Watching Malyalam Movies:Vadakkunokkiyantram

Vadakkunokkiyantram

I got into a frenzy of watching the Malyalam movies. Friends around me have been seeing me go through this phase, thinking everyday that it will pass. But I am still there, deep in it. This has also become a good subject for discussion on various topics such as theme, actors, directors, cinematographer, stories and many other thoughts.

Thanks to the new way of watching television, everything is stored, so I don’t need to finish films in a go. Paucity of time is always there, so watching it in episodes, helps me. It also allows me to think about the movie when I am not watching it and going back to a few parts, which intrigues me and which I would want to visit again.

The latest in the series that I am still watching is Vadakkunokkiyantram. A friend of mine asked me if I understand the social set up. And this was the start of a string of thoughts and discussions.

Coming from a village in Bihar and having lived in both my grandparents village for quite sometime, the social milieu which I get to see in this movie is not very different, or I can safely say that it’s very similar. The nonchalance with which people approach marriage is how I have seen marriages of all my cousins, who were married off to the match, arranged by the family. It was always a simple affair away from the pomp and splendour. It was important for the family and the people around, participated in the happiness. It was a way of bringing people together for sometime. Various ceremonies were attended by relatives and acquaintances but they were not made into a big deal. It was a part of life, going for a function for someone’s wedding ceremonies. Everything was discussed, the illness of elders in family, the daughter’s in law or pregnancy, the death of someone’s relative, the mundan of someone’s kid, the job of a new boy, the competitions competed and amidst all these, the ceremony was also attended to. Just wear a better saree, a little better than everyday and reach; nothing else. No gifts to be brought, and no expectation to be harboured. The maximum was a glass of water, a cup of tea, occasionally biscuits, betel leaf and betel nuts, elaichi (green cardamom) and lawang (cloves). I being a girl, had the freedom to be among women. Most of the time, during these functions, I was not allowed to sit among men or boys,whom I did not know, unless and until, my Nanaji was present there. I could see the daughters in law huddled together and talking about their families. The complicated relationships of being sisters and co-sisters were maintained as per the demand of the occasions and place. Participation was a simple affair. No one thought about jewellery and clothes. There was no concept of coordination among attires. Most of the men wore dhoti and kurta on special occasions, or dhoti and shirt. The material of the kurta would change from cotton to khadi to silk as per the time and place and relationships. Footwear was worn to take off before entering the house, so there was no question of having too many of them, maximum 2-3 pairs.

I could really understand when in the movie Vadakkunokkiyantram, the mother asks the son who had just been married to pay the tent person, because that was the practical part. They had folded their tents and they were leaving. The job was done and payment was to be made. No matter how important the bride Shobha was for the groom Dineshan, the tent people needed their payment, and someone had to do it. The house had to be cleaned the next day, so Shobha had to share the house work. The wedding bed still needed the mosquito nets along with the flowers. The mosquito nets to be stretched and put together in a manner that it does not allow even a single mosquito to enter and the net to be attached on top of the bed that it is a perfect fit without being wobbly and off-centred, is an art and I take pride in being one of those people who put it well. So, I really sympathized when the net along with the flowers fell down; it was just not put well.

Coming back to the theme of the movie, the story line is taut and kept relevant at all times throughout the movie. There is taut editing, keeping the focus on the obsession Dineshan has towards Shobha. Each and every person has done justice to the part played by them. Sreenivasan as Dineshan is very convincing. The dialogues are also kept to the point. There are lot of places where the story line can be felt very close to our heart. All of us have been paranoid about some issue at some point of time. It's just a thin line, which is there, between being sane and mad. Its important to keep that balance about our own handling of affairs. The reason of Dineshan’s bizarre thoughts have been put on being lonely as a kid. Once he starts seeing the reason as others, he is considered fit enough to get back to his earlier life. The institutionalisation is considered to be a brief pause and aberrations. But at the end, the hearing of the voices and him searching for the source of the voice, points to him still being away from the reality, still being in the same mental state. It is assumed that he is going back to his old thoughts and actions driven by them.

The fact that the movie was quite popular among masses also points to that paranoia, which exists among all of us. As a viewer, watching the movie almost 30 years after it was made, I still found it relevant. The context is still very much relatable. I really admired the way, a theme was taken and the story was woven around it. Both Sreenivasan as Dineshan and Parvathy as Shobha are very convincing and I felt connected to both of them through the entire film. The set up of Dineshan’s house, the mental hospital, the street is very well conceptualised and brought to life in an apt manner. Overall, a worthwhile watch.