Papa, don’t preach?

Kappela (Chapel, Malayalam, 2020)
Written & Directed: Muhammad Musthafa

Another Malayalam movie that makes its viewers think.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kappela

Growing up, I often saw my mother hovering over my sisters. She would insist on having the final say on how they should dress, behave, and interact with others. My sisters believed that my mother was just a typical conservative mum, thinking her daughters were like beauty queens and that the world was an overly testosterone-charged place waiting to target them. Throughout their teenage years, they disliked my mother for that, but, being obedient girls, they simply complied and focused on their studies.

Later in life, they would tell me about the harassment they endured, as I had already left the house for further education. In hindsight, however, they thought she had to do what a mother must do to guide her children in the right direction. Perhaps they would not be so comfortably settled in life now if not for our mother's vigilance and, perhaps, paranoia. 

Again, when we, the children, became parents ourselves, we also had to balance giving freedom, being modern parents, and educating about predatory behaviours to our own. It became even more difficult with access to the outside world through social media and the spreading of anarchic values celebrated by the leftists as progressive. Whatever Eastern values were promoted are seen as outdated and discarded. 

People who have not been parents themselves might not understand the storyline. Scolding a young girl for sitting as a passenger on her male classmates' bicycle may seem old-fashioned, but her parent had his reasons. After hearing stories of children going astray, parents naturally become cautious. 

A misdialled call leads to romance between an older teenage girl who has failed her public school examinations and a random auto-rickshaw driver. The driver seems like a kind and well-meaning chap. After frequent exchanges of calls, the lovers decide to meet when her parents are away. 

At their rendezvous in another town, there is a frustrated and angry young graduate who is unable to find a job. This young man is seen as a violent individual who does not hesitate to fight for his cause. 

In the story's intriguing development, the audience is shown another side of the nice guy, who is not so nice after all, and the anti-hero is actually a saviour of the naive girl. The nice guy is a predator, and the angry man is a do-gooder. 

How many times have we witnessed these stories unfold repeatedly? The spring of youth, with its hormones impairing rational thought, may have lifelong consequences. Stalking is mistaken for care, and touching is seen as unrestrained passion and a way to express love. Sadly, only hindsight offers perfect clarity.

(P.S. Thanks, JM, for the recommendation.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In Bad Taste!

The Shameless (Hindi, 2024)
Written & Directed by: Konstatin Bojanov

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15437986/

The director initially aimed to make a documentary after acquiring the rights to William Dalrymple's book, 'Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India'. Due to financial constraints, he ultimately produced this feature film instead. The subject of this film was drawn from one of the nine stories (lives) in the book.

This multinational production has been hailed as a bold, provocative queer movie that highlights the challenges faced by the modern Indian woman. It even gained recognition at the Cannes Film Festival. Of course, it did. Any film that presents a bleak view of India tends to succeed internationally, just like Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2008. Portraying India as grimy, lawless, lacking culture, and saturated with toxic masculinity appears to be a favourite pastime. Nothing has changed since Columbus 'discovered' the New World, and the Portuguese were accompanied by Gujarati seafarers from Durban to Kalikat. The colonists assume the role of bearers of truth, burdened with the task of educating the 'less civilised'.

A sex worker named Renuka escapes from a brothel after killing a police officer. The worker lives incognito next to a Hindu religious family. The family belongs to the devadasi community and is preparing to 'send off' their teenage daughter, Devika, to the highest bidder to serve at a temple. 

In the historical context, during the pre-colonial era, it was customary to 'marry' pre-pubescent girls from lower castes to Goddess Yellamma, dedicating their lives to the goddess's service and temple duties. These girls often became concubines to wealthy men and, in some cases, accumulated wealth themselves. Since 1988, this tradition has been outlawed, and the temple has distanced itself from their plight.

So, the filmmakers decided to portray a non-existent problem as significant. Essentially, they equated the drug-addicted, hard-drinking prostitute with the girl from the devadasi community, who is handed over to the temple—both as sex workers, one due to social circumstances and the other in the name of an archaic religious practice. Coincidentally, the two girls develop a romantic attraction and plan an escape, with the police and the girl's mother close behind. A Hindu nationalist party is also involved in this complex situation. 

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The mother-daughter dynamics

Mother Mary Comes to Me 

Author: Arundhati Roy 

It is a widespread adage. Boys tend to gravitate toward their mothers, while daughters regard their fathers as their soulmates. Many daughters have a love-hate relationship with their mothers. They often appear to be at loggerheads and argue over the most trivial reasons, but at the first sign of distress, both are quick to be each other's Rock of Gibraltar.

