Ramblings of a 20something girl

I recently watched the Malayalam movie ‘Unda’ and I absolutely loved it. Read on to find out why you should watch it too! Unda (transl. Bullet) is a 2019 Malayalam film directed by Khalid Rahman. Rahman's second film after his debut, "Anuraga Karikkin Vellam" (another movie I loved) is based on a real incident that occurred during the time of the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections when a police unit from Kerala led by Sub-inspector Manikandan C. P. (played by Mammootty), was sent to Bastar, a Maoist-affected area of Chhattisgarh, as part of election duty. The film stars Mammootty, Shine Tom Chacko, Dileesh Pothan, Rony David, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Omkar Das Manikpuri, and Arjun Ashokan among others with cameos from Asif Ali, Vinay Forrt. The police unit from Kerala initially appears nonchalant about the situation. However, one night the realization of their dwindling supply of bullets (unda) make them grasp the enormity of their task. Whether they manage to conduct the elections p...

If you'd asked my 11-year-old self this question, the answer would have been a resounding YES. October was filled with so many things.  As school students, I remember we would have had just finished with our half-yearly exams in September which meant there was no exam stress looming over us. October meant practices for our annual day play and sports day races. Exchange students would come to our school, giving us a chance to see boys (since we were in an all-girls school).We’d spend free hours in the art room painting diyas, enjoy extra-long practices for Dussehra and Diwali assemblies, and look forward to the week-long Diwali holidays, complete with plenty of sweets. It was the month of perfect weather for lazing on the school grounds during recess, going out for picnics, and more. Before I knew it, October quickly became one of my favorite months of the year. A month, we all would look forward to.  As I write this, it's almost the end of October. Diwali will be celebrated at...

This weekend I watched Vaazha. Read on to find out my thoughts about this film.  Vaazha: Biopic of a Billion Boys Vaazha- Biopic of a Billion Boys (2024) ' Vaazha ’ literally means a banana plant in Malayalam. Metaphorically, it refers to unfruitful or good-for-nothing children. Its most popular usage is in a Malayalam adage, one which most people would have heard in their childhood from their parents:  "N inneyokke undaakkunna nerathu oru 'vaazha' vechirunnenkil oru kolayenkilum kittiyene." Translation- "Instead of creating you, I should have spent that time to plant a banana sapling, so that I could have at least gotten a bunch of bananas (I could sell and get money from)" . Vaazha, a coming-of-age dramedy directed by Anand Menen (also known for Gauthamante Radham), is about the lives of five boys.  The movie showcases the father-son relationships that these five boys have with their fathers.  The five boys - Ajo Thomas, Moosa, Vishnu Radhakrishnan, Ab...

Firstly, I know it's July 2024, and I'm terribly late with my list of 2023 movies. But it's not like you all were waiting for this list :p. So now that it's here, read on :) 2023 was a great year for movies (2024 is already better, I cannot wait to write my 2024 list, hehe). The Malayalam film industry has taken the mantle up once again, but I have to say that Hindi films were pretty good too, if not better.  So, in no particular order, here are my favorite movies from 2023. 1 . Romancham For someone who does not like watching horror movies because they're very boring (and not because I'm a coward in real life okay?), and also because I have not seen a lot of good horror comedies (Stree, 2018 is an exception), Romancham came as a pleasant surprise and what I would call a brilliantly set-up horror comedy. Jithu Madhavan, in his directorial debut,  traces the real-life story of himself and his friends back when they used to live in Bangalore as young 20-year-olds....

There are a few movies that come along once in a while and really sweep you off your feet. "Laapata Ladies"  (2023) is one of them. An absolute gem directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan films, this movie is easily one of my favorites from this year. Heads up, there may be spoilers ahead! Set in 2001 in India, this story revolves around two girls (Ladies, if you will) who get caught in an accidental swap and embark on a journey of self discovery. The movie starts with Deepak and his wife, Phool who board a train to go to his family's house. Phool wears her traditional lehenga and covers herself with the veil, as married women are not supposed to show their faces to non- family members. The day they board the train is considered very auspicious; hence, it is crowded with other brides and grooms (all married on the auspicious day), going to their respective houses . At night, when they reach the station, Deepak in a hurry, takes Phool's hand and exits the trai...

Manithar unarndha kolla, Idhu manitha kaadhal alla, Adhaiyum thaandi punithamaanathu (For mere humans to understand, this is no mortal love! It’s beyond that.... pure and holy!) Manjummel Boys is the newest movie of the Malayalam film industry that itself has been riding high by its back-to-back hits with Bhramayugam and Premalu within the first two months of this year. Directed by Chidambaram Poduval, Manjummel Boys has been in the theatres, going strong weeks after its release.  Based on a real-life incident, the film follows the story of the Manjummel boys to their trip to Kodaikanal in 2006. Like any other gang of boys, these boys in their early 20s are having fun, out and about without a care in the world, waiting to have the time of their lives as they plan their tour to Kodaikanal. What seemed like a fun tour at the start becomes a matter of life and death for the Manjummel boys when the boys reach Guna Cave (formerly known as the Devil's Kitchen). Guna Cave was named a...