Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2025

The forgotten beauty of Video Rental Stores and Movie Nights

Musings It's Thursday night in Al Satwa, Dubai and you don't want to do anything better than curling up on your setee with a BluRay disc playing the movie that came out two years ago, alongside a bowl of crisps and some cold orange juice to wash it down with. Thursday night signaled the start to the weekend.   How simpler were those days? You either caught the hottest movies at the theater during their run time or just sat patiently, waiting for it's disc to hit the neighborhood video store. It was pure ecstasy to catch a Mohanlal movie sitting there on the shelf, just waiting to be picked up. At this point, I’d like to recount an incident from 2006–2007, when renting a CD happened once in a blue moon. It was a cool weekend night, and we were all cooped up in front of the TV to watch whichever movie Acha had brought home. Mind you, it was an unofficial CD, with just the movie’s name written in blue marker pen. **Drumrolls please** we ended up watching Thanmathra that night...

Thoughts on Ivar (2003): A jot down

I came to know about this movie in recent days and can’t really wrap my head around what is going on. Went in expecting a raw, straight to the point movie. Closed the laptop with disappointment, with the realisation that Jayaram got mislead again for a project With the word "mislead", I want to express Jayaram's need of the hour, then to accept roles out of his comfort zone. That did come to fruition in Ivar, but the script totally let this movie down, despite it's technical excellence - in the cinematography and editing department, and the effort put in by the cast. Rajeev Kumar is one director that I respect, but this movie looks really bad, starting from the script.  Devi Ajith’s character was pointless. Me10, Biju chettan and Balachandran chettan looked handsome, but left me wondering why everything was conveniently falling into place to reach the climax  Anoop Menon’s character lets slip of his undercover identity easily, Me10 slaying an elderly dude while th...

4 The People (2004) : Our Iconic Vigilante Trailblazer

  Source : Justdial Random Musings Imagine this. It's the dawn of 2004. At a time when internet cafes, Splendour bikes and polo striped t-shirts were in vogue, Jayaraj decides to tell the story of 4 vigilantes.  Armed with Iqbal Kuttipuram's script, and the nostalgia that frames from 2003 - 2004 Kerala brings us, Jayaraj crafted one of the best thrillers, that made people stop and think about how determined people can take law in their hands to avenge inequality and corruption. At a time when Malayalam Cinema was going through a less than stellar phase, we got some real gems that aimed to explore themes beyond what was the norm. Aparichithan, Kalachakram, Athbudhadweepu, Black and Kadhavaseshan are notable names. 4 The People is another pick that falls snugly into that select basket.   In the state of Kerala, where politics is a common tea-time topic of discussion, and SFI goons disrupt businesses every other week, vigilantes were an unexplored topic. Sure, Communist...