Kerala witnessed the freedom struggle as early as 1805, when Pazhassi Raja, after whom the film is named, took on the British. Called the Lion of Kerala, Pazhassi Raja had waged a guerrilla war against the invaders from the intriguing terrain of Wayanad.
Starring Malayalam superstar Mammootty, Pazhassi Raja' has M T Vasudevan Nair, the Jnanpith award-winning Malayalam writer, handling the script and background research. Not many outside Kerala may know much of Pazhassi Raja, the Malabar ruler who led a band of tribals in the uprising. However, according to MT's research, the British buried all details of the uprising, fearing the malaise' could spread to other natives.'
The British wrote off the entire confrontation, which began in 1793 and lasted until 1805, as a minor revolt'. "However, our research showed that Pazhassi did indeed take on the British empire," said Gokulam Gopalan, producer of the film. The film appears to bank heavily on Malabar Manual' by British author William Logan, who identified Pazhassi Raja as the earliest freedom fighter.
Vasudevan Nair also did his own research. "He was ready with the script when we approached him," said Gopalan. Both the literati and the layman have heard of the guerrilla tactics of the local chiefs armed with nothing more than bows, arrows, swords, spears and just else available in the forest which could be converted into arms."
The film is likely to generate plenty of debate and interest, especially since it has Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty as the sound editor and Ilayaraja as the music director. A number of British actors, including Peter Handley Evans and Harry Key have been roped in.
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