‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ in Kerala…
Published June 14, 2011 | Sharaz, our php programmer, is one of those guys with whom I like going for movies. The most important reason being that he sees movies sans presumptions and is tolerant enough to like almost all kinds of films.
Yesterday he and I went for a movie, ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’, which I bet many of our colleagues here at Karmakerala wouldn’t even have heard of. The film is directed by Amol Gupte, who has put in a good performance in the recently-released Malayalam film ‘Urumi’ too. Amol Gupte is not a popular Bollywood actor, but he is an actor worth reckoning. He was the Creative Director for Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and had given a notable performance in ‘Kaminey’. So now, it was time for us to relish Amol Gupte’s directorial venture.
We had Dosa and Omelette at MK Bakers, guys who keep us going at Karmakerala by bringing us tea and snacks on sleepy afternoons (Hope our bosses are not reading this!) (an it was drizzling as Sharaz rode us to the Oberon Cinemax Multiplex. We were on time; got in and seated just as the titles were coming to an end.
What followed for the next two hours was magic, magic on screen. It is the story of a boy called Stanley (played by Amol’s son Partho) who comes to school daily without his ‘Dabba’ (lunch box). There are some other characters who seemed to be taken right out of life and planted there, on the screen. Most notable one among these is the Hindi teacher, Babubhai Verma (played by Amol Gupte himself), a guy who is crazy after food and always goes after students to share their meals. There is also the Science teacher Mrs.Iyer (Divya Jagdale) and the English teacher Ms. Rosy (Divya Dutta) who stand out. The story, simple and straight, moves on to a climax that I won’t like to speak about here; if at all you are rendered curious, go and watch the movie and find out. We need to watch and encourage such movies.
The movie reminded me, to a great extent, of New Wave Iranian movies, those by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami, Majid Majidi etc. I was wondering yesterday why such movies were not happening here in Kerala; but then I remembered having seen one such movie last year in Malayalam- ‘T.D.Dasan Std VI B’, a film that reminded me of those simple, straight-from-the-heart Iranian movies. But when these films get released, people just turn their backs on them. Hey, striking indeed, that even those who circulate pirated cds of movies here in Kerala (they are very much there, in Kerala, pirated cds of the latest movies, contributing greatly to dealing deadly blows to the film industry) turn their backs on such movies. We still go after the usual star oriented, predictable and mostly mundane kind of film that cinema elsewhere seem to be growing out of. There are so many innovatively different movies coming up in Hindi and Tamil; Sharaz and I were thrilled on seeing ‘Chalo Dilli’ (Hindi) and liked ‘Vaanam’ (Tamil). Hope things will change for Malayalam Cinema too; there are some signs of this happening here too. Let’s hope for the best…
Two things that I’d like to add as sort of post-script here…
This is what Sharaz had to say after seeing the movie- “I had always wanted to do something in films. But my thoughts were always high-flying, like making a movie with all kinds of special effects, something like ‘Matrix’ or something that would leave people spellbound. I’d think of the kind of films that Shah Rukh Khan, my favourite star, does. But ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is the kind of film that never featured in my imaginations. The film made me realise that we need not think big and go for big things to make movies; we can take things from our lives, from our experiences and make wonderfully different movies. I have come to realise that even small, ordinary things from day-to-day life can contribute towards making films that are really ‘big’. I was able to identify with Stanley and what all was happening there, in the school. I was touched by the message the film conveys in the end. I also have come to understand that if creative artists strive to narrate personal experiences in their personal style, it would be the best of things that can happen to art and cinema”.
- Our boss Sholto was narrating a story, an interesting story yesterday. He’d love to see it made into a cinema. He was commenting that Indian Cinema is still centered around the stars, the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Mammootty and Mohanlal. Well I do agree to that; but at the same time, I am happy that films like ‘Stanley Ka Dabba‘ are happening… Great indeed!
P Padmarajan – remembering the master storyteller
Published January 24, 2011 | 
Yet another year gone by when Malayalees lament the demise of, the master storyteller that was, P Padmarajan. Twenty long years and yet Malayalam cinema still awaits a director of that calibre who could reach out to the masses at all levels with his story, direction, sense of music, romance and even sexuality of the Malayalee with finesse.
Connecting with all kinds of people with films on themes like love (Innale), incest in (Nammukku paarkkaan muthiri thoppukal), lesbian love and friendship (Deshaadanakili karayarilla), life in a brothel and with (Arappettakettiya gramathil), man in love with two women (Thoovaanathumbikal) was done with a style that appealed to both the young and old.
