Those good old Malayalam movies...

 "Vidamaatte? Appo nee ividennu enne ingerundu enkeyum poka vida maatte? " Malayalis who haven't been living under a rock all these years would surely be familiar with this dialogue from the blockbuster psychological thriller movie Manichithrathazhu. What a movie and how easily it developed a cult following! Manichithrathazhu' is one of my all-time favourite Malayalam movies. Yesterday I made my son watch this movie for the first time. I say 'made' because he is not much interested in Malayalam movies. But after some time into the movie, he was truly engrossed. And yes, he watched till the end which is a miracle in itself! That is the magic of this movie! So what is the story about? The story revolves around the strange happenings in the mysterious mansion, Madampalli. When young couple Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) and Ganga (Shobhana) decide to stay at this mansion during their visit to Nakulan's native place, they are met with concerned advice and scary stories

  Whenever I hear of Varavelppu I think of my Uncle who is an NRI. It is his all-time favourite and I believe he has seen this movie atleast a million times! Varavelppu (= welcome) is a heart-rending Malayalam movie which saw the genius of three prominent people in Malayalam cinema- Sathyan Anthikadu who directed the movie excellently well, Srinivasan who penned this story and Mohanlal, who put forward one of his most memorable performances ever. Take a look at what this movie is all about. After seven long years Muralidharan (played by Mohanlal) returns to Kerala, India, his homeland. He is happy since he had been missing home so much. His two brothers and their families are eager to receive him. His sister-in-laws are so adoring that they compete against each other by making special meals and seeing to his every need. Everybody is happy that their dear Murali is home. Or so it seemed. Murali soon finds out their true colours the hard way. When he throws in the bomb that he would not

'നിൻ്റെ അച്ഛനാടാ പറയുന്നത് കത്തി താഴെ ഇടാൻ!'  There won't be many Malayalis who haven't heard this dialogue. While it is used with a humorous touch in trolls and whatnots, this dialogue was part of the most touching scenes in the movie Kireedam. The actors, Mohanlal and Thilakan had clearly given their 100% in this climax scene. Kireedam tells the story of a young man whose dreams are shattered because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sethumadhavan, affectionately called Sethu, is the eldest darling son of Achuthan Nair, played superbly by Thilakan, a police constable. Achuthan's greatest wish is to make Sethu a Sub Inspector of Police. Sethu, who loves his father very much, tries his best to live upto his expectations and bring his father's dreams to fruition. He is in love with his cousin, and everyone has given their consent for the marriage. So far so good. But then everything turns around as Achuthan is transferred to an obscure village