Quirky one..

Barton Fink (1991)
Written, Directed by Coen Brothers

Another quirky unconventional movie which escapes any genre by the Coen brothers. It is supposed to a satire of some kind which unfortunately passed me by. My research shows that it a swipe at the politicians, Nazi, showbiz and the religious institutions. Some of the symbolisms and metaphors it refers to remain left in viewers' discretion.

Barton Fink is a successful playwright who just feels unhappy with life who yearns to hit it big in Hollywood. He gets a stint to write a screenplay in LA. The story, in essence, is about his misadventure getting things written on paper.

Fink, stuck in a strange hotel with strange staff and next door neighbour, an insurance agent who is actually a serial killer. Having writer's block, he wonders around meeting other successful screenwriters. He befriends one's secretary and hold behold she is stabbed.

Barton's neighbour (John Goodman) helps him out and puts him back on his train of thought.

Not your usual fare...

There is a reason...

Just the other day, a close friend of mine who is deeply entrenched in the business of generating money and planning their best returns, a product of capitalism which harped on man's primitive desire of greed was engaged in a chat with me. Some how, the topic of the stranded refugees off the coast of Kedah came to be discussed. Something he said struck a cord with me.

Let us say you have acquired a boon by rescuing a genie in the bottle and you have the ability to distribute all of the world's wealth equally to every single citizen of the world to the last cent. After that, with the wave of the wand, the genie transports you to another solar system and you return to planet Earth, say 50 years later.

What you would see is hardly surprising! The economic distribution would have corrected itself. The rich would have re-aquired their lost wealth and be in the upper echelon of the society, once again. The initiated would gamble, take chances, cut corners, think out the box, initiate and innovate to enrich himself. The contented on the other hand, would be happy to be spoon fed, self indulging and fretting on their hopelessness. The middle class would somehow justify their miss at the big break by pacifying themselves that suffering and moderation on Earth would earn them brownie points in their after-life or karma cycle.

Anyway, the rich cannot stay without the poor to flaunt and the smart would not be so without the numskull to be used as a yardstick!

It is about how you earn them!

Public Enemy (1931)

The first time I watched James Cagney was when RTM screened 1942 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. It narrated the biography of George M. Cohen, an American musical composer who in his later part of his life remained unknown. I vividly remember a scene where he stood incognito amongst the crowd looking at the band march by to the ecstatic youngsters singing to the tune. Little did the crowd know who was standing among them - the composer of the song, until he tells them his life story! That was another movie...

Well, this 1931 action movie is one of the early action movies which talks about the glamorous life of gangland and the downside too. From the outset, the director had warned viewers that the film does not glamorise hoodlums. Even though proclaiming to be of the contrary, the story was supposedly based on lifetimes of many baddies of that era.

James Cagney

The story starts in 1909 with the tale of two young boys grow up doing pranks and soon graduating to bigger crimes in life. Being in the Prohibition Era and all, they get drafted into smuggling booze and enjoying the high life. Everything has a price and it costs dearly. In between comes a family, a doting mother and a righteous brother who follows the virtuous road.

An interesting trivia that developed during the course of filming is that they director decided to switch the main two lead actors. The child actors who represent them were not switched, so you have the young actors with mannerisms and physique of the other at childhood. Another trivia is the famous grapefruit scene. It is supposed to mimic a gangster who threw an omelette at his girlfriend at breakfast table. In this film, the scene was unrehearsed and gave the actress a shock. It was meant to be that way!

The Grapefruit scene!

A memorable line from the flick, when two brothers are arguing on the money that Tom (the gangster brother, James Cagney) that he gives their mother. Mike, the elder one is a war veteran of WW1, is sceptical of the origin of Tom's wealth which is not from politics as he claimed but from bootleg. His success is from beer and blood. Tom, ridiculing his soldier brother says, "Your hands ain't so clean. You killed and liked it. You didn't get them medals for holding hands with them Germans."

Possessed by inner demons!

The Babadook (2014)

I do not particularly fancy horror flicks. The usual senseless gore, blood and scream does not turn me on. I have to admit, however, that one of the best horror film that scared the hell of me was 'Blair Witch Project' (1999). I decided this one a watch as it was said to a cerebral one. I did not know Australians also ventured into horror movies!

Even though at first glance, it just looks like another effort to scare the wits of its viewers with poor lightings and high decibel screams. Look deeper and you realise that it screams of symbolism. Symbolism of the stresses of life, of loss, hardship of sailing the sea of life despite of its drags. Like they say, the show has to go on!