Music has always worked for each and every Padmarajan movie and his last movie Njan Gandharavan was no different in this either. Finding unusual themes, unexpected endings were also his forte and what elevated his films onto different strata to the viewer.
So was he a better storyteller or a director; and does it matter… for his films took mainstream Malayalam cinema onto new heights and its not often that a writer comes along who has film-making capabilities to picturise the story he unravells with the same effect on celluloid.
Here is an excerpt from the personal post on Padmarajan Unni R Nair did last year in this blog…
For me, Padmarajan is simply one of the best that we have had in Malayalam Cinema, a man who went beyond the classifications of art-house and commercial cinema and who successfully merged all these different strands of cinema and who gave a well edited action flick too in ‘Season’, a film that can teach many a lesson to those who still stumble at making action films.
Well, I’d love to spend a few moments relishing memories of the many Padmarajan movies that had made me so passionate about films. The late KPAC Azeez jumping out of the boat all determined to take revenge on the man who had been a witness to his crimes (‘Peruvazhiyambalam‘), the poor desperate grandfather (played by Thilakan) who is all shattered after his young grandson had gone missing in the sea (‘Moonnaam Pakkam‘), the young Jayaram in ‘Innale‘ who wishes and prays earnestly that his new-found lover (played by Shobhana), who has been suffering from Amnesia, doesn’t get back her memories and recognise her husband (played by Suresh Gopi), the village wrestler (played by Rasheed) who is rather indifferent towards his wife and her needs (‘Oridathoru Phayalwan‘) – these and many other scenes from Padmarajan films just scroll on and on in my memory while I hear my heart sob and pay heartfelt tributes to the ‘Gandharvan’ who left us nineteen years ago, an untimely death that shattered us all to a great extent. I know that some of our scribes will be getting ready with write-ups and memoirs for tomorrow and some of our papers may devote some space for the versatile writer-filmmaker.
Well, this is my personal tribute to Padmarajan, the man who made me love films, the man who made me love myself and have a passion for life.
Here I am again remembering P Padmarajan on his 20th death anniversary giving voice to a large number of people who took to Malayalam cinema thanks to the master storyteller.
‘Athmakatha’: Instilling faith…
Published September 6, 2010 | A review of the Malayalam movie ‘Athmakatha’
‘Athmakatha’, directed by debutant Premlal, revives your faith- in life as well as in good cinema. The movie, which of course failed to 
get the minimum number of audience to keep the shows going at many places on day one itself, makes you fall in love once again with life. It tells you how life is to be lived, despite all odds. At the same time, the film reassures you that good cinema is still there, in Malayalam.
With Sreenivasan and Shafna doing the key roles, that of a blind father and his young daughter, the film ‘Athmakatha’ tells a very interesting, touching story. Kochubaby (Sreenivasan), called by everyone as ‘Kochu’, is blind and works in a candle manufacturing unit run under the auspices of the local church. The parish priest Father Punnoose (Jagathy Sreekumar) is all praise for Kochu who, in the words of Father Punnoose and of everyone who knows him, “sees things much better than those with eyes”. It was at the age of 13 that Kochu had turned blind. His mother taught him to cope with the darkness that had shrouded his very existence. Thus he learnt to see, despite his blindness, the colours of life and relished life in his own way.
It’s quite coincidentally that Mary (Sharbani Mukherjee), who is also blind, comes into Kochu’s life. They fall in love and get married, with blessings from all. Days pass happily, a child is born to them and they are happy to find that their daughter is not blind like them. Kochu, who had never had the need to light up his home, gets electricity connection to make sure that his daughter gets to see all those things that he and Mary cannot.
Kochu’s life gets a big jolt when Mary is killed in a road accident, knocked down by a truck as she is crossing the road. He brings up his daughter Lilly. Lilly (Shafna) shines in her studies, tops the school and is a favourite of her teachers too. Kochu finds happiness in her happiness and the father-daughter duo pass their days, with love that’s shared in abundance and with happiness that they share with others too. But Fate has something else in store for them. The day it’s revealed that Lilly would lose her eyesight due to an incurable ailment, it seems as if the world would turn upside down for them. Kochu, though shocked and dejected, gets ready to teach his daughter how to cope with life after she turns blind. But for Lilly, it’s beyond the wildest of her imagination. She doesn’t even dare sleep as she fears that she may wake up blind. Things become intolerable for her and finally she decides to end it all, by putting an end to her miserable existence.
