Sense and Sensibility

For a long time, I used to take pride in the sense and sensibilities of Malayali viewers when it came to visual entertainment. Whether it was movies or serials, I felt that a Keralite won’t settle for anything but the best. Of course, one needs to understand that I began watching movies around early to mid-80s when the oldies of Malayalam filmdom like Prem Nazir, Madhu, etc. had gone into semi-retirement. In fact, we got to see them slowly taking up strong supporting roles in an age group corresponding to their actual age. The Malayali filmdom also had actors like Nedumudi Venu who were willing to take on roles which portrayed them as people much older than their actual age. It was almost like there would be no compromise in making a good movie, regardless of who acted in them.

It was in the late 80s that the when television made an active presence in Kerala, and while the earlier serials were a touch amateurish, they always made sense. What was even more impressive was that they all got over when the viewers wanted it to go on for a little while longer. Different storylines were explored; while all weren’t successful, there was a definite attempt towards betterment. This was set to change with the advent of Sthree (Woman). This was Malayalam television’s first mega serial, and it was the first glimpse of how meaningless Malayalam entertainment industry would become. The serial attracted huge audiences, captured the hearts especially of housewives, and managed to become a talking point everywhere. It also had a storyline which had women crying bucketfuls in every episode, men who felt it right to abuse women, and basically played the clichés to the galleries. I watched a couple of episodes of this and couldn’t believe that the people who had enjoyed watching a “Thaniyaavarthanam” or “Amrutham Gamayah” or “Amaram” or “Oru Minnaaminunginte Nurunguvattam” could be enjoying such a senseless drama. I never realized how bad it was going to get.

Nowadays, Malayalam serials move so slowly that I manage to follow the storyline by seeing episodes 4-5 months apart. While I refuse to watch them while in Bangalore, I am at times forced to see them when I am visiting my parents in Kerala. The serials help us follow the storyline using a few techniques. The most commonly followed one is a very predictable storyline which helps us see what will happen 100 episodes from now. The other technique is the usage of slow motion and repetition – each episode has 5 minutes’ worth of slow motion and at least 3 scenes which use repetition, like a guy slapping a girl or a villain or vamp turning, which would be accompanied by the use of drums. Also, while there was just one Sthree during its days, now we have a host of serials with the same storyline across the various Malayalam channels. Of course, there is a bit more variety nowadays. We have the usual sob stories from evening 7 till about 8:30, religious stuff from 8:30 till about 10:30, and ghost stories from 10:30 till about 11 or 11:30. Of course, reality shows too make an appearance in the 8:30-10:30 slot. It takes one channel to discover what reality show to telecast and others to follow suit with their own versions. How very creative!!!

If one thought this lack of brains were only in serials, you are sorely mistaken. Malayalam movies are increasingly becoming easier to watch, because there’s hardly anything worth seeing in them. Lead actors like Mammootty and Mohanlal refuse to acknowledge their age and cavort around with heroines who are younger than their daughters. While that itself is quite hard to digest, it is this growth of a super hero in Malayalam movies, who is capable of super-human feats which is quite hard to digest. There was a time when I used to make fun of other south Indian films for these things, but now they are freely available in Malayalam movies. Action sequences defy logic while comedy scenes manage to bring bile to my throat. Heroines, who played a pivotal role earlier, have become just another piece of beautiful furniture seen.

I just wonder nowadays whether I’ll ever see a movie in which the hero is a normal guy, not living in a palatial bungalow or driving around an SUV, having usual problems and deal with them in a realistic manner. Will I ever see movies or serials which will have strong storylines and powerful performances? Will I see the old men of Malayalam film industry, who claim to be superstars, stop giving excuses that they are doing what their fans ask them to and start acting their age? The last time I saw a Malayalam movie in a theater was 5 months ago (the one before that was 6 years prior to that) and I could sit through it only because I was reasonably drunk. This movie was 20-20 and was the biggest hit of the year. Just proves that it is indeed a long road ahead.