Perhaps secretly, each of them sees a version of themselves in the other, and they dislike what they see. The mother might think she could have made better choices, such as selecting a better life partner or achieving a higher career status. With those noble intentions, she may be constantly watching her daughter, hoping to see her attain a life of greater stature than her own. 

The daughter believes the mother has a lifelong vendetta to ruin every part of her future. Everything the daughter does, it seems, is a disappointment. Perhaps the mother is simply old-fashioned and jealous of the freedom the daughter enjoys, which the mother was denied. Under the guise of securing her future, the mother acts as the villain, destroying whatever few bricks are left laid. 

Susanne Arundhati Roy recalls her childhood in Kerala, growing up with her mother. Her father was estranged, but Roy's lively mother was no pushover. She founded a private school after losing her inheritance because of an outdated state law. She took legal action against the family and successfully had the law amended after taking her case to a higher court. 

Roy grew up with her mother in a steam cooker environment with the elder constantly breathing down her neck, despite the mother's struggle with chronic asthma. The mother ran the school and her family (Arundhati and her brother) with an iron fist, supported by subservient helpers. 

The biopic continues with Roy heading to architecture school, experimenting with writing, becoming involved with a married filmmaker, engaging with the leftist movement, and writing her first novel, 'The God of Small Things.' It concludes around the time of her mother's death. 

 

An engaging book that depicts the bittersweet relationship between a mother and daughter. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Find love via stalking?

Annayum Rasoolum (Malayalam; 2013)

Story and Direction: Rajeev Ravi

https://madaboutmoviez.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/annayum-rasoolum-
movie-review-tender-love-story-ode-lovely-city/

This is one of those movies where stalking is portrayed as a legitimate way to try to win a girl's heart. The approach is to appear occasionally, put on a penitent expression, and hope that she will pity him and fall for him. The film also depicts a female character with no agency, swayed effortlessly like lallang in the wind, by her parents and the men in her life, without ever making a sound. This role suits Andrea Jeremiah perfectly as her debut in a Malayalam movie, portraying a naïve Catholic girl from a conservative family. 

The feminists among us would cringe that such a story is even allowed to be made, as it may steer society in that direction, since we, descendants of primates, follow the adage 'monkey see, monkey do'! Look around. People come in all forms, sizes, and ways of life. Increasingly, some among us believe that certain people should be just seen and not heard. They are also regressive in their thinking, claiming that all world problems are caused by women, the weaker sex and the ones who carry half the credibility of their male counterparts. Witnesses only carry half the weight. They are given second priority in the distribution of wealth and educational opportunities. And this trend is seen across societies. 

What fascinated me about this movie is the location. Shot in the remote and less developed areas of Kerala, in Kochi and Vichy, regions 'discovered' by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. These areas are also adjacent to the most familiar tourist spots, the backwaters of Kerala. The cinematography is simply stunning, and viewers would not mind the slow storytelling because of the visual gratification on offer. 

It is a story of love at first sight when Muslim taxi driver Rasool spots Anna, a saree shop assistant. She takes the ferry to work every day. Our hero believed the best way to win her over was to stalk her, to follow her to work. It worked. The problem mainly arose from Anna's family. They wanted Rasool to convert to Christianity, which Rasool refused. 

It swings like a yo-yo. Anna's family decide to marry her off to a random widower. In a scene almost reminiscent of the final scene from 'The Graduate', Rasool makes a dash to pull Anna away from a pre-wedding counselling course at a church. 

More trouble ensues, complicating matters further. As the ultimate solution for all life's crises, in the Indian movie style, there must be a death. 

Another crowd-pleaser in the film is the music. The songs resemble Sufi music with poetic lines about love, death, and divine forces, infused with Arabic words. It is refreshing to enjoy these Sufi melodies accompanied by electric guitars and drums.

 

The movie performed well at the box office and was nominated for many awards, winning a few on the technical side. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The tale of a superstar that was not!

Kaantha (Tamil, 2025)

Director: Selvamani Selvaraj

https://www.myvue.com/film/kaantha-tamil

The film marketed itself as a fictionalised account of the life of the first Tamil cinema superstar, MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKTB). However, when I watched it, I realised it had nothing to do with MKTB, his downfall, the crime, or the tragedy that befallen him. 