The thing that touches you the most of course is not the touching story of Kochu and his family. What touches you is the element of positivism and optimism that pervades the whole fabric of the movie. The director, who pens the script too, presents each and every scene in such a way that you see it all in the natural pace of life. It’s not cinema, it’s life that’s unfurled before you, scene after scene.
Performance wise, it’s Sreenivasan who deserves mention in the first place. Though I had always enjoyed watching Sreenivasan films, I had had the opinion that he was an actor who remained trapped in his stock mannerisms and his trademark kind of dialogue delivery and perhaps had no escape from that. The first half hour of ‘Athmakatha’ seemed to re-affirm that notion of mine. But no, I was to be proved wrong. In the post-interval section, the actor simply metamorphosed into something that I had never before seen happening with him. The scene where he blocks all doors and sits on a chair blocking another existence, lest his daughter should venture out without his knowledge and put an end to her life presented for me a totally new Sreenivasan. Hats off to Sreenivasan for doing this wonderful movie.
Young Shafna, as Lilly, excels in her role. Sharbani Mukherjee, who was last seen in Malayalam in ‘Sufi Paranja Katha’, is good. Jagathy Sreekumar as the priest and all the others in the cast fit into their respective roles perfectly well.
The technical aspects are all in sync with the mood, the tempo of the film. The songs too are good. A highlight of ‘Athmakatha’ is the background score, by Mohan Sithara, which retains the mood effectively and enhances the tempo whenever needed. Of course you feel that at certain places the background score could have been a bit less loud and more subtle. Yet, it’s good.
‘Athmakatha’ may have its flaws, it may resemble movies that you have seen, it may remind you of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Rajesh Khanna starrer ‘Anand’ for the positivism it conveys and Gulzar’s Sanjeev Kumar- Jaya Badhuri starrer ‘Koshish’ when it comes to the scene where the blind parents are worried that their daughter too would be blind, but despite it all, it’s a movie worth watching. I feel pity for all those people who flock to see all those trash that’s churned out in the name of cinema in Malayalam these days and not caring a whit for good films like ‘Athmakatha’ and ‘T.D.Dasan Standard VI A’ (which was released a few months back), films by debutantes which seem to convey the message that it’s not all over with Malayalam Cinema.
Related posts
- What’s ailing Malayalam Cinema? A film lover’s angst!
- Malayalam Superstars out to ruin cinema
- Pokkiri Raja, T.D.Dasan: Who wins?
Happy Birthday Naseeruddin Shah, Kerala’s own ‘Sheema Thampuran’!
Published July 20, 2010 | Sheema Thampuran…Ha, can I ever forget that name? Can any genuine movie lover forget the name? No, I think….
And today our ‘Sheema Thampuran’ turns 60. Greetings to the ever-versatile Naseeruddin Shah from the Karmakerala desk.
‘Ponthan Maada’, which was Naseeruddin Shah’s only tryst with Malayalam Cinema (of course till date), outweighs the career-total performance of many actors here.
I can’t forget the scene in the T.V.Chandran film where Ponthan Maada (played by Mammootty) clutches on to a palm tree and sitting atop that watches through the window, as if mesmerised, with adoration as Sheema Thampuran enjoys the music and dances to the tune.
It was in 1994 that ‘Ponthan Mada’ was released. That was a time when we loved seeing so many offbeat, arty movies. I had always been a fan of Naseeruddin Shah, whose performance has always left me wonderstruck. Whether it be mainstream commercial films or arty, offbeat ones, he’d simply shine and outshine many others in the cast. He’d even dazzle in cameos, like he did in ‘Ardh Satya’, the very powerful Govind Nihalani film with Om Puri and Smita Patil in lead roles. His performance in films like ‘Mirch Masala’, ‘Paar’, ‘Masoom’, ‘Mandi’, ‘Manthan’, ‘Junoon’, ‘Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai’, ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’, ‘Hero Heeralal’, ‘Karma’, ‘Mohra’, ‘Sarfarosh’, ‘A Wednesday’ (Oh no, the list will go on and on…) etc remain etched in my mind. Even in the recently released ‘Raajneeti’, a film where he has nothing significant to do, he simply dazzles with a cameo.
At the time when ‘Ponthan Maada’ was released, there were innumerable fans of Naseeruddin Shah in Kerala, especially on account of his performance in offbeat movies. I remember it was an eager wait to see him pitted opposite Mammootty and perform under the direction of T.V.Chandran, who was also emerging as a filmmaker worth reckoning. And the wait was justified. We got a film, or to be precise, a performance that would for ever be etched in our memories. But today, when I see the new generation of film-viewers going after shallow performances and shallower kinds of films. There are still people who like Naseer, but how many of them have seen his best films.
