Thazhvaram aka The Valley [dir. Bharathan]

If the Italian cowboy films are Spaghetti Westerns and their Bollywood inspired counterparts like Sholay (1975) are Curry Westerns, then this Kerala-born take on the genre should probably be called an Idiyappam Western. Jokes apart, the team of writer MT Vasudevan Nair (MTV) and director Bharathan have done an excellent job of transmuting the Western into a new milieu. It's not as wholly seamless as Akira Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni's (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro) work on molding the Western into Japanese culture, but a solid effort nonetheless.

The genre inspirations are (ha!) hat-tipped from the beginning when the silent protagonist Balan (Mohanlal) walks alone across landscapes - no horses or Stetsons here - stared at by vultures while a mouth organ based opening theme plays. Very early on, Balan's objective is made clear - he wants to kill Raju/Raghavan (Salim Ghouse, dubbed). In either a moment of conscientious hesitation or a narrative contrivance (since there would be no film otherwise), he does not avail himself of the first opportunity, but goes over to the settlement where Raghavan lives.

This place is even more remote than the stereotype rundown cowboy town with the dusty central avenue and the fly-infested saloon. Hidden behind hills, the titular valley is virgin farmland with few inhabitants. Balan only meets widower Nanu (Sankaradi) and his daughter Kochooti (Sumalatha), who work their farm with some daily-wagers. Balan pretends to be an old friend of Raghavan, casually visiting. Likely a consequence of loneliness, Nanu is garrulous and extends effusive hospitality to the stranger. In fact he has also not so long ago also coaxed Raghavan to buy land and settle down near him, looking upon the man as a prospective match for Kochooti.

The brooding small-scale revenge drama (think Sergio Corbucci, not Sergio Leone) is mainly about the cat and mouse game between Balan and Raghavan. Shortly after making acquaintance with Nanu's family, Balan suffers a murderous attempt by Raghavan and is badly injured in the process. Rescued by Kochooti, he is brought back to the house, but must now guard himself against further attacks - each night becomes a test of survival. On the other hand, Raghavan is worried about his shady past being revealed to his new neighbors, especially since he hopes to marry Kochooti. Alongside these maneuvers we get periodic flashbacks to Balan's old life, which reveals the nature of the tragedy that led to his seeking revenge on Raghavan.

MTV's screenplay is a thing of joy, skillfully juggling the tense interplay between its male leads while delving into the backstory of their conflict. The motifs of the Western - the stubble-chinned taciturn protagonist draped here in unwashed Veshti and poncho-like shawl, the remote setting, the sometimes savage practices (like killing wild pigs with crude mines), the long shots dwarfing the characters in the landscape, the extended standoffs - are incorporated into the narrative without seeming out of place in the Kerala setting. While the film is obviously centered around the two enemies, both Nanu and Kochooti are well-etched characters, the latter displaying a pleasing level of sass even when she has to oppose her father to be true to herself. Venu's evocative cinematography and the thoughtful editing by B Lenin and VT Vijayan (who had previously collaborated on several of Maniratnam's early films) keep the film engaging. Without spoilers the ending is faithful to the bleak, roving spirit of the landmark Italian westerns.

Thazhvaram's weakness mainly lie in its flashback / exposition elements where you have a throwback to a more conventional hero. The colorful outfits and aura of brash naivete Mohanlal dons here are not enough to convince you that his Balan is an eligible lover for the excessively ebullient Raji (former child star Anju). Wikipedia's page on the actress, tentatively puts her year of birth as 1978, suggesting that she was 12 at the time of this film; this lends a wholly icky pedophilic spin to their on-screen romance. Balan also seems to have a rather shaky moral compass, only mildly chastising his then-buddy Raghavan for even such crimes as murder, until it comes to bite him on the ass.

These niggles notwithstanding, Thazhvaram comes highly recommended as a South Indian Western which draws deeply from its inspirations, but is not a slavish imitator.