Traffic

Date:13th February 2011@ Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore(12:15 PM)
ട്രാഫിക്‌ 

Starring: Sreenivasan, Kunchakko Boban,Rahman, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sandhya,Remya Nambisan, Roma,Anoop Menon,
Director: Rajesh Pillai
Screenplay: Bobby Sanjay
Editor: Mahesh Narayanan
(mentioning screenplay and editors explicitly as they played an important role in keeping the movie tempo going on)

Storyline:

<copied some portions from nowrunning.com and rediff>

Rajesh Pillai's Traffic is a brutally brilliant film in which he lends color to coincidence and unveils before us a cogitation on the dynamics of chance. A strikingly crafted film that is raw and genuine, it crawls right under your skin and stays there.

The complex plot is about a day in the lives of a few people who are at the same junction at the beginning of the day, and how their fates get entangled as the day progresses

It all takes place on the 16th of September, when a few men and women, going on with their distinct lives in diverse worlds, find their paths crossing each other at a traffic island. Rehan (Vineeth Sreenivasan) is all excited about joining Indiavision as a journalist and sets out with his best friend Rajeev (Asif Ali). Aditi (Sandhya), getting over a divorce, sees him off and looks forward to something more. Dr. Abel (Kunchacko Boban) has plans to surprise his wife Shwetha (Remya Nambeesan) with a brand new car on their wedding anniversary. 

Sudevan (Sreenivasan) is back at work as a police constable, after a brief stint of suspension for having accepted bribes. Superstar Siddharth (Rahman) has a new release on the day, while his wife (Lena) is worried about their young daughter's failing health. Miriam (Roma), Manager at an FM Radio station gets an alarming text message on her mobile. And all this in a matter of twelve hours on the same day.

Bobby and Sanjay's script is one in which there has been a close scrutiny of all possible leak cracks, and in which almost all of them have been filled shut. Hence the several events that take place in the film simultaneously hold together amazingly well, and there is hardly a moment in the film where your focus drops. This is quite a feat, since it involves an adept juggling between emotions aplenty, some outstanding twists, a few mind boggling thrills and some well-kept suspense. The bottom-line is that Traffic could easily boast to have one of the best scripts written in Malayalam in recent time

It's a mammoth star cast in Traffic, and rarely does a film offer almost all its actors what they are truly capable of. The 'moments' are there for everyone, and they impress us for a while, and gracefully make way for another to occupy center stage. No star charisma at work here; just plain acting at its very natural best.

My Verdict:(4 out of 5)

Overall a very tight,slick and crisp movie with a lot of messages blended into the storyline. Liked the way the narrative went back and forth building the character sketches of the people by weaving their stories together and showcasing the motives behind their actions.

Addendum:

This is the first time ever in my life that i went for a movie in such a 'ad-hoc' way(thanks to my better half who made this so exciting :-)).After a lazy Sunday morning breakfast(wherein we had invited over Deepak), as we sat chatting till 11:15 AM, we had absolutely no idea as to what to do for the rest of the day.

Suddenly around 11:45 AM, she suggested watching a movie and we quickly checked out the options..no good Hindi/English movies..and thats when we saw Traffic(Malayalam) with a 12:15 PM show at Innovative multiplex.

I was like "Hmm? Err? Duhh?"(too short a notice for me) and Abhaya was like "lets go !!".

Then a mad rush..got ready in 5 mins flat...and left home at around 12 PM with 15 mins to go...Innovative is around 7 kms from our house.

Thankfully, the Saturday early noon traffic wasnt much of a bother and we zipped around reaching the theater within 10-12 mins..

Finally enjoyed this quick "splash-n-dash" plan with a good movie and some popcorn/eggpuffs and coffee to go.(err..not to mention some spilt popcorn and coffee on the seats)

Room --Emma Donoghue

Verdict: Amazing read overall..one of the best books I have ever read till now.
Jan-2011
Had bought this book from Landmark(Forum mall, Bangalore) back in Sep-2010. As part of my reading-shift from the normal paperback fiction to buying award-winning and ManBooker long/short listed books, saw that this book had been longlisted for the ManBooker prize for 2010.

The premise seemed very interesting, herez the summary on the back of the book which caught my eye:
"Jack is five, and excited about his birthday. He lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures eleven feet by eleven feet. He loves watching TV and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real-only him,Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there is a world outside.
Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other...."


Started reading this sometime in October, but the initial language and the writeup flummoxed and was a bit confused. Parallely at that time, I started off reading Mallu literature, so this went onto the back foot.
Finally after reading 2-3 Mallu books, I wanted to get back to English books and picked it up again.


To summarize, this is one of the best books I have ever read...amazingly well written taking such a plot and weaving a whole story around it.
One of the reviews written on the front cover of the book neatly describes the exact feeling I had:
"Room is a book to read in one sitting. When it's over, you look up; the world looks the same but you are somehow different and that feeling lingers for days" --Audrey Niffenegger(author of Time Traveller's wife)


I had read reviews about this book on the net earlier and came to know that its loosely based on the Josef Fritzl case which emerged in April 2008 and shocked the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritzl_case
(don't want to be a spoiler...you can read the wiki after finishing the book)


The book talks about a similar plotline where Ma and Jack and the Room are the central characters in the plot and to create a story and told from Jack's perspective, you get sucked into a world where everything is within a 11 x 11 room, day n night, week after week, and 7 years !!

Emma Donoghue

The first half is amazingly fast paced and you crave for more (dont want to be a spoiler) but the second half kind of slows down but still you feel like turning onto the next page and see how it goes and it ends fine.
Even in the first part, some of the portions seem repetitive and boring, but didnt dampen the overall spirit thought.


Finished off the book within a week, was unputdownable.... A word of caution though..if you plannin to teach someone English, its not the best of books as it has a lot of grammatically incorrect wordings and usages :-)...
But a dazzling use of language and incredible imagination to describe how a mother entertains and brings up her kid for 5 years in solitary confinement in a Room which is the only world the child has seen...so the different techniques to keep him occupied throughout the day and creating  a fairy-tale world...awesome, to say the least...

Chidambara Smarana -- Balachandran Chullikaad

JAN-2011 ചിദംബര സ്മരണ (Balachandran Chullikaad)

Had started off on another book(Oru Theruvinde Katha by S K Pottekkatt) around a week ago; thats when Roopesh gave me this one saying "chetaai...read this..its a small one, won't take long and it has a few nice stories"
So started reading this in the first week of Jan-11. 
As folks told me, Balachandran Chullikaad is more famous as a poet rather than a writer. This book is a kind of autobiography wherein he has illustrated snippets of his life through short stories/incidents(spanning 5-10 pages each)


The stories are pretty hard-hitting, the kind of "no-holds barred" writing style, few of which talks about lust,women,liquor...
Not many would appeal to the kind of "direct"(and outrageous, if few might term it) writing, but overall, I liked reading it
All of them are short stories spanning 4-5 pages(max), all snippets of his life. 
We can paint a picture of him, about his being a 'rebel'(naxalite) during the 70's, being thrown out of the house, having a love marriage, struggling in life and also a regular drinker as he goes about writing his poetry and attending various poet seminars around the world.
But all the stories(not sure if all of them are true because some of them seem very dramatic) make up for a interesting read.
The title story 'chidambara smarana' is about his rememberance of his parents as he observes an old-aged couple going about their daily chores in life in a temple complex


Overall, a nice read...!!

Ayalkaar - P Keshavadev

Dec-2010-Jan 2011 അയല്കാര്‍ (Neighbours) പി കേശവദേവ്‌ (P Keshavadev)

This book, the 1964 Kendra Sahitya Academy award winning novel,was suggested by Abhaya when we had gone to DC Books, Kottayam during our Oct 2010 visit.

 This novel is acclaimed as the chronicle of the evolution of the three leading communities of the State of Kerala - the Nairs, Christians and Ezhavas from the days of feudalism to the post independent era. (between 1920s to 1950s).

This book basically talks about 3 basic premises:

• 1.       The downfall of the feudal system
• 2.       The uprising(awakening) of the Ezhavas
• 3.       The rise of the Christian community 

Writing about the tragedy of the disintegration of the two major tharavaads– Mangalassery and Pachazhi - Kesavadev recreates their glorious past and also narrates the trials and tribulations paving the way for their total destruction.

My Review

Initially, I was off to a slow start and when Keshavadev introducted a host of characters in the joint family, I was kind of losing track of all the family members in the 2 major Nair families. But slowly things settled in, many folks died off during the story-telling and was able to grasp the stories and lives of the remaining characters

Overall, I liked the writing style and managed to complete reading it without any hiccups !!

About Keshavadev(Portrait of a Rebel)

* P.Kesava Dev was born in the year 1904 and he died in 1983. He lived approximately eighty years of which almost half was pre-independent and the latter half was post-independent period. This period in the history of Kerala was one of great significance as far as the socio-economic life of the state was concerned, for reasons well known.

* It was a time when the caste system was practiced rigorously. The Namboodiri's emerged as a dominant caste and the ownership of land largely vested with them. The social system proved decadent with the Namboodiri's leading a life of ease and comfort and their womenfolk relegated to remain a frustrated lot. A number of retrograde customs and taboos were prevalent.

*The matrilineal system of inheritance known as Marumakkathayam was in practice. This system ensured that the family property remained in tact and the 'Karanavar' enjoyed the benefits as the ruler or manager of the family. All the members of the matriarchal family had the right of maintenance from the property but were not entitled to ownership. The joint family system was the order of the day and as a rule there was no peace or harmony among the members who lived under the same roof. Polyandry was practiced extensively leading to a decline of moral standards.

*The feudal system was the order of the day with Janmis holding the title to landed properties. The condition of the toiling section of the community was precarious.

The caste system with the 'Savarna' and 'Avarna' classification among the Hindus remained an impediment in the way of the advancement of the backward classes. The Avarna's were denied the right to enter temples, study in schools and even to walk along public roads. Strange as it may seem today; during those days Nair's prevented Ezhava's entering their temples and Ezhava's in turn prevented the Harijan's from entering the temples owned by them.

*Kesava Pillai was born at a time of transition. He was exposed to all the maladies that were prevalent in the society in general and in the institution of joint family in particular. He was also a witness to the wind of change that swept across the length and breadth of the country. His childhood and youth were punctuated by the changes that occurred around him and during the rest of his life he was part and parcel of a new era. Kesava Pillai was influenced by the men and society around him. His speeches and writings expressed his anguish against social injustice and a relentless attempt to rebel against the establishment. Hence the life and work of Kesava Dev should be examined and assessed bearing in mind the social scenario that prevailed during his lifetime.

More details: http://www.kesavadev.net/en/l_and_t_kdv.htm

Marykyundoru Kunjaadu (Mary has a little lamb)

Date: 8th Jan 2011 @ Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore (7:30 PM)
മേരിക്യുണ്ടൊരു കുഞ്ഞാട്


Starring: Dileep, Bhavana, Biju Menon, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, Salim Kumar
Director: Shafi

Storyline:Dileep as Solomon(an aspiring television/movie director),pretends to be creatively inclined and has directed a few episodes of a spiritual serial for a television channel to raise money for buying a golden cross for his church, but hasnt managed to get the funding.
*He is in love with Mary (Bhavana), the daughter of a rich man (Innocent) and she has three brothers who are prone to violence and who don't agree with their relationship.
* The protagonist Solomon (Dileep) detests violence and does not react to people who are physically stronger than him, even if it means bearing insults. This timidity is justified by his protected upbringing and thats how he gets the name Mary's little lamb(the title of the film)
* One more twist in the tale is that Solomon's mother and Mary's father were in love when young. But his mother married the sexton (Vijayaraghavan) out of rage, because Mary's father impregnated his maid in a drunken state and was forced to marry her.
* Solomon's life changes for better when Jose (Biju Menon) -- believed to be his elder brother who had gone missing as a child after a fight with his father -- enters the scene. Solomon now confidently walks around the village with the backing of a demented Jose.
The movie has its share of mystery and suspense which is revealed at the end.


Verdict:(3.5 out of 5)
Overall its a nice TP movie with lots of funny moments beautifully blended in and I ended up laughing many-a-times during the first half.
* Dileep plays his part nicely without any heroics, but with his vulnerable,innocent nature and with his share of jokes, he makes the movie enjoyable.
* Biju Menon's(Jose) character has a rough "tough-look" and with minimum dialogues ,he essays his role nicely with his looks and acting.
* Bhavana doesnt have much of a role to essay, but manages to glide through it with ease.
* Salim Kumar's story as the coffin maker is intertwined nicely within the main plot.


The songs are shot at some nice locations(probably in Kerala) and though not blockbuster songs, they seem decent enough because of the locale n picturization.


Kudos to the director and the script-writer(Benny Nayarambalam) for the racy and tight direction and scripting with the right bit of humor infused.
*Got a call from Sreejoppol around 4:30 PM on Saturday asking if we would like to join them for the movie.(at that time, Proneelettan and family had come down for a few hours and we were hosting them).
Finally, me, mom and Abhaya decided to go alongwith them for the show; went around 7 PM and returned back by 10:30 PM.

Mayyazhi Puzhayude Theerangalil -- M Mukundan

NOV-2010
മയ്യഴി പുഴയുടെ തീരങ്ങളില്‍ (On the banks of the river Mahe) -- എം മുകുന്ദന്‍ (M Mukundan)

Chanced upon this book in a DC Books Fair in Thrisur in Sep 2010 when my interest in reading Malayalam literature was renewed(thanks to wifey dear n my office changaayimaar). This book had won the award in 1998 for the best novel published in the last 25 years and I hoped it would live up to the expectations and also hoped that the language was lucid enough for me to understand.

And boy, didn't M Mukundan do it in style !! :-)...i absolutely loved the narrative and lapped up the entire book(~250 odd pages) in about a month's reading time. I must admit that I am not a "fast" reader and take some time to grasp Malayalam because it doesn't come naturally as English. While reading Malayalam, reading and understanding are two different activities :-) and hence a slight reading delay.
About the book
Mukundan's birth place Mahe provides the background to most of his work.

Mahe came under French rule about 300 years ago. Mahe was the name given to Mayyazhi - the mouth of the black river - by the French. India's attaining independence in 1947 also affected the life in Mahe with large scale demonstrations for freedom being staged in 1948. The demonstrators raided government offices, and hoisted the Indian National flag on the administrative building. But this euphoria met a quick death with the arrival of the French Navy.The fight for freedom got a fresh lease of life again in 1954. When demonstrations began again, it got more support from the inhabitants of Mahe, and the French finally agreed to hand over Mahe to India.

The novel is written in a very lucid and descriptive way and I could actually imagine the entire Mahe setting during the 1940's. You actually start living the lives of the various people who are affected by the historical developments of Mayyazhi.
I painted my very own world of Mahe after reading the entire novel and all the characters still stand out after I finished reading it !!
The most memorable lines in the novel(and which are repeated many a times throughout the novel) are:

സുര്യനെ പോലെ പ്രകാശിക്യുന്ന വെള്ളിയാന്‍  കല്ലില്‍ ജന്മം കാതിരിക്യുന്ന ആത്മാവുകള്‍ തുമ്പികളെ പോലെ പറന്നു കളിക്യുന്നു 

(Normally they flutter like dragonflies over the Velliyan Rock, a silvery island, a cluster of rocks in the sea where souls rest between births and which guards in its womb the secrets of the lives and births of the folk of Mayyazhi)

The novel talks about the struggle for freedom(a clash between the older generation happy and contended with the French ruling and who can't imagine the French leaving Mahe and the younger generation who wanted to be a part of independent India) and the life being led by the people of Mahe against this backdrop.

Some of the main characters in the plot:
Kurumbiamma: the grandmother who forms one of the central characters in the novel and its her stories that describe many characters and also paints the relationship between the half-French population of the town and its Indian inhabitants.
Leslie Saheb(സായിവു): The French officer who wears a hat, coat and trousers instead of a mundu, drives the best horse carriage of the town, and stops by every evening to share a pinch of snuff with Kurambi Amma, and whose memory haunts Kurambi Amma's nights for many years following his death.
Damu: Kurumbiamma's son who earns his living as a writer of deeds in the law court.
Kunchanandan master(കുഞ്ഞനന്ദന്‍ മാഷ്‌): who has been sick all his life, but still has enough energy to instil the feeling of nationalism in his students
Dasan: Damu's eldest son and the protagonist of the novel, a brilliant student, who sacrifices all the hope his family including his beloved grandmother Kurambi Amma has in him, to devote himself to freeing Mayyazhi from the French rule.He could have enjoyed a very privileged life, could have joined the government service, or could have even gone to France at the expense of the government. But he decides to forego all these temptations to fight for freedom for Mayyazhi.
It is the kind of freedom which is not understood or needed by many people around Dasan. 'Freedom, what does that mean?' asks Dasan's father, Damu. People like Kurambi Amma and Damu do not understand why the French have to be driven out of Mayyazhi. In their opinion the French have brought glory to Mayyazhi. The place belongs to the French as much as it belongs to the others.

There are a multitude of other characters who have their own set of stories associated with them and which are beautifully intervowen alongwith the main storyline.

Verdict: an amazing book to read, especially for folks who want to start off with Malayalam literature...easily readable, simple language and the writing evokes a world of imagination as the reader reads through it.