At a time when we in Kerala are going crazy about the shallower aspects of cinema and never ever trying to understand the true potentials of the medium, I’d wish, on behalf of the Karmakerala desk, that Naseeruddin Shah continues to give us many more memorable performances. I’d also love to see him cast once again in a Malayalam movie, a real good Malayalam movie!!
Mohanlal turns 50- wishes to the roles that made the man
Published May 21, 2010 | 
Mohanlal turn 50 and like most people who like filmstars I too tend to like him for the roles he enacted – the characters that still remain etched in our minds. So, let me wish a “Happy birthday” to…
Dasan of Naadodikaattu who kept us smiling, the lovable Sunny of ‘Sukhamo Devi, the guide Joji of Kilukkam, the Peter Pan father of Dasharadham, the hapless brother in Bharatham, and the Uncle Bun who delighted children everywhere.
I think of the romantic roles he played and wish Jayakrishnan of Toovanathumbikal, Sunny of Namukku Paarkkan munthirithoppukal, the double roles in Mayamayooram, the persistent lover in Vandanam, the voice over the phone in Onnu muthal poojyam vare, the boyfriend in Kaattathe kilikoodu and Manickan of Thenmavin Kombathu.
Best wishes to the ‘friend’ in Nokkettha doorathu kannumnattu, the eccentric doc in Manichitrathaazhu, the singing His Highness Abdullah, the guilt-ridden doc in ‘Amritham gamaya‘, the husband shirking his juvenile lover role in Midhunam, and the contractor in Vellaanakalude naadu.
Not to forget the much-hated villains in Manjil Virinja pookkal and Uyarangalil, the flirtatious singer and later the cursed son in Paadamudra (with a huge mole on their faces), and the alocholic artist in Kamaladhalam, the plotting Krishnamoorthy in Vietnam Colony, the taunting Aaram Thamburan, and the mad-naughty patient in Thalavattam (which ranks as high as ‘One Flew over the Cuckoos’ Nest” in my mind).
Many happy returns to the imposter Ghurka in Gandhinagar Second Street, Rajavinde Makan – the underworld prince and TP Balagopalan MA, the bus owner in Varavelppu, the Kathakali dancer in Rangam and Vanaprastham, the communist Nettoor Stephen in Lal Salaam, the brat Neelan in Devaasuram, the forced ‘gunda’ in Kireedom and the black magician caught in his own maya in Sreekrishna Parunthu.
Best wishes also to the police officer in Company and MGR in Iruvar in Hindi and Tamil respectively.
I may have missed many, but, yes, Mohanlal’s roles, the ease at which he handled them has endeared us all to the man. I have seen him at shootings at close quarters and have seen even the most reclusive of people take time out of their lives to have a peep at him.
I somehow feel a ‘disconnect’ with the roles he plays now, I can’t think of any new characters that he has portrayed. So yes he remains a much younger man in my mind, one I have been seeing as I grew up. Clearly, today I felt the need to celebrate the actor Lal who has managed to stay in our hearts.
‘Happy 50th’ from all at Karmakerala and here’s wishing you find better roles and that you slim down and give the young brigade a run for their money! 
Lost, a golden opportunity!
Published April 30, 2010 | A tribute to M K Kamalam, who passed away recently…
Let me begin with apologies to my colleague Usha, who used to remind me, when I started writing for this site, that I am writing mostly about movies. Well Usha, this is my second movie-related post in a week’s time. But I can’t help it. I have to do this. Or rather, I owe it, being someone who has always loved films. In fact we all owe it, since I am going to write about someone whom we should never forget, though ironically we rarely remember her.
It’s with the deepest of regret that I now remember how I had missed or rather lost for ever a golden opportunity of meeting M.K.Kamalam and interacting with her. Of course I have met, and interviewed most of the popular stars of Malayalam Cinema. But the interviews that I cherish having done are of course different ones.
I feel proud of myself when I think I had the chance to meet and interview someone like P.N.Menon, not just once, but thrice. (Filmmaker P.N.Menon, who passed away about a year back, had changed the face of Malayalam Cinema itself). I had enjoyed walking kilometres around the famous Udaya Studios, searching people who were associated with Udaya in the early days and had also liked talking to Sharangapaani, the man who scripted many of Udaya’s hit movies.
I was amazed when I found P.Bhaskaran, eminent poet-lyricist-filmmaker (the maker of the landmark film ‘Neelakuyil’), who was suffering from memory loss (he is no more now) singing, out of a book that I handed him, to perfection a song that he had penned years back for ‘Neelakuyil’, that too when he was hardly remembering what all was going on around him.
