A time when stalking was normal...

'96 (Tamil,  2018)

Director: C. Prem Kumar

I remember a time in the 1980s when many Tamil movies had a particular storyline. A boy would fancy a girl, but circumstances would not allow them to fall in love. Most of the time, it would be because of different social and economic statuses, or they could be from feuding families, akin to Romeo and Juliet's story.

The Family would come to know. They would put up blockades, but against all odds, the boy would persist. He would look at his beau from afar, her every move, and she would fall flat for him. She thinks he loves her so much that he finds nothing more worthwhile in life than looking at her 24/7 like a lunatic. In most modern societies, that is called stalking.

In 1983, it was perfectly normal for Sting to watch his gal's every breath and every move. In the 2000s, however, that would warrant a police report and a restraining order.

Somehow, in this 2018 Tamil nostalgic movie, the girl regrets that she missed all the stalkings. She would have married him if only she knew he was there in every important moment of her life, spying on her. How bizarre. I do not think it would work on any millennial or Gen Z anywhere in the world. 

Ram, a travel photographer, takes his students on a field trip. After finishing the trip, he makes an unscheduled stop at the town where he used to stay until the 10th standard. He meets up with the school guard, the same person who used to work 22 years previously. Ram gets the contact of one of his classmates and gets himself included in a private WhatsApp chatgroup. That leads to a reunion.

Everyone is happily married with kids except for Ram. He leads life with a dark cloud shadowing over him. He had soft spots for his classmate, Janu, in 10th Standard. Family financial problems caused Ram's family to move suddenly in the dark of night without bidding her farewell. The crux of the story is about the Ram-Janu love story and to continue from where they left off. The problem is that Janu is also married with a preteen child.

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

And they call it puppy love!

Melody (1971)
Director: Waris Hussein

I watched this movie just because the Bee Gees made its original soundtrack, and two of their hit singles graced it. The songs 'To Love Somebody' and 'First of May' seem appropriate to showcase puppy love, the main subject. It tells the story of a co-ed British school in which a young teenage boy falls in love with his schoolmate and wants to get married, not in the near future, but ASAP.

The story is told from the point of view of children. The child actors are the main stars, whilst the adults play mere supporting roles. The adults (i.e., parents and teachers) are painted as flawed, ugly, unimpressive, brash, boring, and disassociated from reality. The children are painted as full of life, mischievous, and imaginative in how they want to live their lives.

This is the exact reason why the lovebirds want to get married there and then, not when they are old and boring like the adults around them. Besides creating a whirlwind among the parents and teachers, the boy's best friend is unwilling to share his friendship with this girl. In. the vein of light comedy that the movie is, all the school kids get together in private to organise a mock wedding.

Well, the conservatives amongst us in this country would have acted exactly the same way as the school kids decided to do. Rather than doing all the sinful things their hormones make them do, these full-thinking adults have no qualms about child marriages. There is no question of exercising self-restraint or willpower. They would just let their animalistic instincts dictate their lives! All the modern sociological knowledge of the dangers of child marriages goes down the sewer. It happened centuries ago, and all was well, they justify.

To Love Somebody

The song First of May comes on annually, not for Labour Day, but to commemorate Bee Gees' trio. Three of four Brothers Gibb have since passed, but the remaining Gibb, Barry, has lost his mojo without his twin younger brothers. They had been belting hits after hits from the mid-60s to early 2000s.

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

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