Manorathangal: Decoding Mammootty and Ranjith’s Kadugannava

Manorathangal, the MT Vasudevan Nair anthology series recently had its grand premiere on Zee5. The series, which brings together some of the finest talents of Malayalam cinema has received excellent reviews from audiences and critics. While the eight Manorathangal segments dealt with the fiction stories of the legendary writer, Mammootty, and Ranjith’s Kadugannava revolves around his autobiographical creation. Even though the characters’ names are changed, MT picked an emotional chapter of his life for the story, it more special.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Manorathangal: Decoding Mammootty and Ranjith’s Kadugannava

The segment, which marked the reunion of Mammootty and Ranjith after a long gap, depicts the journey of Venugopal, the senior journalist who finished the 37th year of his career. As he finally gets a chance to visit Sri Lanka, the protagonist gets into deep thought and writes why he is visiting the country, in his journal. Even though Mammootty’s leading man is invited to Sri Lanka to present a paper at the Asian Journalists' Summit, he also has a personal reason to visit the neighbouring country.

Also Read: Manorathangal Review: A befitting ode to MT Vasudevan Nair’s literature and cinema 

Venugopal recalls his childhood as the youngest of the three sons, of his parents. The little boy, grows up with a lot of curiosity about his father, who works at a place named Kadugannava in Ceylon (the present Sri Lanka). He is further intrigued when his mother Ammalu and elder brothers don’t express the same excitement as him when the father returns home. The reason – a little girl – is soon revealed to everyone’s extreme distress.

The leading man realises that the girl, Leela, is her step-sister and accepts her wholeheartedly. The lack of compromises from his wife prompts the father to leave home with Leela, and he eventually returns to Kadugannava.  The segments get into its best moments when Mammootty’s character Venugopal finally reaches Kadugannava with a box of sweets, and the little gift she gave him before her departure. But his glossy thoughts about the town and the people who lived there break the minute he meets a boy (supposedly Leela’s son), who eats a water plant for all meals and he is unable to afford food.

Also Read: Manorathangal episode guide: Runtime, cast and all you need to know about the MT Vasudevan Nair’s ZEE5 anthology 

Kadugannava ends on a painful note when Venugopal discovers that both his father and sister lived in that decaying house in extreme poverty, contrary to his imagination. Ranjith narrates the ugly face of war and famine with his minimalistic approach, very effectively. Mammootty’s stellar performance and unmatched narration, Vineeth and Anumol’s portrayals of his parents in the flashback portions, and the limited appearance of Sumesh Moor make Kadugannava stand out, among the Manorathangal segments.