I had found myself enriched interacting with people like Sreekumaran Thampy, Sukumari, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bharat Gopi, Murali etc. These are people who utter words that are no less than pearls of wisdom. Some of these are people who made Malayalam Cinema what it is today.
It is in this context that I remember the golden opportunity that I had missed. That happened a few years back. I was scripting a television series based on the history of Malayalam Cinema. We were interviewing M.K.Kamalam that day for the show, which was anchored by veteran actress Sukumari. The whole team was travelling to Kottayam, to seek her out and interview her. But unfortunately, I couldn’t make it. I had to go scouting the Udaya Studio neighbourhoods as part of my research for the same show. The director of the show, a friend of mine, later related how they had sought out the actress, who was leading a rather miserable life. I felt sorry I missed the chance to go meet the actress, who was part of a film that’s for ever etched in history. I told myself I will go meet her later and write on her. But sadly enough, that didn’t happen, and would never ever happen. For M.K.Kamalam breathed her last more than a week ago and bid adieu to this world, which didn’t give her the recognition that she deserved.
M.K.Kamalam, who began with acting and singing on the stage and doing Kathaprasangam (a folk art of Kerala wherein the exponent presents a story, interspersed with verses, references from current life and politics etc), was chosen to be the lead actress in ‘Balan’, the first talkie in Malayalam, released in 1938. It should be remembered that Kamalam had taken to the stage at a time when women didn’t usually act in plays. Hence, when the invitation to act in ‘Balan’ came, her mother was at first reluctant. She was in fact shocked out of her wits when it was told that her daughter was to act in a film that will be made at the Modern Theatres, Salem (another landmark in the history of Cinema in South India). But later she yeilded and it was thus that Kamalam acted and even sang in ‘Balan’. It won’t be proper to say that ‘Balan’ did her no good. Her career on the stage took a new turn and she was a sought after actress, being popular as the actress who had done ‘Balan’. But films didn’t come her way at that time; and when film offers started coming up, she couldn’t act as she was busy with her plays. Of course she later did one more film, ‘Bhootharayar’, which remained unreleased.
After retiring from acting, Kamalam had led a rather miserable life, struggling to make both ends meet. There were instances when she was helped out, but there was nothing considerable that was done. Even AMMA (the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) paid her 2500 rupees per month. It should be remembered that this amount, which is in fact a pittance, comes from an institution that owes it existence to an extent to a film of which M.K.Kamalam too was a part. The actress had to struggle a lot and at a time when our actors and actresses are getting paid in Lakhs and Crores (Kamalam was paid Rs 350 for her work in ‘Balan’), the heroine of our first talkie was leading a life of penury and sufferings.
But when we take into account the fact that even J.C.Daniel (known as the Father of Malayalam Cinema) had to lead a miserable existence in his late years and that prints of landmark films like ‘Vigathakumaran’ (the first movie made in Kerala) and ‘Balan’ no longer even exist, it was but natural for M.K.Kamalam to be neglected, forgotten and even left unmourned by many who should have been there to pay her their last respects.
Adieu, M.K.Kamalam! Whether they recognise or not, you are one of those people who made Malayalam Cinema. We, at Karmakerala pray that your soul may rest in peace.
Pokkiri Raja, T.D.Dasan: Who wins?
Published April 27, 2010 | Hey no, it’s not going to be a straight battle. By the time Pokkiri Raja makes his entry, along with his brother Pokkiri Surya, poor T.D.Dasan might have beaten an unceremonious retreat. Hence there’s no question of a fight happening. It’s no doubt going to be a one-sided win.
‘Pokkiri Raja’, a big-budget film with an impressive star-cast is all set to hit screens, most probably on the 30th if this month. Mammootty, one of the superstars of Malayalam Cinema and Prithviraj, the young dashing star who is making his presence in Malayalam as well as Tamil come together in equally important roles. Shriya Saran, the immensely popular actress from Tamil, who has acted in high-profile films like ‘Sivaji’ and ‘Kanthasamy’ and who has also made her presence felt in Hindi films (though she is yet to prove herself a good actress), makes her debut in Malayalam with the film. ‘Pokkiri Raja’ is expected to be an entertainer, with all the ingredients intact. There would be action, drama, sentiments, humour, songs, dances, romance et al. Well, personally speaking I have nothing against entertainers. I have watched and enjoyed all kinds of ‘masala’ entertainers, in all languages. Moreover, the director of ‘Pokkiri Raja’, debutant Vyshakh, is personally known to me too. I have nothing against him and his film and I just hope that youngsters like him get to make their presence felt, for the sake of Malayalam Cinema.