Amelia, a widow with a young boy of 6, leads a mundane lonely life with a few friends with an equally depressing job of nurse in a geriatric ward. The son, Samuel, has a vivid imagination and imaginary friend, can sometimes be destructive and a spoilt brat. He talks about a character from a pop-up story book - The Babadook. (Don't know who would approve such a scary book for children bed time reading?)

Slowly, Babadook manifests as a poltergeist like character who terrorises the occupants of the house, i.e Amelia and Samuel. Amelia becomes possessed, unkempt, uncaring of her soon and even at one instance resorted to kill her offspring.

The real story is that Amelia's husband died enroute to hospital as he was sending a labouring Amelia to hospital. Her grief all the while was suppressed but as bringing up Samuel single handedly proved too difficult, she plunged into the dark shadows of depression and hatred towards what she perceived as the cause of loss of her place of support and personal gratification. She kept going in and out of being 'possessed', denoting that she was fighting the disease. At the end of the day, she fought her 'inner demons' and locked it in the cellar and looked forward to brighter days with her son. (Symbolically signifying successfully fighting the depressive illness). Looks like the filmmakers are thinking of a sequel to this one!

Robin Hood of Clam River forest!

Kaatu Perumal, Folk Hero of Sungai Siput.
Author: Dave Anthony (2015)


They say many great scriptures of yesteryear started off in the oral tradition. The holy scriptures were written many years after it was told and passed on from ear to ear. If we can accept that, why not the many folklores that are bountiful in our country, especially about common people who never made it to the bibliography of our history books as they were dictated by victors and the powers that be.

This was the basis of this small book. It is a novice attempt to bring alive a supposedly 'Robin Hood' type of an anti-hero around the vicinity of Sungai Siput and a few other northern towns in Perak.
The book comprise interviews with many from the geriatric population and their dependants who were children when all of his activities were allegedly going on. As in many oral narrations after a time lapse, the results proved sometimes contradictory and altered depending from which side of the fence they are looking from, the rubber tapper perspective or the the police.

Perumal is said to be a dashing athletic person who was a state footballer and a keen stage actor who would don female attire to give a good impression of female characters in the estate stage dramas. He had early links with the communist party and would fight for the welfare of the estate rubber tappers whenever they were ill-treated by the estate administration, mandors or clerks.


In one of this encounters, he become a fugitive after he killed a man. In many ambushes, Perumal managed to escape being caught by cross dressing as a female. Of course, word went around that he actually possessed magical powers as he was apparently seen at two places at one time and how he mysteriously escaped every time!

Legend has it that Perumal was shot by his own comrades when he wanted to surrender en-bloc with his comrades to the authorities when Malaya attained independence. Amnesty was offered by the Government and he wanted to give up with his band of 'freedom fighters'. Die hard commies were not too keen on civilian life and they gunned him down.

There are many conflicting accounts on Perumal's activities during the Emergency. The official version is that he was the head of CPM of Perak to recruit Malayan Indians. One witness reiterated that Perumal was not killed but seen in Lenggong, Perak as late as 1994!

We have to remember that Perumal had by then attained a demi-god status and everyone wanted to be like him.

The older generation have many stories of 'he says' and 'she says'. There must a figment of truth in their narrations. They did not have mobile devices to pixelise their every action like now. Oral tradition was the only way then. And many parts of actual event gets altered or lost in translation.

Comic, horror, PSA all in one!

Muni 2 - Kanchana (முனி-2 - காஞ்சனா, Tamil 2011)
Written, Produced, Directed, Starred by Raghava Lawrence

In order to be a commercial success, a Tamil movie has to cater for all layers of the viewers. Hence, that is why this movie, which is supposed to be in the genre of horror comedy (like Ghostbusters), had to infuse many synchronised ala-Michael Jackson Thriller type of dances and community message like the LGBT issue to ensure promising returns of investments.

Raghava Lawrence, who started off as a dancer like Prabhu Deva, has come a long way just like him. Here, he appears as a swashbuckling youngster who beats up ruffian in the daytime but turns into a fur-ball at night, a curl up scaredy cat at night who sleeps with his mother and is afraid to pee alone! His pairing with Kovai Sarala is a great selling point. In fact, Kovai Sarala singlehandedly leaves the audience in stitches with her many antics as Raghava inadvertently brings in the spirit of the Kanchana, the ghost into the house!

