Mechilpuram

Source: Spotify Approaching Lalettan's birthday, I had it locked that I would write something about this movie, as it completed it's 20'th anniversary. Amongst the noise of Chotta Mumbai's  delayed re-release, this is one of those movies that I hold close to my heart and serves as a cozy comfort watch, with a blanket by your side, on a lazy afternoon Random Musings Revisiting this black comedy flick, 20 years on, Udayananu Tharam was one of those movies that served as a realization moment for me, having looked at the cine field with star struck eyes. Reddit did come afterward, serving fellow aficionados with the latest gossip from Mollywood. This was a movie that made me realize that things can go wrong with the Industry as well. Penned by Sreenivasan and portrayed in a satirical tone, this movie was really an eye opener to the amusement park that's the Malayalam Cinema Industry. One of the earliest movies that introduced me to black comedy and how it sounds amusin...

As it’s Easter eve, I decided to tap open that Pandora box of memories and reflect for a bit Mine would be the memories of rushing back home after Easter dinner that’s offered at church, having a good night’s sleep and waking up to devour freshly made appams and stew.  The dream during the day of Easter would be waking up to smiles and good food. The ride to and fro church through the roads past midnight are also etched in my memories Amma would never let us touch the stew that she prepared before church-going, even after the lent had finished! We had to wait until the next morning to experience her mastery  Then the get-together party that we / our relatives would host later that day, with laughs, meats, sweets and alcohols flowing. Then the drive back home dreading school the next day How can I forget the Easter bunnies that my relatives used to gift us? Also the hard boiled eggs that we used to peel at church for Easter dinner? Good memories, that can’t be relived Now, on t...

It’s raining cats and dogs in Bengaluru today. Having binged on a few “Appupan and the Boys” episodes and a bath later, I was ready to head to church, with the rains overshadowing a small fear on my plans.  No tip, no auto A tip and 3 minutes later, my auto anna whisked me off to St George Orthodox Church, Indranagar. Carefully made my steps up and down the stairs. A fear inside that I’m at risk of tripping with my formals Attending my first Pesaha in Bengaluru, it was satisfying to attend in unity with others at the church. Having a prayer book (in Manglish) did help my cause, or otherwise I would be standing mute The after qurbana ritual is to hail the nearest auto. It was still raining 5 minutes, 10 minutes later….. no. Church goers milling around me to grab dinner while I retreated to the church’s car park to book my auto Making the frankly courageous decision to walk all the way home was the last thing on my mind, but being new to church and having eyes cast on my hair do dete...

27'th March 2025. I was there for Empuraan's FDFS. My first FDFS, and the most hyped Malayalam movie after 2018’s Odiyan. I was taking it all in! Musings The pal before L3 (the palpayasam). Honestly a bit disappointed, but the sentence above gives me solace. Too much exposure for KA. It’s jarring to see A10 in his all-black outfit. Too many scenes Fight scenes and Masood’s flashback stretched out a lot and could be trimmed. Some more scenes in Kerala could have been shown, around IUF. With every international location, the movie did keep me throwing off Standout scene was A10’s fight scene in the forest, with that mund madukki kuth. That Bineesh Bastin lookalike was good. Stephen’s bodyguards are standing still while he takes on the maoists. Manju chechi looks stunning. Rajuettan looks dashing with his black outfit during the shootout. Same with Manikuttan Baiju could have been given more satirical dialogues like in Lucifer. The only character worth looking at, for a laugh. Sur...

 16 March 2020. A date that will stay with me forever. A cold eerie dawn with an undertones of uncertainty. The day we made our way out of hostel, with the backdrop of the Covid Virus threat. Lockdown came a week later. It was like in the movies. Being smuggled out in the shadows of the dark. The narrative made it look like so (in a funny afterthought), but we had our flights in the morning Me and my friends were helped by the local driver, and got cooped up in a typical Omni van, on the way to Indore Airport. We were flying towards different directions. A fear within that I may never meet them again. Through the vast highway connecting Indore-Bhopal, our Rahul bhaiya sped on, the journey interspersed with some swathes of the Yellow/Orange streetlights that we are familiar with. Casting their long and eerie shadow on the deserted roads and lending an appearance that would add to my feelings of uncertainty. I could'nt fathom that we were travelling on a road that connected multiple ...

The year is 1999. The last step to a new millennium and a new population label. But amidst the global excitement for Y2K and the turn of the century, something unusual was happening in Malayalam cinema. A film was set to release, but it had no name. The Contest That Made History in Mollywood As the film hit theaters, viewers were encouraged to send in their title suggestions. The makers promised to select the best name from the entries and officially rename the film. This interactive approach was unheard of in Malayalam cinema at the time and turned out to be a brilliant strategy to engage the audience even before they stepped into the theater. After receiving numerous suggestions, the team finally selected Tokyo Nagarile Visheshangal (translated as Events in Tokyo City ).  NOTE - Due to lack of documentation owing to various constraints, the method used to announce and run the contest remains undocumented. I have checked sources like newspapers.com and archive.org for any potenti...

They say that "cinema is a reflection of society", and I'm of a particular notion that stories from different strata of society, whether morally righteous or morally grey deserve to be documented.  Trivandrum Lodge was one such film that provided a window to glance over, at how humans, just like us are perceived from the lens of reality. How they go to lengths to make ends meet, while grappling with their inner demons and explore themselves. Within the film, where taboo subjects and thoughts are commented on, where in general they would be frowned upon in the public, Malayalam Cinema did well to keep up with the times, taking the liberal street in the process. A U-turn from the conservative approach, that embraced storytelling in it's rawest form. A story of people with their quirks. A story, woven around stories, woven around a lodge waiting to tell a tale.  Welcome to the world of Trivandrum Lodge Character Sketch Dhwani  Breaking away from a failed marriage, ...

  Re-release Poster Credits:  Scube Films (Instagram) For all the re-release aficionados out there, after months of teasing, "Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha" is set to rerelease in theaters, on February 7 2025. Witnessing the masterpiece onscreen would be a different experience altogether and to spice proceedings, the official re-release trailer dropped earlier today. Re-release Trailer Credits: Matinee Now (YouTube) To witness M.T's delicate script essayed on screen to manifest Chandu's life, and ultimately facing off with his inner demons would be a lip-smacking treat. Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha - in theaters, near you, from February 7, 2025.

Read the words "Kalyanaraman" , "Pulival Kalyanam" , and "Mayavi", and what comes flooding at a sudden are a multitude of joyful memories, carved from the memorable moments from the no-brainer flicks, that has a single name etched to them in common. Shafi. The director who presented us with so many memories, comedy scenes and witty one-liners from his films had passed away earlier today. His movies were one that formed a core part of 90's kids childhood. With comedy scenes that we revisit every now and then to ease the struggles of a hectic day and one-liners that find it's way to day-to-day conversations between Malayalees, his contribution to cinema will always stand the test of time. He crafted movies that showcased an artist's performance of a lifetime. Performances that we like to recall countless times, for how it resonated with us, as our own. Iconic characters like Manavalan and Dharmedra from Pulival Kalyanam, Pyari and Ponjikara from ...