But, thinking of the film ‘T.D.Dasan Standard VI B’, I am rather disheartened and disillusioned. I happened to see the film, directed by yet another debutant Mohan Raghavan’ last week. In fact, I was simply bowled over by the film. Though I am a real movie buff, never willing to let go any kind of movie, I should say that it was the reviews that made me choose to see the film first. The film seemed to me, to say using clichéd phrase, “ a whiff of fresh air”, one that betrays a rare kind of optimism, at a time when the whole world seem to be tending towards pessimistic and rather negative tendencies. The film made reminded me of the simple works of Iranian filmmakers like Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Majid Majidi. I wanted the film to be seen by more and more people, which of course was not going to be. Being someone who has been following the nuances of the box office in Kerala with an analytical mind, I was almost sure that the film won’t do good on that count. A cousin of mine, who is himself a movie buff like me, wanted to go see the film at my home town, but knew that he’d have to return disappointed as the film won’t be shown owing to poor audience response. He was right. A journalist-friend of mine, who incidentally happens to be a close friend of the director of ‘Pokkiri Raja’, tried his luck twice at the same theatre and had to return disappointed. He later caught up with the film at Kozhikode. This happens, always, in Kerala with films that don’t have popular stars in the lead or don’t follow a pattern that syncs with the box office diktats. This happens, always, in Kerala, a state that pretends to be happy when Malayalam Cinema bags awards on the national level (Hey, is that a thing of the past?!) and at the same time refuses to see the very same films at theatres.
Today, I was happy to see reports in newspapers saying that an eminent director who has in the past given us memorable films has tendered his support to ‘T.D.Dasan Standard VI B’ and its makers. But would that help? I don’t know. I don’t think so. This filmmaker was requesting moviegoers and the media to support such inspiring films. So would they come forward to do this? The moviegoers? Not at all. The media. Pooh! They would instead write tomes praising some trash commercial venture and make it seem like new age Malayalam Cinema. Yes, I was indeed irked by the very same newspaper report that said that Biju Menon and Shwetha Menon were playing the lead roles and that Jagathy Sreekumar, Jagadeesh, Mala Aravindan, Suresh Krishna, Swetha Menon, and Valsala Menon were in the cast. Of course Biju Menon, Shwethe Menon and some others play key roles, but why did the guy forget to mention the boy who played the title role, that of T.D.Dasan. Master Alexander, who makes his debut, has given an impressive performance playing T.D.Dasan while it’s Tina Rose, another debutante child artist who does an equally important role, that too impressively. I guess the guy who wrote the report hadn’t thought on this aspect, let alone go see the movie.
Well, that brings me to another important question. How many of those guys who write profusely about Cinema in Kerala watch and follow films? I was shocked when a ‘film reporter’ (if at all he is one) representing a leading Malayalam daily asked me who Bala (the director who won the national award for the Tamil film ‘Naan Kadavul’) is and which films were directed by him? I have been surprised at the amount of stupidity that our film journos write in the name of reporting and reviewing.
Well, I’d just wish that T.D.Dasan and Pokkiri Raja both emerge winners, which I know is not going to be. Poor Dasan!!
What's ailing Malayalam Cinema? A film lover's angst!
Published March 12, 2010 | What ails Malayalam cinema these days has perhaps come to light mostly with the Thilakan issue. I speak from a movie lover’s perspective and without too much knowledge of factions, Federations, Associations etc. that seem to have cropped up in the industry.
To name the ones I know – AMMA, FEFKA, MACTA and the numerous Superstar Fans Associations all seem to be big players in the whole issue. If you try to read up about this in the media you realise there is not much of reporting going on about this problem.
A few questions: Why is the media seeming tied down? Why doesn’t someone report who is doing the arm-twisting here? Why are great actors like Thilakan having to walk out of good roles because of AMMA? Why should an Association decide who acts in what movie and why?
Movie artist associations are, I presume, formed to help co-actors in the field… so why are they the deciders in an actor’s call-sheet? Why is an association seemingly punishing members and interfering in the business of filmmaking? Why did Thilakan now get a compensation?
A request to the film fraternity, fans and people like you and me who lament the death of great Malayalam cinema – let’s all examine why great movies are not being made.
Also a special request to our superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal, both already producers as well, to produce all kinds of films and help new talent come in.
