation on death and faith that’s a masterclass in writing" in his review
Accolades
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Lijo Jose Pellissery
2018 films
2010s satirical films
Indian satirical films
2010s Malayalam-language films
Films about death
Films about funerals
Films shot in Kochi
Films directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery
2018 drama films