RIFLE RANGE BOY

Velayutham from Pudukkothai It looks like every Malaysian leader who claims to represent the Indian community in the country also wants to bend over backwards to represent Indian migrant workers. Ever since a migrant Indian worker who escaped his abusive employer in Kuala Lumpur to showcase his sufferings on a Tamil Nadu talk show, every leader here, the ruling as well as on the opposition seems to be jumping up and down like an excited kindergarten child wanting to have the last say on the issue. To summarise the point at hand, a 40 years old carpenter from Tamil Nadu came into Malaysia, through an agent, with a tourist visa to work. His agent's arrangement was that he would be placed to commensurate his carpentering experience and that his tourist visa would be converted to a working visa in time. Upon arrival, he found himself having his passport confiscated, sent to be enslaved in a banana-leaf restaurant from 5am to 11pm every day. His wages were withheld, exposed to verbal ab...

Aruvi (Tamil அருவி; 2017) This is a compelling sociopolitical drama which must have surely been written by a card-carrying member of the socialist/communist party. Who else would paint such a bleak picture of modern life and the self-defeating trappings that line every aspect of our lives? Human values take a back seat. A pre-set path is made for us to follow and feel contended. Any deviation from the norm is frowned upon. The whole purpose of life is to promote consumerism, be awed by materialism and to fatten the multinational conglomerates. T his is an absorbing saga of a young girl, Aruvi, who acquired HIV most unconventionally - at the roadside coconut vendor as she savoured a probably contaminated freshly cut coconut! Long story short - she falls seriously ill, is diagnosed, hurled abuses of promiscuity and is chased away by the previously loving family. She wanders around, living with friends and working menial jobs. At every corner, the men in her life misbehaved. They d...