Finally to Malayalis everywhere:
What has happened to our sensibilities as film lovers why are we lapping up slap-stick comedies and mannerisms one after the other for years now?
Why don’t we go out to watch smaller films and encourage new talent?
Why are, we, as fans and Fans Associations hampering good cinema?
What can we do? Let’s free art, let’s dismantle power-wielding Associations, Federations and Fans Associations and let’s not patronise movies made to make money alone. Stop laughing at oft-repeated comedy genre movies that seems to be ruling the roost.
I hope I have ruffled a few feathers in case this post gets picked up by the film world and please know that I’m only voicing the angst of a large, a very large number of Malayalis everywhere who took pride in our films.
This post is nothing but a humble protest …but make no mistake, a protest indeed this is.
Conclusion: Let me end by hoping all our Malayalam actors, who by the way are so talented that you can’t actually think of a bad actor in Kerala films, will see that such Associations and Federations are only straight-jacketing art.
And whenever art is not free it is freedom that is being curtailed and this should never happen! Save Malayalam cinema, free art, and foster talent should be our only mantra.
Poor Chackochan!
Published March 8, 2010 | The last Saturday, as I was waiting for my train to arrive at the Ernakulam railway station, to take me home on my week-end visit, i saw a familiar face appearing from a distance. Yes, it was Kunchacko Boban, our own Chackochan, wheeling his suitcase and moving past the crowd that was waiting impatiently for the train to come. Chackochan, who had become a teenage sensation after his debut movie, the blockbuster ‘Aniyathipraavu’ (1997), is of course not much active in films these days. He does some films as and when they come, but he is still popular among the masses.
Personally speaking, I may have reservations about Chackochan as an actor, but I like him and like him for what he is. He has, in my view, one of the cutest faces that ever appeared on screen in Malayalam Cinema. I like the way he dances and I am sure that many of those who don’t throng to see his films too like his looks. Chackochan, who is the grandson of Kunchacko, the man who started the famous Udaya Studios at Alappuzha, still retains that charm of his, which had made him the heartthrob of many a teenager girls in the 1990′s. I had met him twice or thrice and had interviewed him and he had always appeared to me as a gentleman, calm and very much friendly. That’s what people of Alappuzha say about him; for them he is like a friend than a star.
So there was Chackochan, passing on, wheeling behind him his suitcase. Some people moved aside to let him pass. Some seemed not to notice him. Some women were whispering, pointing to him, as he passed by. Some guys were looking towards him after he had passed by. Some others, I felt, were trying to ignore him, with sort of a scorn on their face. This happens many a time with celebrities here in Kerala. People, mostly educated ones, pretend to ignore the presence of a celebrity or a star amongst them, sometimes with a scorn in their faces and looks. I don’t understand why they can’t look them straight in the face and give them a smile. We know them after all. And they want us to acknowledge their presence, with a smile or a wave of the hand. Of course going after them and disturbing them with a handshake or pinches (some people really pinch stars when they get the chance; in fact I had learnt once, on visiting the sets of a movie, that people who had gathered there had scratched on the actress’ hands with a blade) would of course be bad. But what harm is there in giving them a smile, a smile that conveys some amount of warmth and also says, “Hey, I know you and have recognised you”. Well, a few years back, another actor, the veteran and much popular Balachandra Menon, had commented while speaking to a gathering at Thiruvananthapuram, on this rather strange trend shown by Malayalees. He was saying that just before coming into the auditorium he had gone to the loo and there had met people who were deliberately trying not to look at him. He was saying, “We are also human beings like any of you. So, if you know us, why don’t you look at us and pass a knowing smile as you’d to any of your other acquaintances?” A genuine and much relevant question indeed.
Standing on the platform at the Ernakulam railway station, I was anyway impressed with the fact that a star like Chackochan could at least walk past people so coolly, without being mobbed and without being a victim of the kind of euphoria that’s shown by admirers in other states. (But then, here in Kerala, I had heard of people, especially women running, leaving behind their kids, to catch of glimpse of Mohanlal, when he appeared a few years back to take part in a Children’s Film Fest in Thiruvananthapuram and college students mobbing and even pinching actor Mohan-known popularly as ‘Chattakari’ Mohan- in the early 1970′s after the release of the film ‘Chattakari’). Still, it was a thing of relief to see that stars could travel and walk freely here, of course barring some of the very leading ones. But the question that still remains in my heart is, why can’t we acknowledge their presence with a smile or a cordial look?
