Name: Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 h
Rating: 5.8
Cast: Prem Nazir, Sreenivasan, Maniyanpilla Raju

A good satire on Film Industry and Society

Political and social satires have been presented successfully in malayalam cinema both critically and commercially. Panchavadippalam, Sandesam and Akkare are some of the names which comes into mind instantly. Lenin Rajendran, who was made only 10 odd films in his entire career has one of his best works in Premnazeerine Kanmaanilla (Prem Nazir is missing). The director combines some strong satire with the 'cinema inside cinema' concept too. Earlier such themes have come out in 'Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback' and recently 'Udayanaanu Thaaram' , film industry being the main theme lingering in the movie. Premnazirine Kanmanilla is a mirror towards the film makers, politicians and the contemporary kerala society of that time. As the title indicates , the main plot revolves around the kidnapping of Evergreen Hero Prem Nazeer, who plays himself in the movie !

The film starts inside a shooting location where prem nazir is kidnapped from , by a group of four youngsters (Vijayakrishnan, Maniyanpilla Raju, Srinivasan and a fourth unknown person). They hide him in a lone building inside the dense jungle with the help of their tribal friend played by achankunju. The rest of the movie or rather its majority deals with the incidents occuring after the kidnapping and how various people try to use and misuse the situation. There are hilarious instances where the home minister (Thilakan) accuses international powers for being involved in the crime and demands assistance from central. Then there is the opposition party which tries to topple the government with this issue. Differences of opinion between general public range between small time barber shop tiffs to major debates in liqour shops. The movie theatres are not far behind, screening every possible prem nazeer movie possible to exploit the situation. A memorable sequence relating to this is the one where a hoarding of Richard Attenboroughs 'Gandhi' is taken down to make way for an old prem nazeer matinee !

Movie progresses rather unusually, with plenty of nazeers old songs playing in between - which are instances where people remember their beloved star. The press and media meanwhile are ready with all sorts of stories relating to prem nazeer to be flashed in the unlikely event of any tragedy occuring. This sequence would remind viewers of the similiar hocus pocus that was goiing around in media before and after the death of actor thilakan recently. The screenplay cuts frequently from outside world to the life of nazeer and his 4 capturers. As there develops a 'stockholm syndrome' between them gradually, the lives of the 4 youth and their frustrating circumstances are revealed or kindof justified , which led to their decision to commit the crime. Climax is all too ordinary where finally police manage to capture the 4 youngsters and free nazeer. Apart from nazeer and his captors , a lot of supporting roles are people from film industry who play themselves- mammootty, madhavi,innocent,shankar and p.g.viswambharan the director. The movie , if not for its rather serious comedy type of dialogues is easily comapred to a style of 'veloor krishnankutty' whose novel was made into panchavadippalam. An interesting plot shot well with clean serious satire , one could summarize. Not for people who'd expect a crime thriller, as the title may force him to think ! :)

Malayalam cinema, based in Kerala, is known for its grounded narratives, literary screenplays, and strong character-driven storytelling.The industry is celebrated for innovatively blending realism with bold, socially conscious themes.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

A group of frustrated youngsters decides to kidnap the famous Malayalam actor Prem Nazir from one of the film shooting sets. The captured Prem Nazir is then taken to a dilapidated home in a dense forest. The kidnappers treat Prem Nazir with due respect and treats him in the best possible manner, given the place where they are put up. One kidnapper (Sreenivasan) comes from an upper-caste Hindu family, and his father worked as the local temple oracle. Though highly educated he does not find a good job. Another gang member (Vijay Menon) has a very troubled childhood during which his parents were murdered and he had to live as a domestic helper of the murderer. The kidnap of Prem Nazir is to express their frustration against the cruel society. Kerala is now totally shocked to hear about this news. Old actresses Ragini and Kumari are seen watching old movies in which Prem Nazir acted with them. New movie releases (including Richard Attenborough's Gandhi) has been suspended and old Prem Nazir movies are now played in the theaters. For the movie distributors this is a quick way to make some extra revenue. The producer of the latest movie in which Prem Nazir was acting, is in a very bad state. Only two more scenes in his movie were yet to be shot. In desperation he requests Prem Nazir's brother Prem Nawaz to act as a dummy, so that he can somehow complete the movie. The producer, named Innocent, pleads with Prem Nawaz that the movie would get completed, and he can release the movie and generate some quick money. His idea is to release the movie before Prem Nazir is rescued. The political scene in the state is in a worse condition. The ruling government of the day is accused of being lax on investigations. The party in the opposition feels that government did not provide adequate protection to Prem Nazir because, Nazir sympathized with the party in opposition.

Prem Nazir, Maniyanpilla Raju, Sreenivasan, and Thilakan in Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla (1983)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla

Photos1

Top Cast25

User reviews1

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed