Malabar Tales – A Cinematic Journey into the Heart of Kerala’s Folklore

"The only safe thing is to take a chance. ~ Mike Nichols"

I would like to start this blog with that quote today.

As we all know some films entertain, some provoke thought, and then there are those rare gems like 'Malabar Tales' that transport you into a world brimming with history, culture, and mysticism. Rooted in Kerala’s rich folklore, this film is a visual and emotional masterpiece, seamlessly blending mythology with contemporary storytelling. I might feel more because I grew up outside of Kerala just like the Writer/Director/Producer Anil Kunhappan.

The movie weaves together multiple short stories from the Malabar region, interconnecting them with a beautifully written central thread. Each tale is crafted with depth, evoking emotions ranging from awe to introspection. The storytelling never feels rushed, allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves in the magical realism that defines the film.

The cinematography captures the essence of Kerala’s backwaters, forests, and temples, making every frame feel like a painting. 

The performances in 'Malabar Tales' are nothing short of extraordinary. Each actor brings their character to life with raw emotion and authenticity, whether it’s the storyteller guiding the audience through these ancient narratives or the villagers embodying the myths passed down for generations. 

A film like 'Malabar Tales' demands a soundtrack that complements its grandeur, and it delivers spectacularly. The music, deeply rooted in Kerala’s classical and folk traditions, enhances the mystical aura of the stories. From haunting chants to rhythmic folk beats, the soundscape adds a surreal depth to the narrative. 

"People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don't have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning. ~ Steven Spielberg"

Unlike many period or folklore-based films that merely present cultural nostalgia, 'Malabar Tales' revives the spirit of oral storytelling, making it relevant for modern audiences. The film not only honors the past but also presents folklore as a living, breathing part of Kerala’s identity. In many ways, I found myself connecting with the storyteller, as the film resonated with my own feelings about Kerala, despite having grown up outside of it.

'Malabar Tales' it’s a film that celebrates Kerala’s cultural heritage while pushing the boundaries of storytelling. With its captivating narrative, stunning visuals, compelling performances, and immersive sound design, this film is a must-watch for cinephiles and lovers of folklore alike.

Every film has a beginning and an end, but 'Malabar Tales' stands out by keeping the audience engaged, leaving them wanting more, and provoking deep thought about what might have happened beyond the final scene. Each story within the film encourages reflection, not by providing direct answers, but by inspiring viewers to seek their own interpretations and solutions.

"When given an opportunity, deliver excellence and never quit. ~ Robert Rodriguez"

I was truly captivated by the storytelling and craftsmanship of the film. When my husband handed me the phone, saying, "Talk to my longtime friend who made this movie," I shared my initial thoughts, though they felt raw and too soon to fully articulate my emotions. However, one thing was clear—I wanted to see more films like this come to light and receive the recognition they deserve.

We all can contribute to that by watching and sharing this film. This movie can be watched on 'ManoramaMax streaming' platform. 'Malabar Tales' is not a commercial blockbuster with megastars, but it proves that great storytelling doesn’t need them. What it does need—and delivers flawlessly—is strong narration, talented actors, and a director who knows how to extract the essence of the story through them.

The music is used thoughtfully, enhancing the narrative where needed and seamlessly blending with the theme. The film is crafted with intelligence, and I deeply appreciate the effort behind bringing it to the audience.

Thank you, Anil. I look forward to seeing more of your work, making an impact on storytelling and, ultimately, on humanity itself.

~ Dawn

Aadujeevitham -The Goats Life

 

Aadujeevitham: A Review with Breathtaking Scenery and Mixed Emotions

The much-anticipated Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) finally graced my screen at Shantiniketan Mall, in Bangalore. Despite not reading the book, the hype surrounding the making-of videos, interviews, and even controversies had me curious.

The movie kicked off with a phenomenal soundscape by Resul Pookutty. The wind whistling through the sand was simply captivating. Sunil KS's cinematography deserves a standing ovation. He captured the beauty of the desert in a way that showcased nature's inherent music. And of course, A.R. Rahman's music never disappoints. It's a guaranteed mood-setter.

While I applaud KR Gokul-Hakim's acting, I found him more believable and raw compared to Prithviraj, the lead actor playing Najeeb. This might explain why I didn't feel particularly emotional throughout the film, except for specific scenes.

Hakim's hallucinations were particularly powerful. His expressions conveyed the true toll of being trapped in such a desolate environment. Prithviraj's performance, while decent compared to his usual work, felt a bit forced, especially during the scene where he undresses to change clothes. The effort he put into losing weight for the role was evident, but it felt unnecessary for a single scene.

Jimmy Jean-Louis playing the character Ibrahim Khadiri, who aids Najeeb and Hakim in their escape, resonated deeply. His role as a facilitator trying to help them find freedom was relatable. Amla Paul as Najeeb's wife, Sainu, delivered a brilliant and natural performance in every scene.

Akef Najem, portraying the kind Arab man who rescues Najeeb from the desert and takes him to the airport, was a delightful surprise. He was a perfect choice for the role, and the scene where he drops Najeeb off, with Najeeb expressing heartfelt gratitude, brought a tear to my eye. Robin Das, the Hindi worker who takes care of the goats before Najeeb, was another standout. His portrayal was believable and his acting spot-on.

However, the movie fell short in capturing the essence of "The Goat Life" – the core relationship between Najeeb and the goats. The story revolves around how Najeeb develops a bond with these animals and considers them family. Unfortunately, this crucial aspect wasn't explored deeply enough. This felt like a major oversight by Blessy, the screenwriter and director.

The escape sequence felt dragged out, and the ending, with Najeeb reaching the Malabar hotel, seemed rushed. Blessy could have tightened the pacing here and given the conclusion more weight.

While the film might resonate more with Keralites due to the story of a Malayalee man seeking work in the Gulf countries, a situation many can relate to, the overall experience left me wanting more.

With a score of 3 out of 5, Aadujeevitham boasts breathtaking visuals and strong performances by supporting actors. However, the lack of focus on the central theme and a rushed ending prevent it from reaching its full potential.

However, the hauntingly beautiful "Periyone" song by A.R. Rahman lingers in my mind even now. You can listen to it here and hear what the maestro himself has to say about it. 

~Dawn

Society or culture or whatever you might want to call it, has created us all solely and wholly for the purpose of maintaining its continuity and status quo...!

 

Recently I had the opportunity to watch this movie on Netflix -What will people say! This is a 2017 internationally co-produced, directed and written by Iram Haq. This film's scene set in Pakistan were, all shot in Rajasthan, India.

To my surprise this film had its world premier at 42nd Toronto International Film Festival. This was selected as the Norwegian entry for the best foreign language film at the 91st Academy Awards - but it was not nominated.

My main reason to watch this film was Adil Hussain - an amazing actor and human being. 

As the story started unfolding, it started reminding me of some of the stories that I have seen in Canada. It's not only for India or Pakistan but you can see similar stories from families migrating from Iran, or any other country where the culture is different and women are not given much freedom in the name of family dignity, society pressure and what not. 

"Expectations were like a pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack" ~ Brandon Sanderson

This movie is a must watch for everyone of all gender and race. This talks about equality and equal opportunity for everyone. 

The movie brings an amazing emotions of relationship between the family and siblings. The father, who loves his daughter and understands what is best for her yet, gets drowned in the societal and community cadence where he fears for his family's respect, his business overall trying to look good in front of his people and yet want the best for his daughter.

At the end the daughter makes the choice for herself and Father kind of supports that by not coming in her way!

A very important movie and message for the time where we still differentiate between the genders and defines the boundaries for a girl child and it's not limited to the child but until she dies she is supposed to be living by the rules and live in a box that someone else created for her or her gender.

"A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exists: where everyone can be themselves" ~ Gloria Steinem 

If you're a free thinker and watch this movie it will suffocate you when you see how the girl is taken back to Pakistan and left her there to live with her relatives. It's something that one cannot foresee ourselves to be in that situation imagine the ones who go through how tough it could be?

This movie at least should help open everyone's mind and heart.

"Culture is not made up but something that evolves which is human" ~ Edward T. Hall

~ Dawn

Time moves in one direction and ---> memory in another <---

I had this opportunity to watch Tamil movie - 96 and much thanks to my hubby who actually put up a review about this movie and that's when came to know about the existence of this movie.

This is a story about school-time crush and how we move on in life and that crush still remains in your heart but they never get together in life, at least in this movie its like that. 
The movie is good and what I liked about it is that in this the crush or love is from both sides and hence the loss of being together in life is sensed more and as an audience you feel sorry for them because no matter how many years have gone, at the reunion the love or crush is still at the highest intensity and yet they go back to their lives respecting what they have committed for.
This movie actually brought lot of my school-time memories and hence I want to write this post in remembering all those boys who had a crush on me and some I don't even know at that time and some I came to know later in life when they got connected with me on social media. 
Actually, I never had any crush or love in school or college time. But I do remember one which came in as a proposal in life later and I came to know very late about it.

"Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming!" ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

This was when I was in 10th grade and I was visiting my Grandma from my Mom's side. I remember I used to be more hanging out with my Aunt, who used to visit her friend's place who was a widow with two boys. One was way older and the other seemed like in college or high-school. The boy I will call here as Madhu, who would silently gaze at me when I used to visit their house with my Aunt and he would never utter a word with me but would talk to my Aunt. I used to be a shy and scary as I used to find it a bit awkward visiting from different state to this one.

The visits were more and so I happened to meet Madhu more often and his stare would make me a bit awkward and I used to ask my Aunt about Madhu. Slowly things started getting in such a way that when I am at my front door at my Aunt's place or my Uncle's place he could see me through his front deck, that's the house was close. 
I remember once I was walking down the road with my cousin and he waited for me till evening until I returned home.
He used to sometimes follow us when I am going with my Aunt and used to engage my Aunt in talks. As much praise I have heard from my Aunt about him, that much I felt good about him as he was serious about his studies and he is sincere and well behaved.. all this only made me think of him as a good person.
That vacation went by quick and I remember the last day he ran after my Aunt asking about us, if we have left and my Aunt said they will be leaving tomorrow morning and he just came up with some excuse to come to our home. He was there for long time staring at me and I was kind of smiling as I think I felt that he will miss us.

"Time flies, but memories last forever."

Things moved on and after couple of years when I came back again on vacation, I didn't see him at all. I got curious and I asked my Aunt about Madhu and she said oh, he joined Army so he is not here in town. That made me miss him but I felt good that he is focused on his career and life. 
Time was flying like a kite, I got busy with my high-school and then college and so forth. On my every visit I used to ask my Aunt about Madhu and I used to get news that he was tired of Army life and he escaped from there and so now cops are looking for him. I used to worry, now what? And my Aunt would say they will take him back and he will be completing his Army training as one shouldn't be running away from the training.
I used to worry and think about it when I used to visit my Grandma's place but when I used to come back to my home the usual life kicked in and I got busy with my life. 
Dating concept was not something that we had and hence, there was nothing like that I could think of him or any other guy during that time. Anyway, I got busy with life and after many years I went back to visit my Aunt with my 4 year old daughter. 
This was the time when I was asking about all the people that I have known since my childhood and my Aunt would give me all the updates about the neighboring people and I brought his name...where's Madhu? How is he doing? Did he go back to Army? What is he doing?

"Good times become good memories and bad time become good lessons.."

The answer that I got from my Aunt was painful and shocking too. My Aunt said, they left this place as they sold their property and moved to a different place. His elder brother is married and he lives somewhere close by but Madhu had come here with his mother to ask for marriage with your parents. This was something I initially couldn't believe. Because, even though I thought he liked me when we used to see each other during my visits, but I never thought that he was so serious about me. I got curious and asked, when did they meet my parents? 
My Aunt said, during the time when your Mom and Dad were visiting here and you were busy with college, during that time they visited here and said their son Madhu likes their daughter and would like to marry with everyone's blessings. I was shocked but was sad and it was a mixed emotion.
I said and?
Aunt said, your Dad said we don't intend our daughter to get married to an Army guy. And even if we do want to then we don't want to send our daughter to this place.

I was completely shocked and felt like a Bollywood movie where the girl's father is always playing the villain role. All I could imagine in my mind was Madhu's Mom because she was a very respectful woman in the area and she had raised her two sons without her husband. She was well educated and was working in a good government establishment. I was really feeling sad. I looked at my Aunt and said, is this real? How come then no one said anything about this till date?

"Sometimes I just wish that I could fast forward time, just to see if it's all worth it in the end."

My Aunt looked at me and said, well he loved you since school time and I even asked him that have you ever talked to her and his answer was - no!
But he loved you and he thought when the right time comes he would ask your parents permission as he felt you are not the kind of girl who would love and write love letters and continue the relationship..!

That incident made me feel very sad and I feel for Madhu even though it was not love from my side, but the sincerity of him killed my ego. I don't know if meeting with him and talking to him could give a closure to this but ...this has left me with those painful moments yet when I walk through the memory lanes, the moments of visiting his home, his stare, he bringing stuff at home for me and all those opportunities where he wouldn't miss to see me, even if it was a glance... have tickled my heart at the same time.

I feel life is full of surprises and yet you never know who would come to rescue when you are in need... it could be someone from your past life... or someone new?

"The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you"

~ Dawn

“History shows that there are no invincible armies.”

I was still hanging there with Mr Bond when my friend brought this movie called ‘Archangel’. The name didn’t interest me but still I thought let’s see what it is and when I see Daniel …lol! Boy I couldn’t stop smiling!

It happened to be an interesting especially with my interest in History as regards to Stalin and Adolf …I really enjoyed this movie.