I saw the same attitude today morning too, when I found Chackochan and of course another known figure too, an ex-minister and a very leading political figure, travelling in the same train, same coach as mine. While I won’t want people to mob stars, I’d like them to greet them, known figures as they are, with smiles and gestures of warmth and friendliness. I bet they too want people to acknowledge their presence and pass them a smile or a knowing glance.
Is Kochi really in Kerala?!
Published March 6, 2010 | Rambling thoughts on Malayalam Cinema, Kozhukatta, Puttu-Kadala curry and Arabian food…..
Wandering along the streets of Kochi, seeing the many sights that life has got to offer in this expanding and ‘developing’ city, contemplating on things that happen all around me, I often wonder whether Kochi is really in Kerala or not!!
I have been taken aback by the fact that many of the Malayalam films that get released, of course not those with the superstars (who are reportedly or allegedly busy deciding whether a veteran actor, an all time best in Malayalam Cinema, is to continue acting or not), don’t find theatres to get released here, in Kochi. There are of course lesser number of theatres in Kochi than in some of the small towns in Kerala. That may be one of the reasons, but the other side of it is that Tamil and Hindi films do find theatres for release in this city. Sad indeed! I do love seeing Hindi and Tamil films too. In fact I am sad at the thought that while so many changes are overtaking Hindi Cinema and Tamil Cinema, Malayalam Cinema prefers to remain aloof from all that and mostly seems contented in churning out films that still don’t match up to those standards; and if at all good films come out, there are not many takers. Well, it indeed saddens the heart when I find Malayalam movies getting released in Kochi two or three weeks after it is released elsewhere.
I used to tell friends that I like Kochi as it still has people savouring the taste of ‘Kozhukattas’, ‘Pathiris’ and such traditionally Kerala kind of delicacies. Yes, these things are still available in Kochi, but if you take a closer look, you’d find that these too are disappearing. Instead you can find places that sell sandwiches, pizzas, burgers et al increasing in number. No, why should I be an enemy to these delicacies that so well appease many of my compatriots? Wasn’t it a burger that appeased my hunger the other day at Thevakkal on the outskirts of Kochi, when I couldn’t find anything else to eat? But my question is simple. Why should Kozhukattas and Pathiris bow out and beat a rather undignified retreat? I always find it hard to find in Kochi, while wandering along with friends, good tea-shops (that serve the kind of tea that we Keralites used to savour- strong, brewed to perfection and with a flavour that make you a tea-lover) too are growing less in number. A friend of mine had to control himself from bursting out when he asked for tea at a hotel and pat came the reply, with a bit of rudeness and contempt, “No tea! Only juice here”. I fear one day we may have to say that “Kerala is no country for tea lovers”.
It was only a couple of days back that I happened to see a lady and her son, the kid just about four or five years old, talking in English in the midst of interacting with a man selling tender coconuts by the roadside. I was impressed and at the same time shocked by the keenness that the lady was showing in interacting in English. I do agree that English is a fascinatingly rich language, enriched beyond all levels in many ways and I also agree that mastering that language is no doubt very much necessary to survive in today’s world. But I was wondering all the same as to why these moms don’t take the pains to teach their kids Malayalam, their mother tongue too. I personally know many such people who wanted to make their kids English-speaking kids and ultimately the kids ending up well versed neither in English nor in Malayalam. Ah! With a sigh do I realize that I, who takes pride in the fact that a few months back my daughter, at the age of five, recited in her school a Malayalam poem titled ‘Kunjedaththi’ written by renowned poet ONV Kurup in a rather impressive manner, represent a genre that’s simply thought of as misfits in today’s Kerala.
Just half a kilometre from where I stood listening to the English utterances of the lady and her son were shops selling Arabian food- Kebab, Shawarma, Alfaam, Kubboos (Hope my spellings are correct!) etc. One of my friends, while passing through that area, often comments, “Seems like I am walking through the streets of Dubai”. Well, last week, I happened to hear the a character in the Tamil film, ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya‘ mention about Kerala as a place where you can get ‘Puttu‘ and ‘Kadala curry‘ for breakfast. Yes indeed, you can still get such ethnic dishes, but takers are dwindling in number and very soon you won’t have shops selling these things.
So, is Kochi really in Kerala? Is there a point in re-naming Cochin as Kochi when people tend to go away from what all makes for Kerala and its culture? Hey, maybe the ranting of a cynic! Let me hope so. Let me stop giving vent to my feelings and go and have tea and see if they have brought Kozhukattas with tea today to our Karmakerala office. If no Kozhukatta, then of course cakes, cutlets or something like that. As the adage goes, while in Rome…..!!