T D Dasan Std VI B

I finally got to watch T D Dasan Std VI B and needless to say I was amazed at this refreshing movie from a first-time director Mohan Raghavan. The story is simple - Dasan, a schoolboy from a village in Palakkad, Kerala chances up on the address of his father who had walked out on his mother and writes a letter to him.  The letter lands up in the hands of a girl Ammu who lives with her father in Bangalore, and presumably she writes back disguising herself as Dasan's father. The rest of the movie is about the incidents that follow. There are also references to the anti-Cola struggle of Dasan's village for their right to drinking water and the good thing is that these scenes never look contrived. Myth, longing for affection, social cause - everything seem to flow seamlessly in this film. Add to that brilliant performances from the entire cast including the two children  - thankfully there are no mushy dialogues for them to mouth artificially. I must say Swetha Menon is completely appealing even in a totally deglamorized role as Dasan's mother struggling to make the ends meet. The background score and music by Sreevalsan J. Menon is simply beautiful and he gets it right again after My Mother's Laptop (do listen to the songs in case you've missed it, especially Jalashayyayil by Kalyani Menon). It's a pity that such a gem of a movie went unnoticed by the audience for it's lack of superstars and loud publicity gimmicks. Give it a watch, and you won't be disappointed. Two words - must watch.

Elsamma Enna Aankutty

If there were a mediocrity principle in cinema, it would without any doubt apply to Lal Jose's films (except for Puramkazhchakal). There is nothing special about his movies. Yet I must admit he comes up winning because of appealingly packaging the subject. This time, he's picked up the tried and tested formula of a young girl suffering hardships for the sake of her family of siblings and a single mother. Have we not seen it already - think Manju Warrier in Ee puzhayum Kadannu, Kanmadam, and Meera Jasmine in Kasthuriman, Vinodayathra, Swapnakoodu? But, Lal Jose has handled the subject minus over the top emotions that we would associate with such a film. And he has a new face for the overburdened sacrificing elder sister in Ann Augustine. Ann essays the role of Elsamma - the local newspaper girl of BP City who doesn't mind taking on the local liquor baron (Vijayaraghavan) or the corrupt Panchayat member (Jagathy Sreekumar) - quite convincingly. Elsamma has a friend in milk vendor Unni (Kunchako Boban) who is in love with her. There are some genuinely funny moments in the first half where the director spends time establishing the lead characters. Things change for Elsamma with the arrival of city bred Aby (Indrajith) and friends. Aby is the grandson of Paappan (Nedumudi Venu) the neighbor and father-like figure for Elsamma.  The narrative lags a little in the second half but for some comic relief by Jagathy. However, Lal Jose has ensured that the audience wouldn't go teary-eyed after watching this one.
Ann is unrefined in her mannerisms as Elsamma and that works well here. Kunchako Boban comes up with a good performance and let's hope he continues to grow beyond the chocolate-boy lover image that he's been stuck with forever. But the pick of the lot would be Jagathy Sreekumar who excels in every shot he's on screen. The rest of the cast too go about their job effortlessly.
The two songs are definitely hummable. But the art direction for the second one left a lot to wish for. And the portrayal of city born young people as rebellious and spoilt is a tad clichéd and overdone. However flawed it may be, this Lal Jose film is definitely worth watching once.