10 COMMENDABLE ON-SCREEN ACCENTS by actors in Malayalam Movies

film Amaram

Accents and slangs are a part and parcel of language, and every region has their very own. In Kerala there are more number of accents than there are districts. Malayalam spoken in some regions in Kasargod can perplex the hell out of someone from Fort Kochi, and someone from Trivandrum might even get offended, and the bridge runs both ways. Yet in Malayalam Cinema, accents are a largely overlooked area. Apparently training in a regional accent has never been a mandate in preparing for films set there. Even when the scripts get the slang right, the actors mess up the accents. Obviously being able to effectively fake a foreign accent is a great gift and that not many have. But then there are always exceptions how much ever little, and some actors have long established it as their strong suit. Following is a list of some of the best efforts at faking different regional accents in Malayalam Cinema thus far.

10. Mammotty as Rajamanikyam in Rajamanikyam

Trivandrum Accent

Highly debated for the authenticity of this ‘exaggerated’ depiction, the Trivandrum accent sported by Mammootty as the titular one-eyed thug is sidesplittingly hilarious. Even justifying the fact that it exercise a particularly loud intonation not widely spoken in the Capital, no doubt, the accent is a tad bit overbearing, but it could easily be overlooked for the comedic scope that it opens up to, helping Mammootty achieve a stronghold in slapstick- not his element normally.

9. Alancier Lay as Baby in Maheshinte Prathikaram

Idukki Accent

The most likable character besides the protagonist, from one of the best comedies in Malayalam in recent times, Alancier Lay’s Babychayan sports a near perfect Idukki accent. The nuances of the accent that differentiates it from the more musical Kottayam drawl were all in place in Dileesh Pothan’s Maheshinte Prathikaram. Although the entire cast more or less succeeded in pulling it off, Alancier Lay’s effortless depiction without the slightest exaggeration deserves a special mention.

8. Mammootty as Murikkum Kunnathu Ahmed Haji in Paleri Manikyam

Kozhikode/ Vadakara Accent

The caustic antagonist from Ranjith’s ghoulish whodunit spews venom in bristly Vadakara slang with proficient restrain. Although the verve of southern Malabar occasionally takes a peek in Haji’s expletives, the mixed inflection was apparently intentional so as to justify the exposure of the rich. In fact the variations in the use of slang with different characters in Paleri alone, which may only make sense to somebody from the region, were carefully deliberated and efficiently executed.

7. Nedumudi Venu as Ramanathan in Bharatham

Valluvanad Accent

If there is one accent that Nedumudi Venu does without the slightest whiff of his Alappuzha upbringing it is the famous Valluvanad accent that is spoken through the entire length of Bharathapuzha. An accent popularized by the scripts of M.T. and Lohithadas, there may not be many actors working in Malayalam Films who have not sported it at least once, but Venu’s command over it is incomparable and it admirably summed up to give life to the award winning role in this Sibi Malayil tragedy.

6. Mammootty as Kunjachan in Kottayam Kunjachan     

Kottayam ACHAYAN Accent

Mamootty’s Kunjachan became the reference point of sorts to all actors from then on for the ultimate depiction of the high-spirited Achayan accent from Kottayam. More than getting the slang right the singsong lilt of the merry accent was a lesson to Malayalam Cinema in general that largely ignored the relevance of regional flourishes in language except the ubiquitous Valluvanad accent till then.  

5. KPAC Lalitha as Bhargavi in Amaram        

Coastal Accent

KPAC Lalitha’s National Award winning character is not just notable for its spitfire performance, but also for the flawless fishwife-vernacular she sported as the loud-mouthed neighbor of Mammootty’s tragic fisherman father. Look out for the final few scenes of emotional outbursts where amidst frantic swearing and lamenting she holds together the validity of the distinctive fake accent.

4. Nyla Usha as Chithira in Kunjananthante Kada

Kannur Accent

Maybe it was her experience as an RJ that came handy, but NRI Nyla Usha with family roots extending to Trivandrum conquered one of the most difficult accents in the state with the  diction intact. She had not visited Kannur even once before the production of this film, yet in reproducing the local accent she trumped even her costar Mammootty with a kind of casual rawness suiting the coarse slang that misses in the works of all other actors from outside Kannur who gave it a shot in the past.  

3. Thilakan as Kochuvava in Kattukuthira

Cherthala Accent

Time and again we’ve heard it from actor Rajan P. Dev to whom it comes as a habit, but veteran actor Thilakan could perfect the Cherthala accent only through hard work and practice, and guess what, it paid off really well. The dialogues inflated by the local slang and the coastal rusticity is all preserved in the stubborn protagonist’s unschooled vocabulary.

2. Mammootty as Baskara Pattelar in Vidheyan

South Canara Accent

An accent that is not only mired with the domineering sway of three different languages- Malayalam, Tulu and Kannada- but also one that could easily have gone wrong with its consistency, the South Canara accent commendably performed by Mammootty in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s menacing feudal drama, greatly contributes to the unrefined and unforgiving texture of the cold-blooded antihero. Mammootty speaks here with fluent idiosyncrasies that seemingly could only come if that’s what you’ve spoken growing up. 

1. Mammootty as Chirammal Eenashu Francis in Pranchiyettan & the Saint

Thrissur Accent

By now it must be pretty clear as to who the numero uno in accent job in Malayalam cinema is. Mammootty’s effort in Ranjith’s ingenuous character sketch Prachiyettan & the Saint could not get better, and the accent he dons is one of the major features that make the movie work. Thrissur accent, one that is too easy to overdo and has been done over and over, has never been this precise, and it makes us forget the glaring mediocrity of the same in Thoovanathumbikal.