Just to clarify, MKTB was the first Tamil megastar at a Beatles level. In the conservative Indian society of the time, women would gape and faint at his first appearance in a film. During the curtain raiser of a particular film, he is said to have winked at the camera, causing a row of enamoured young women to faint. One of the qualities many prospective brides listed was for the groom to have long hair and a cropped MKTB-style cut. One of his films, 'Haridas' (1944), was screened for over three years, spanning three Deepavalis and filling the cinema to capacity. It holds the record for the second-longest-running Tamil film after Chandramukhi (2005), at 784 vs 890 days respectively.

As MKTB was riding high, he, along with NS Krishnan and Sriramulu Naidu, a renowned director, was charged with the murder of a notorious tabloid owner, Lakshmikanthan, in 1944. Lakshmikanthan specialised in publishing sleazy half-truths about movie stars, and many enemies sought his downfall. The trio faced trial in India, and Naidu was acquitted. MKTB and NSK appealed to the Privy Council in London, which is equivalent to the present-day Supreme Court of India, and were acquitted in 1947.

 

The multiple trials drained most of MKTB's finances. To add insult to injury, he was ostracised as a criminal, even after the courts cleared him. His popularity plummeted. Even his singing performances were shunned. The public felt that he was too tainted to sing the divine songs, and his music was fit for Goddess Sarasvathi. He died a broken man at 49 due to complications of diabetes.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245145/

On the other hand, Kaantha's story, undoubtedly set during the golden days of Tamil cinema, depicts the ego clashes between a popular actor and his mentor, the director who introduced him to the screen. Caught in the middle is a new actress, brought in by the director to complete his long-overdue project. She is torn between following the director's instructions and her growing feelings for the main actor, who is, however, married. The actress is shot dead, the police move in, and the rest of the story revolves around discovering who the killer is.

The film is quite enjoyable, nonetheless. One should not, however, ask absurd questions like what a 1970s transistor radio is doing in the set of a 1940s period drama. For the record, the first transistor was invented in late 1947 at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. The first transistor radio was released in 1954.

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The superficial veneer!

Paradise (Malayalam; 2024)
Director: Prasanna Vithanage

https://www.filmibeat.com/malayalam/movies/paradise.html

This is one of those movies that keeps viewers in a loop, wondering about the film's trajectory and guessing the message it is trying to convey. A tale of a loving young yuppie Malayalee couple celebrating their fifth anniversary in Sri Lanka, just as Sri Lankans muster the will to protest against widespread price hikes, is refreshing. Like most tourists, they indulge in a certain amount of poverty porn as they go on a peeking at the countryside during their Ramayana tour. Listening to the tour guide narrate the local folklore about what happened where and when, they cannot help but sneer at his explanation. As smart alecs often do, these IT professionals mock his outdated, condescending explanations of what transpired during the events surrounding Ravana's abduction of Sita. 

Their arrogance, particularly the husband's, becomes evident in the way he answers his phone during the tour and in his dealings with the guest house staff. 

The real story begins when a group of robbers break into their room and runs away with their laptop and mobile phones. The police are seen dragging their feet amid the ongoing citizen unrest, with no sign of their devices. The climax occurs when the relatives of a suspect, who dies after police brutality, arrive to seek vengeance. As the relatives throw stones and shranels, the police and tourists defend themselves. In the chaos, the tourist's husband is shot in the head by the wife, possibly deliberately — who can say?

Then everything falls into place. All the earlier ramblings about different points of view and women blaming when something goes wrong make sense now.

In the Sri Lankan version of the Ramayana, Ravana never died but remains in a slumber, waiting to spring forth when Sri Lanka needs help. Many versions of the Ramayana exist, but the one attributed to Valmiki is regarded as the authentic account. There is even a non-violent version in the Jain Ramayana. In some variations, Sita is not the demure maiden in distress waiting for rescue but a fighter herself. It all depends on who is telling the story. The hunt story would be incomplete without the lion's account.

After the robbery, the husband begins blaming his wife for possibly leaving the window open, which gave the robbers an opportunity to enter. That initiates a rift in their relationship. A few minor issues here and there cause them to drift apart to the point that the wife starts to despise her husband. That could have led her to shoot him. Sometimes, doing the right thing can push someone towards the wrong end. Under extreme pressure, the superficial veneer that protects a bond can shatter just like that.

(P.S. Thanks, JM, for the recommendation.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Cycling and Empowerment!

Audax Kiara Bay Pink Ride 9.0 (2026)
Audax Randonneur Malaysia 100km.

As I turned at a traffic light, I was waved down by a group of fellow cyclists. From their accent, I could tell they were from East Malaysia.