“A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron.” ~ Joseph Stalin

It was more or less like a thriller entertainment, It is after nearly a half-a-century of silence, the final secret of Josef Stalin reveals itself to a former Oxford historian who is attending a Russian conference for the newly opened Soviet archives in a tense international thriller starring (Daniel Craig), Fluke Kelso is on his way out of Russia when an unexpected visit from an ex-officer of the Soviet Secret Police offers hints of a deadly scandal.

“The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.” ~ Joseph Stalin

Later, when the mysterious former agent is found brutally slain, Kelso enlists the aid of the man's daughter Zinaida in finding the answer to a mystery that was presumably buried along with the Soviet Union dictator back in 1953. When Fluke and Zinaida travel to the remote Russian seaport of Archangel in search of the elusive truth, the vengeance of both the Russian authorities and the dangerous underworld threatens to silence them both and keep Stalin's secret buried for yet another half-a-century.

If this sounds interesting then I would say you must see this movie for sure.

“Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.” ~ Joseph Stalin

"I thought Christmas only came once a year." (The World is Not Enough)

Last week was very busy and I know next week is going to be the same or may be even worse…! Friday there was a party from work in appreciation of all the hard work. I thought I will have a glance at everyone by attending but alas! IT world and …no issue! impossible :D..! I had to wait to figure out and verify the issue and by that time it was quite a bit late to go for the party.

I decided to drive home and guess what! Mr. Bond was in mind since morning as I knew the movie is released. As usual …being the bond gal ;) I kept my trend of watching Bond Movie the day it is released. Late night show but yes I had to watch this :D

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” ~ Confucius

I was disappointed when I didn’t see the Bond music the legendary music which they only showed at the end of the movie…! Another thing which made me feel sad was when Bond was not having Martini shaken but not stirred…instead he was having all kinds of cocktail drink with lemon …gosh! All this made me disappointed though Mr Bond kept everything sizzling and hot ..lol!

“Do you know a lot about guns, Mister Bond?” “No, I know a lot about women” ;) That’s James Bond …lol!

Yes, I just love Daniel Craig as Bond, I love his style of walking…his action –just amazing!!! Bolivia, Haiti, Austria and Italy are featured - nice tourist effect. I also liked the villain of this movie, the French actor Mathieu Amalric, who plays Dominic Greene in the movie.

‘Quantum of Solace’, means something like a measure of comfort. For Bond lovers a must see movie ;)
I enjoyed every bit of it, a Friday ended very well even though the week was hectic ;) small incentives to look forward!

“You have always been a cunning linguist, James.”

“A book has but one vioce, but it does not instruct everyone alike.”

How to pass time? There are so many good things to do in life… isn’t it? Look at the pot in which last summer I bought a plant which had a yellow flower with two little buds and later by winter I see they are not only dead but the pot was all dried up and even the sand was dried as if nothing to offer to give a life to the plant. These flowers with the vase was a gift from my friend :D

“Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas” ~ Elizabeth Murray

And guess what, this morning when I see the pot which was empty all these days has few green leaves :D…past couple of weeks rains have given this life…I loved the life growing in my arms as the days pass it gives new innovative ways to smile!!

“How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams with its illusions, aspirations, dreams! Book of Beginnings, Story without End, Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend!” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Well, besides cherishing bringing the new life into this world, I had the opportunity to watch Blood Diamond and let me tell you I sincerely feel that Leo should have got the Oscar…as his work is indeed marvelous in this!!! Besides the actor, the movie is well taken and I will say if you have not seen then please do so!!! Africa is beautiful :D

“The role of the artist I now understood as that of revealing through the world-surfaces the implicit forms of the soul, and the great agent to assist the artist was the myth.” ~ Joseph Campbell

And guess what, last time I had added a post about Paulo Cohelo’s “The Zahir” which one of my fan friend suggested to read and since then I was trying to find but was unable to get one!

“I want to give the audience a hint of a scene. No more than that. Give them too much and they won't contribute anything themselves. Give them just a suggestion and you get them working with you. That's what gives the theater meaning: when it becomes a social act.” ~ Orson Welles

However, I got this book as a birthday gift ;) and was only able to finish reading it now! My friend had told me to read this as he finds the story is that of a similar girl like me …. lol :D

It’s a good book which speaks about life and our expectations and the illusions that usually we humans go through.

“You cannot open a book without learning something.” ~ Confucius

On to another book "The Nudist On The Late Shift" by PO Bronson; courtesy my friend Bombayite ;) Thanks Sethu mone!!!

This quote is dedicated to all my three friends above I mentioned ;) and to the ones whom I have found here :D

“To have a good friend is one of the highest delights in life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings.”