Hridayapoorvam | The time when the news of heart transplant surgery was a miracle for the people of Kerala. Kamal directed and released ‘Aayushkalam’ starring Jayaram and Mukesh in the lead roles in 1992. Without presenting the film as science, another box office hit was born with a story of a soul following a young man who received a heart, adding a little supernatural ingredients. The theme was that a soul named AB Mathew sought the help of Balakrishnan, who received the heart, to prove that his accidental death was murder. ‘Aayushkalam’ shone even more in the satellite era. The hero of the story told by Sathyan Anthikad in 2025 is Mohanlal’s character Sandeep Balakrishnan, who receives the heart of a deceased person. Even after two decades of a successful heart transplant surgery in Kerala itself, how did Sathyan Anthikad bring this story to the screen with a fresh, new-gen formula and the title ‘Hridayapoorvam’?
‘Hridayapoorvam’ begins from where Colonel Ravindranath’s daughter Haritha (Malavika Mohanan), who was the owner of the real heart, arrives in search of Sandeep (Mohanlal), who received the heart. From now on, the question of whether the director of this film is Sathyan Anthikad himself, the shots, frames and twists that will make the audience wonder, will have to wait. If anyone still believes that ‘Number One Snehatheeram Bangalore North’ is a film directed by Fazil (Fazil is the writer of the film), then one day, if anyone misunderstands that ‘Hridayapoorvam’ is the creation of a new generation director, they will not be wrong.
Thilakan, Innocent, K.P.A.C. Lalitha, Mamukkoya, Sreenivasan, the lush green countryside, its goodness, slander, quarrels and harmony, and if nothing else, the hero who is an ordinary person among ordinary people, it would be difficult for fans of Anthikad Magic to imagine a film by Sathyan Anthikad. Taking them straight to Pune, Sathyan Anthikad tells the story of ‘Hridayam Thottu’ with a reformer heroine and a hero who cannot be called ordinary at all.
Sandeep is not followed by a spirit like Balakrishnan. Instead, Sandeep, who arrives in Pune from Kerala, is awaited by another environment where his family and friends gather to see the beating heart of their beloved Ravi alias Rabindranath. Along with him is Jerry (Sangeeth Pratap), Sandeep’s assistant who has undergone a heart surgery. The story progresses through a storytelling style that combines humor and emotional moments. In the first half, Mohanlal and Sangeeth Pratap’s humor timing has won praise in many places.
The story, setting and characters have been tagged with the ‘New G’ tag. Now, the responsibility of acting and making it effective lies mainly with the heroines Mohanlal and Malavika Mohanan. ‘Hridayapoorvam’ is Mohanlal’s new stop at the point where he has crossed the Drishyam, Empuraan and Kaladhoo routes. However, it seems that the director has also considered Mohanlal fans who would like to get their beloved Lalettan back in the Boeing Boeing, Harikrishnans, Chandralekha, Sphadikam and Manichithrathazhu mode.
Every director who makes a film with Mohanlal knows that it would be advisable not to present him as a hero who runs around like before, carries a lost bundle of straw on his shoulders, and pursues a woman in love. When the film was announced, the sarcastic question ‘Will he come back with good things’ must have reached his ears. The reason is that the audience has more expectations from Lal today. However, it is necessary to satisfy more than one generation who buys tickets. The script has taken care to give Mohanlal a little Alfie or Harikrishnan feel somewhere without making it seem overdone. Sandeep Balakrishnan has taken care to avoid the mistakes that Mohanlal made in ‘Big Badr’, which came out five years ago, and ‘Drama’ before that.
When Juhi Chawla became Mohanlal’s heroine in Harikrishnans, Pooja Bhadra in Chandralekha, and Tabu in Kalapani, there were those who said, ‘Hindi girls are not suitable for our Mohanlal’. There were even those who were looking at how well they spoke Malayalam without making a mistake. Even though she is a Malayali, Malavika Mohanan, who studied and grew up in North India, was announced as Mohanlal’s heroine. Let’s not forget that ‘Christy’, which made Malayalis understand that the glamorous beauty seen on the Instagram page can act and make a difference if they are given characters with substance, is a film born in Malayalam. If Malavika portrays a Pune Malayali who speaks flawless Malayalam, even if it is not pure Malayalam, then keep an eye on this heroine.
A special applause goes to Sathyan Anthikad, who showed the confidence to portray the ‘Hindikkari’ throughout the film without mentioning her name. Malavika presented Haritha to the audience with her mannerisms and acting, who leaves no room for mistakes anywhere. Sangeetha, the beloved ‘Shyamala’ who appears in Malayalam cinema at intervals, also shone in the role of the mother who stands by Haritha.
Sangeeth Prathap as Jerry, who boasts that he has so much ‘culture’, helps to maintain humor and new generation elements throughout the story. Sangeeth from the new generation has beautifully performed the ‘extra gum’ that Mukesh, Siddique, Jagathy Sreekumar and others once gave in the roles of friends who accompany Mohanlal. Although the old ones are the same age, Sangeeth stands by Mohanlal in his best form. At times, one wonders what would have happened if Jerry had not been there to bring out what was inside Sandeep.
The humor that Lalu Alex’s loving friend Jacob maintains till the climax cannot be ignored. After the Ottapalamthe Karunan Chittappan played by Unnikrishnan in the movie ‘Kalipattam’, Janardhanan’s role as ‘Chittappan’ in this movie is good. Although they are only on screen for a short time, the highlight is that these Chittappans remain invisible from the beginning to the end as the main characters of the story. Siddique’s Panicker Aliyan, with ‘Akathu Kathiyum Putru Panjiyy’ (with knife inside and cotton outside), is also a character that maintains humor.
After examining the story and characters, one has to work hard to find a fact that cannot be called ‘inadequate’. If one has to say something like that, it would be in the set design. The sets where the story progresses follow the pattern of being polished and finished. The meticulousness that debutant directors from the advertising industry often show is seen on the sets. Especially in Colonel Ravi’s Pune house. If we think about it another way, we can assume that a senior soldier’s house full of routines could be like this. At the same time, we can see that this perfection is also present in the coffee shop on the way, the resto bar, the moving bus, Sandeep’s hometown house, and the facilities inside it. Perhaps it is because this is the era of realistic cinema, which is full of stories of houses with dirty beds, old newspapers, and dirty switches, that we feel that there is not enough perfection. I cannot say that it is a problem.
Let’s end by mentioning one more reference from the movie ‘Varshanakul Aapali’ starring Mohanlal’s son Pranav Mohanlal. When an old director and music director come out to make a film with new generation actor Nithin Molly, one can hear the question whether even one film by the old generation has succeeded here. When we watch ‘Hridayapoorvam’ and leave the theater laughing and clapping, let us remember that the director of this film is seventy years old and the hero is sixty-five years old. Yes, age is just a number.
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