Kannur Deluxe: A(n Accidental Feminist) Caper

Once upon a time there was a deluxe KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) express bus, the most majestic of its kind, connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur - the southern and northern ends of the habitable civilized world of the kingdom of Kerala. To hop on this bus's tale, please ignore certain fundamental facts, such as - Kerala is not a kingdom, but a southern Indian state formed after the independence of India in 1947. Kannur is not the northern most district of Kerala, it is Kasargod which is mostly Karnataka in disguise, thus Kasargod can be conveniently overlooked the same way KSRTC disregarded it as any kind of destination worth traveling to, back in the sixties.

Kannur Deluxe is one of the first road movies in Malayalam. This sensational 1969 whodunit stars Sheela and Prem Nazir in the lead roles.  The story travels from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala to Kozhikode in the north, the last but one destination of the KSRTC 's longest and premium bus service at the time, called the Kannur Deluxe Express. This deluxe express bus service was like the Concorde of that era - fast and sensational, a mythical creature that zoomed past to glamorous destinations, while the rural countryside stood by and gaped, their mouths wide open.

Deluxe Express Bus from the movie Kannur Deluxe (1969)

This is the same bus my parents used to take on their yearly vacations to go back to their homes in Kannur from Thiruvananthapuram where they both lived and worked, before I was born. Indian Railways didn't have an unbroken train service connecting the state capital with Kannur at the time, so Kannur Deluxe - the 12 hr. overnight KSRTC bus service was a practical and convenient transportation solution for them. To immortalize these journeys my parents even got me a wooden KSRTC express bus toy - my first ever toy vehicle, that kind of looks like this. This guy makes these miniature scale model toy buses for anyone nostalgic about old Kerala public transport buses.

Sheela, K.P. Ummer, G.K. Pillai in Kannur Deluxe

Kannur Deluxe, the movie, is a crime caper that opens with a damsel in distress - Sheela, is seen running from the cops and finds refuge at a rich old guy's (G.K. Pillai) house. Why is she running from the police - this question along with several other burning questions will be answered before the curtain falls, hold on tight. The rich guy gives her a stenographer job at his company, while his son (K. P. Ummer) is a bit sweet on her. 

Prem Nazir and Sheela in Kannur Deluxe

Being a disposable employee for the company (Sheela does not know she is), Sheela is tasked with delivering a stash of cash from the company H.Q at Thiruvananthapuram to a business partner at Kozhikode and she uses the Kannur Deluxe as her mode of transport. The money is stolen and then dramatics and excitement ensue. The crime that forms the crux of the movie was an adaptation of a real life crime incident that happened in Kerala a few years before this movie was released. 

Prem Nazir and his side kick Adoor Bhasi are also on the bus as a slightly off the rocker Namboodiri and his helper. So is Jose Prakash - the favored villain in those days. Up and coming directorial talents - I.V. Sasi and Hariharan assisted the director Antony Bhaskar Raj or A.B. Raj (Trivia : A.B.Raj is south Indian actress Saranya's father.) Nellikkode Bhaskaran has the glamorous job as the conductor of the Kannur Concorde and devises a clever plan that traps the small time crook Jose Prakash, half way through the journey. There are also other familiar faces like Sankaradi, Paravoor Bharathan and T.R. Omana. 

Kannur Deluxe at Kollam KSRTC bus stand

As a firm believer in the religion of inspirational quotes, I know it is not the destination that matters, it is all about the journey. Kannur Deluxe is the movie for us believers. A lot of drama and songs happen as the journey progresses and cleverly the layers of intrigue are peeled off, leading to an unexpected revelation at the climax, which I won't reveal since I am not into spoilers. All I am willing to give away is at the end Kannur Deluxe becomes an exercise in accidental feminism. 

The journey through the length of Kerala in the company of an unpredictable story is thoroughly engaging. Along with the riveting story and characters the movie also gives a window view of the scenes and places of everyday Kerala from the 1960s, keeping it authentic. There is Palayam church at Thiruvananthapuram, Neendakara bridge and clock tower at Kollam, the round and Vadakkumnathan at Thrissur, Feroke bridge near Kozhikode, KSRTC bus stands at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Aluva and Kozhikode and a lot more Kerala in the frames in-between. If you are a Malayali who wants to take a trip down the memory lane through the geographical length of Kerala, take a ticket on Kannur Deluxe - the accompanying  story of intrigue and mystery enacted by your favorite actors is a bonus.

Read More

C.I.D Nazir: The Malayali James Bond

CID Nazir, 1971 Malayalam blockbuster stars Kerala's evergreen movie star Prem Nazir as Malayalis' James Bond. For the uninitiated Malayalam movie star Prem Nazir holds two Guinness records for playing the highest number of lead roles in movies - in 524 films and acting opposite the same heroine (Sheela) in 110 of them. The man was a prolific hit making machine back in his day. No wonder he was chosen to play Malayalam's adaptation of Ian Fleming's famous spy.

 

CID stands for Criminal Investigation Department officer. The department in real world gets their marching orders from CBI - Central Bureau of Investigation, India's counterpart of the FBI. For a movie CID officer, the character has to be a master of disguises, here below are the many faces of CID Nazir.

