Late Summer movies - Malayalam

I saw two movies this week - Vinodayatra & Mayavi. Vinodayatra is a story of Vinod finding his calling in life. It's a feel good family movie where the screenplay takes us into a families daily life without any fanfare and at a leisurely pace. Sathyan Anthikkad is a master director at weaving good family stories and though this movie is not his finest, it' s certainly a decent one with oodles of melodrama. Dilip is funny and so is Mukesh. Seetha, Meera Jasmine, Parvathy (the Kiran TV compere), Mamookoya, Innocent and a few others complete the cast. Screenplay this time is done by Sathyan Anthikkad himself. Ilaiyaraja's music is apt.

Mayavi is a humor loaded movie which doesn't offer any logic, I didn't expect that too. Mahi is a good guy who walks in and out of jail for various crimes he did not commit but owned up to for money. Inorder to get big money he accepts to own up to a murder that is to be committed so that he can save his best friend's brother's life by paying for the operation. How Mahi goes about the task unfolds in the story. There's deception at the highest level, there's jealousy and every Shakespearean vice in this movie. But what I am deliberately trying to understate is the fact that this movie has tons of laughs stuffed into it.

The first half races past you, the length is not felt because of the incredible humor by Mamooty and the entire cast. The second half meanders into the illogical to the absurd but who cares, you can still laugh. Overall, Shafi has directed a hot comedy screenplay penned by Rafi Mecartin and delivered the first superhit of the year. After the dissapointment that was "Big B", "Mayavi: was a refreshing change. Incidentally "Mayavi" released before "Big B" but took so long to release in Coimbatore.

Crossroads

"When you are standing at life's crossroads
When you're confused and weighed down with loads
When pain and strain, explode and sear right through you
Take the long hard road, take it O my friend
Journey ride along, don't let your patience bend
And at the end of the road
You will find the Lord
He'll be standing there and waiting with his arms open wide
He'll gather you in his side with a love that so bright
His love will soothe your tired mind and heal your weary body"

This song written by Daryll Atkinson best describes the state of mind I'm in these days. Thank God for the power of prayer and the gift of love, it'll take a lot of time and effort to sail through.

Seasonal vibrations

It is hot in Coimbatore, hot like I've never experienced in the past. I am known for covering myself under a sheet all round the year when asleep, this year I had to abandon that. Intermittent summer showers cool things down a bit but the afternoon heat is excruciating. The lull after the last race in Sepang and the race in Spain this weekend are heating things up too. Will McLaren continue their good run despite their car looking shaky at times (the blue haze from Lewis' car at every turn was scary)?

AR Rahman's "Sivaji" is another thing that is adding to the summer heat. This album is hot and shows what Rahman can do when he get's his own sweet time to work on a soundtrack. I hope the background score lives up to the demands of a Rajini movie. Waiting for this movie to release to see how it fares. Though 'Big B' was a dissappointment, it's music was the best to have come out in recent times. Alphons Joseph is the man behind the soundtrack which get's me to a pertinent question. Why is he not doing the background score for his movies? "Big B" is a case to point.

Haven't read anything in the past 2 months except weekly magazines and the daily newspaper. Call it laziness or not being able to allocate time for it. These days I sleep all day and then work all night. Catch up with some errands early in the morning before going back to sleep again. Heading toward to Madras this weekend and guess what? It's always fun to be with kids and the joy of being with Mia and Meeshma is unparalleled. Especially when you see them fighting for ownership over you, it's not to be encouraged but it's a nice feeling. I will drive them back to Coimbatore on Sunday and I hope the roads are better this time around.

On the back of my mind there's a thought to take a quick trip to Edapally and take part in St.George's feast this year, this is one of those random lightnings I keep getting so it may happen or simply may be dumped. "Roses in winter", "Destination Christ" - two albums Timmy brought back from the trip to Malayatoor released by the RexBand lives up to the expectations I had. The songs are simply fantastic and there's a particular song dedicated to the Late Pope John Paul II which moves me in ways I cannot describe. I am a fan of the late Holy Father and I cannot but submit myself to the power of the music and lyrics and experience his presence in my life. I would love to share the music with everyone on the internet but I don't want to encourage piracy, if anybody wants a demo track or something I'll put it up online. I'll also be glad to purchase and mail copies of this CD if anyone desires.