RIFLE RANGE BOY

Iratta(Twin, Malayalam; 2023) Written & Directed By: Rohit M G Krishnan Indian cinema's fascination with twins, particularly identical twins, goes way back to the late 1960s and 70s. Kollywood had MGR appear in many swashbuckling matinees featuring twins separated at birth by twist of fate, only to be reunited in adulthood by chance. Invariably, the twins would be different in mannerisms and characters, like day and night, but would be the spitting image of each other in appearance. These movies were mainly to boost MGR's political career as well as to spread Dravidian party ideologies. His films that involve twins' confusion include ' Enga Veetu Pillai ' (1965) and ' Maattukara Velan ' (1970). Not wanting to be left out in the race to stardom, Sivaji Ganesan took the challenge to act in double roles. He pushed his acting prowess to the limit by appearing in triple roles - ' Deiva Magan ' (1969), as a pair of twins, one looking normal and one sca...

Thalaikkoothal (Mercy Killing, Tamil, 2023) Director: Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan I grew up frequently hearing that Mr So-and-so died a 'good death'. I was often curious about what was defined as a 'good death'. In my naive eyes, all deaths were terrible, a tragedy. Everyone cried at a funeral. In time, I realised that a good death is one in which one dies in his sleep peacefully after leading a long, satisfying life fulfilling the purposes of his existence. The problem is that no one is given the choice of death he eventually gets. We still do not know what is in store for us anyway. This movie tells us the story of a filial son who would go to all lengths to care for his father, who is basically in a vegetative state. The doctors have told him point blank that there is nothing more the hospital can do. The father has to be given hospice care. Because the father needs so much attention, he does a less-paying job, provoking the ire of his young wife, who has to work as a ...

The Elephant Whisperers (Tamil/Jemmu Kurumba; 2023) Director:  Kartiki Gonsalves This is the utopia that the modern world is looking for. A world that is all lush green and man living in harmony with Nature. A world where animals are cared for and the forest is respected. Add Indian mysticism and simple living to that, and what do you get? An Oscar-winning documentary.  Kartiki Gonsalves, a filmmaker, went with her camera to record the daily activities of a tribal couple, Bomman and Bellie, who had been assigned to care for an elephant calf after his mother was killed by an electric fence. The forest department had given up hope on caring for an elephant calf as the outcome was not so promising.  Bellie had just lost her young daughter. As a divine calling, she thought nursing the baby elephant would give her some relief. She named the elephant Raghu. Later somebody gave them another orphaned elephant calf for them to care for.  Karthika Gonsalves spent a good five y...

Traditional Vietnamese stone carving at Ba Na Hill cable car station.   They led peaceful lives by their standards. They were ruled by little kingdoms with their own belief systems and mode of administration. There were little skirmishes here and there, but the subjects were contended, breaking their backs and building mammoth structures for their kings and the divine forces that protected them. They had a sense of belonging to the land that served them. In their own way, they developed their high culture for the present and the world after. Then came the foreign invaders. With their imposing figures, strange hues, smell, and conducts, they bulldozed their ideology. They handed us the book of love with the pretext of friendship and commerce. Whilst we closed our eyes in prayer, they took our land deeds unbeknownst to us, and we were stuck with their books. No more a godless society? They looked down at our living and called it uncultured. The French colonist proclaimed our land th...

This newspaper cutting has been making its rounds in many social media groups, especially amongst the senior section of our society. Understandably they embrace the silver hair stage of their lives with much trepidation. It is anybody’s guess what the future holds for each of us. We try, however, to patch up all possibilities and pave all roads for a smooth transition to the other side. As mischievous as it always is, Nature will inevitably come up with some loophole that we never expected and, thus, are ill-prepared. The generation before us, facing an uncertain future, seeing a world war and migrating for survival, saw education and wealth as a foolproof way to prosperity. Having hardly seen anyone pass their sixth decade of life, everything was done in a hurry. They needed to educate their kids, make a territory their legacy, and save for rainy days as they slowly rode into the sunset after having the pleasure of seeing their offsprings produce offspring. However, they should have c...

THE ROOST T here was once, many years ago, there was a spate when many of my relatives had given up on their motherland, turned their back on Malaysia and started looking around for greener pastures. I wondered how Mother Malaysia would feel to see one by one, her children, after years of nurturing them, after growing so big and strong, feel compelled to fly away from their roost. Like a proud mother seeing her kids having a mind of their own, she must be immersed in a bitter-sweet feeling . Like a flight of swallows, you came stocks and barrels, from Swatow, Coimbatore, Minangkabau, Looking for peace of mind,piece of pie, for that, you scaled the high seas and brine. You were hungry; I fed your soul, you had shivers; I showed you warmth. you were homeless; I gave you home. you were stateless; I was your hope. Under the yellow umbrella, and a piece of cloth, you had dignity, camaraderie, a history, a legacy, an emblem, an anthem. The colours to spill your crimson. Now that you have win...