Mechilpuram

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, ...