Dennis Joseph, who made his Malayalam film debut in 1985 as the narrator of Eeran Sandhya, directed by Jesse, soon found a place in Mammootty's Good Book. Mammootty's strong recommendation makes Nirakkoott possible with Joshi. The commercial success of Nirakkoott made Dennis stand out. Syama's unexpected victory then took the Joshi-Dennis Joseph partnership to new heights. But the wind was blowing very fast. A few films of the Joshi-Dennis Joseph-Mammootty duo unexpectedly turned out to be huge failures at the box office. About six of Dennis' Mammootty films have failed miserably. However, Thampi Kannanthanam's Rajavinte Makan became a super hit and Mohanlal was promoted to stardom. Half of these stardom were by Dennis. During this time many films starring Dennis and Mohanlal were successful. The birth of the film New Delhi was the brainchild of Dennis Joseph, who believed that it was his responsibility to uphold Mammootty's stardom. And with the strong support of the producer Jubilee Joy and Joshi, the best revenge story ever seen in Malayalam was formed.
The historic success of New Delhi cemented Mammootty's stardom. During this time, Dennis directed Manu Uncle and Atharvam. Manu Uncle's won at the box office and won the National Award for Best Picture for Children. Known as the author of superstars, Dennis's success in writing Akashadooth story centered on the heroine was a shock to the film industry. During this period, he teamed up with Suresh Babu to create hits like Kottayam Kunjachan. So there was a partnership with Suresh Babu and a few pictures were made from that team. Dennis Joseph's association with Suresh Babu was far more flawed than the professional stupidity of rejecting Mani Ratnam's invitation to write the screenplay. Collaborating with a master craftsman like Joshi and collaborating with someone whose ears are far from that level has seriously affected Dennis's writer's creativity. Dennis' writings, rich in subject matter, fell into disrepair. Dennis's later works, which were as brilliant as New Delhi's, became ghosts of early writing. The truth is that Mammootty has lagged behind in terms of quality, apart from giving films like Phantom and Thaskara Veeran. Shaji Kailas' FIR' is the only exception.
Dennis Joseph's writings have been celebrated by fans but not as widely studied as those of his contemporaries. His works were worth studying. An FB friend pointed out that most of Dennis' writings have a "Working Woman Concept". He may have been influenced by the rich Syrian Christian background in Central Kerala. When it comes to actress Sumalatha, the Malayalee first mentions Clara from Thoovanathumpikal. But my opinion is that Maria is a stronger character than Clara, in New Delhi. Interestingly, both the films were released a week apart. Dennis has mostly adopted the style of transplanting the essence of foreign classics into the Kerala context without losing it.
In 2020, during the lockdown period, the program "Charithram Ennilloode" was aired on the travel channel. I watched it on YouTube. I had never seen any similar programs aired on the same channel before. I do not know how many times I have seen each episode of history narrated by Dennis Joseph. It was a historical account of Malayalam cinema from 1985 onwards. The uniqueness of the program "Charithram Ennilloode" that compared to other interviews, the narrator has a feeling of speaking directly to the audience. However, this feeling is not present when speaking in scholarly language like John Paul. When Dennis Joseph explains things in very ordinary language, it gives the impression that he is engaged in a private conversation with himself. For this reason, I got the feeling of being a friend / acquaintance of mine as I watched each episode over and over again. In the program, he explains how alcoholism has seriously affected his writing career. He was saying goodbye when he was preparing for another New Delhi or the Rajavinte Makan to give up alcohol completely, leaving behind many stories that shocked the Malayalees... #RIP #DENNISJOSEPH
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