Raghava and mother lives with Raghava's brother, wife and two kids in a big bungalow with Raghava's love interest (Raghava's brother's sister in law, Priya [Laxmi Rai]) coming in to spice up the screen for a holiday. It sets a scene for Raghava to showcase his slapstick comedy and dance moves in synchronised dream scenes dance manoeuvres .

Muscle man Sarathkumar
(ex Mr Madras) in transgender role

The second part of the film sees Raghava possessed by Kanchana the ghost and starts showing effeminate demure, in dressing and conduct. It takes a full form of possession when the family summons ways to exorcise the ghost - Ragahava acts as a lady, a child and a North Indian Muslim man, much like Vikram in 'Anniyan'.

The successful exorcism was done by mystic Islamic priest who traps the spirit of Kanchana into a corner and later into an urn. Then it was the ghost's turn to tell of her sad story. In comes Sarath Kumar, the Tamil film muscle man, in flashback in full glory of a woman in saree, bosomy blouse, long locks, vermilion pottu and all as a transgender beating up a guy for disturbing her transgender college going adopted kid! Kanchana relates her childhood of being ostracised by her family for her gay tendencies, her adoption by a kind Muslim man and his retarded son - who were the ghost characters that Raghava was possessed. Kanchana whose birth name was Kartikeyan grows up to adopt another transgender individual who goes to medical school. Kanchana was cheated of her land and murdered together with her family and she was back for revenge. Expectedly, the hero rights the wrong. Sweet revenge is plotted and equilibrium is maintained - a piece of cake.

Kovai Sarala

The commercial success of the film which has gone into franchise is evident from the various remakes and dubbing efforts into other languages. You know you had hit it big when there is talk of casting Shahrukh Khan in a Hindi remake! The sequel of this film is out now - 2015.

Interesting to see various cultures in India blend seamlessly into the story. The secularism of the nation is clear when you see a Hindu with all trademarks of his religion entering a mosque respecting the local culture seeking help from the holy men without much hullabaloo. Even though exorcism of evil spirit is taboo is certain sects of Islam, it is acceptable to those in the Sufi sect.

This write up would not do justice if the doyen of comedienne of Tamil comedy, after the great era of Manorama is not mentioned. Kovai Sarala, who made her presence known in the 90s plays a pivotal role in inducing laughter as Raghava's mother. Her mere voice and her antics as a over-protective mother surely brightened up this rather unusual approach in film making and leave audience rolling in stitches.

Leadership by example?

You do not know how much an impact you leave on the ones around you whether you like it or not. Most of the effect is unintentional and mostly occurs by passive diffusion. You also learn so much by looking at people around you just as much as you do to them! Others are teachers to you just as much as you are a teacher to them.

For all those unsavoury situations that my siblings found themselves in, I was admonished for not setting a good example, reminding of the obscure  things that I had done unwittingly or otherwise when I decided to let my hair down. I thought it was unfair for I had to be on my toes at all times for the younger ones to emulate. It was not fair to me for being first born. I did not ask to be born first. I needed space and freedom to express. I wondered why I was not 'praised' for all the exemplary things I did but that was a no brainer, I was expected to set a good example for the younger ones to follow anyway. In return, apparently, I was given certain privileges that I never saw coming!


In working life, I thought that I was just an average Joe who did his job without leaving much of an impact to my subordinates. I thought they would like to forget their working experience with me, carrying on with lives, forgetting it just as another bad phase of experience that came with the job.
Surprise, surprise. A chance meeting with not one but many of my down lines proved otherwise. Seeing many of them deciding to plunge into the same line of work as me, quoting me to be their role model was a pleasant eye opener! The words of my mother in my childhood came sprawling down. You do not realise how much you influence the people around you.

A few years ago, a speaker speaking of the then materialistic direction that the society was heading without improving the spiritualistic and humanistic development of its members, he had this say. From time immemorial, human beings have been looking for role models and heroes to follow. The usual figure that they tend to look up is their leader. They dress, behave, talk, look and try to follow the leader's footsteps. This probably how the mythological tales of Ramayana came about. There must have been a royal family revered by its citizens. People must have been awed by their dizzying display of power and fortune. Over the generations every bit of their actions, inactions, conduct, judgement, response in situations have been amplified, sugar coated, exaggerated and been used as a yardstick of how man should lead his life.