"Is this the 100-km route?" one of them asked as I stopped.

"Yes, this is," I replied. "No worries. I've downloaded the GPS on my Garmin. 

Follow me."

They seemed relieved.

"Thank you. The organisers have not put up any markers to follow!"

We carried on with our journey. As I kept pedalling, my mind went into overdrive. I told myself, "These people do not know the essence of the Audax races..."

Cycling came into the mainstream in continental Europe in the late 19th century. Before the bicycle became widespread, people had to either walk or travel by horse, either in carriages or on horseback. As riding cycles became easier, more people, including women, took up cycling. Women found it easier to move around, eliminating the need for a man to prepare the horses for the ride. Women discovered newfound freedom to socialise among themselves, work, exchange knowledge, and discuss politics. The machines proved invaluable during the suffragette movement that secured women the right to vote. Women on bicycles famously went from house to house to spread political messages and distribute pamphlets.

Soon, men started cycling after realising it was an easy way to impress their sweetheart. Ladies' fashion also evolved, aligning with modern trends and abandoning restrictive styles. Corsets with petticoats were replaced by knee-length knickers and divided skirts. This is similar to how Indian girls today opt for salwar-kameez as their everyday outfit instead of sarees, as their grandmothers did, for better comfort and versatility.

Bicycles have been described as the one thing that contributed more to the emancipation of women than anything else in the world. Society did not take women's cycling lightly. The medical fraternity described cycling as potentially damaging to female reproductive organs. Cycling was viewed as unfeminine and a moral corruptor. The female cyclist was considered a troublemaker. Women were not allowed to participate in cycling races because it was believed they lacked the endurance, strength, and resilience to finish. In 1931, women were allowed in the time-limited category for the first time at the Paris-Brest-Paris Audax Randonneuring. 

From the outset, randonneuring was never about competing or reaching the podium. It was about endurance and teamwork. In earlier days, teams were given the route. Riders were expected to use a map or their navigational skills to reach point B intact as a team. Therefore, the organisers intentionally left out directions for this very reason. Now, with GPS, one can simply download the route to their bike navigation device and ride solo.

Women and cycling in the late 20th century shifted from empowerment to urbanisation and activism, driven by safer infrastructure and ecological awareness. Women's cycling also became an Olympic sport in 1984. Women have proven their endurance capabilities. Any exclusion clauses are cultural, not physiological.

https://britishonlinearchives.com/posts/category/articles/
509/from-the-archive-cycling-to-equality

For almost a decade, the Audax franchise in Malaysia has been organising long-distance cycling events for amateur cyclists. This time, one of the newest members of our weekend warriors' group wanted to get his hands dirty in one such an event, especially after hearing that the rest of us had completed a 200 km event two years earlier.

As with their previous events, ladies could attend for free, whereas male participants had to pay. In other words, the men were sponsoring the ladies. It must be a paradoxical business strategy to encourage greater male participation, since more men would be attracted by the free entry for female cyclists.

The race began promptly at 5am, cloaked in darkness. Cycling along the narrow roads from Kepong, we made our way to the Ulu Yam area, renowned for its notorious climb, which was the steepest part of the 100km ride. By the time we reached the top, we were already a fifth of the way up, and it was still dark. As we coasted down into Ulu Yam town, famous for its popular kopi tiams, it was too early to stop for a cuppa. Passing through Batang Kali, a town long in the news for the indiscriminate gunning down of Malayan citizens by the British Armed Forces in 1948, daylight was gradually breaking, and gliding through the misty country roads was an experience money cannot buy.  

Pedalling along the monotonously straight roads towards Bukit Beruntung made me realise the excellent network of highways that Malaysia has, or rather, the ones the British initiated before Merdeka, and we have the wisdom to upgrade every now and then. It also dawned upon me that Selangor is actually a large state. We were to do a 100km route, and that only covered half the state!

After Bukit Beruntung and Rawang, it was down past the old North-South Highway, which I had not used for ages. I was surprised by how wide it was and how it had been expanded. The road passed the park named after the High Commissioner of Malaya, who legalised the placement of ordinary citizens in concentration camps (in today's terms) and 'winning their hearts and minds' in the name of psychological warfare against the Communists in 1948, Gerald Templer.

By around 10am, five hours after starting, we reached the starting point, where we were treated to ice cream and a cold Milo drink. The finisher's medal made it all worthwhile. 

 

P.S. Audax Randonneuring is a popular, non-competitive, long-distance cycling sport in which participants ride fixed routes (usually 200km or more) within specific time limits.

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