The 60s & 70s Malayalam cinema CIDs or detectives had to have excellent cosplay skills. A CID's crime solving abilities were a distant second. Since CID Nazir is Malayali incarnate of James Bond, he is shown as an irresistible ladies man. Unlike other Malayalam movies of the time the hero does not form a lasting bond with the heroine when this movie ends. 

The 1969 movie Kannur Deluxe can be considered a prequel of CID Nazir. In both movies Prem Nazir is the CID and Adoor Bhasi is his assistant CID, although P. Venu, the director of CID Nazir did direct a film called Detective 909 Keralathil (1969) prior to this, it does not have the continuity you expect in a movie series in the absence of the main character CID Nazir, which Kannur Deluxe has. P.Venu will go on to make a sequel to CID Nazir in 1972 called Taxi Car. 

Other CID movies that I am familiar with from the same time period where Prem Nazir stars as the CID are Cochin Express (1967), Love in Kerala (1968), Danger Biscuit (1969), Ernakulam Junction (1971) and Lankadahanam (1972).

CID Nazir - the movie starts off with a different  CID - a young and handsome Raghavan as CID Chandran. As a young and junior hero, he is expendable and is finished off before the opening credits. CID Nazir is then tasked with finding and bringing the criminal gang behind Chandran's killing to justice.

  Raghavan as CID Chandran

Bhasi as Bhasi

Sreelatha as Sreelatha

Adoor Bhasi plays the assistant CID, Bhasi. He also provides comic relief. Unlike the Malayali Bond - CID Nazir, assistant CID Bhasi has a permanent lady love in this movie, Sreelatha. Bahadur, another actor who assists Bhasi in the comic relief effort plays the caretaker and helper at the bungalow Nazir stays in. It is the same house where CID Chandran was originally murdered. Bahadur and Bhasi were like Laurel and Hardy of Malayalam of that era.

Bahadur

 A masala potboiler Indian movie has to have a good looking heroine so that the dashing CID officer can engage in some stress-release in the form of singing, dancing and running around trees with her. A very young Jayabharathi, in her late teens is CID Nazir's girl friend for two and half hours of the movie's running time. While the girl is hopelessly in love with the CID, the upstanding CID never really expresses any deep feelings for her. She is mainly there as the subject of his songs and the movie did have some chartbuster songs thanks to this romantic track.

Jayabharathi as Shanti

The villains, the semi villains, the vamp and the villain's lair showcases the usual suspects like Jose Prakash, Nellikkode Bhaskaran and Sadhana. The underground (looks like a bomb shelter) villain's lair is typical repurposed studio set that has stood many movie villains in good stead. The super villain never shows his face, as the camera shows the back of his head from behind his chair and you can see his foot soldiers facing the camera. There is an ominous globe on the villain's desk as if to say the world is not enough.

The villian's lair and the standup meeting with his 'employees'

Sadhana, a Malayalam star from the 60s and 70s who specialized in vamp and cabaret dancer roles is the femme fatale. She gets a pretty meaty role trying to mislead and murder the ladies' man CID. She also gets a cabaret dance number and song and in the end she switches side, thus redeeming herself and reuniting with her ex-boyfriend. I tried looking up Sadhana and found that the lady died penniless - the same fate met by many supporting actors in Malayalam film industry.

Jose Prakash as Shivaram

Sadhana as Miss Lovely

K.P. Ummer as Das

K. P. Ummer - another mainstay actor of 1960s-70s Malayalam movies makes his appearance as Das, Miss. Lovely's boyfriend and CID's secretary. He makes his entrance one day at mid-night at CID's bungalow, looking for a job and CID offers him the job of his secretary. Why at that hour is a question we should not ask, it could be that the investigative types could only be cornered at their abodes at mid night and therefore it was the best time to ask for a job. Ummer was usually the second hero, if the movie had space for more than one or on rare occasions, he donned negative characters as well. Speaking of not-so-innocent characaters, Nellikkodu Bhaskaran and Jose Prakash play a couple of dapper characters who are sus.

Nellikkodu Bhaskaran

CID Nazir is a complete entertainment package. You have ghosts, ghostly killers, murder, mayhem, dashing heroes, sensual damsels, suave baddies and a taut script sprinkled with a bunch of melodious songs. IMHO it delivers bang for your buck. In 60s and 70s when Malayalam cinema was afflicted by tear-jerkers, where all was never well at the end, CID Nazir was 100% entertainment. Here below are some more entertaining stills from the movie.

Jayabharati as Shanti - a song scene

Shanti and CID Nazir - all in a day's work for the CID

CID Nazir breaks into a song to cool off when things get too heated up on the investigation front

T.S. Muthiah, Jose Prakash as Sivaram and CID Nazir

This is one of the last scenes of the movie. Malayali 007 is returning to New Delhi after successfully completing his assignment. Shanti (Jayabharati) is seen giving a parting gift - a red rose, but 007 tactfully friendzones Shanti. Next movie, next beauty or bevvy of beauties. 

Read More