Ramblings of a 20something girl

Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.  This quote from an essay by Oscar Wilde went through my mind when I saw an article in the newspaper (mentioned below) after watching the movie  Sthanarthi Sreekuttan.  . Sthanaarthi Sreekuttan is a Malayalam movie directed by Vinesh Viswanath in his debut, starring Aju Varghese, Saiju Kurup, Kannan Nayar, Anand Manmadhan, and Johny Antony, among others. The film follows the story of 7th-grade students at   K.R. Narayanan U.P. School in Kerala.  Sreekuttan (our hero), along with his best friends  Sharat, Anoop, and Anas, are the backbenchers of the class; t hey don't like to study (like every other kid), and would rather be out playing cricket or pulling pranks and inevitably getting into trouble. There is a constant struggle between this group and the good kids in the class, with whom they are always compared by the teachers. The most studious one, Ambadi, is their direct competition.  The main ...

It's July of 2025, and it's time for my annual review of movies I watched last year. The movies released last year were extremely interesting. No points for guessing which Indian film industry shone through last year ( hint: it's not the Hindi film industry :p) Honestly, there were so many good movies I watched last year, it took me a lot of effort to pick just a few for this list due to space constraints. Anyway, if you don't find your favorite movie here, don't fret. I might have watched it, or I will in 10 years :p  Now that it's here, read on!  Malayalam Of course, I will start with the Malayalam film industry (it's my bias, I know). The Malayalam film industry went through an absolute whirlwind last year, with its back-to-back record-breaking successes. Were there bad movies too? Oh, absolutely! But here's my list of movies that made me laugh, cry, and go through all sorts of emotions!  1. Premalu    I didn't like this film (JK!). It's a mo...

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...