 |
| Courtesy: youtube.com |
A short story written by a friend, set me smiling, taking me back to those days of childhood bliss. April 18! The very name set me on a pleasant walk down memory lane...
It was a weekday afternoon in Dubai. I was probably 6 or 7 years of age, back then. The lad, clad in the tight shirt and bell bottom pants whom we children called cassette uncle, was at the doorstep handing out a cassette with great confidence.
"Chechy, it is Balendran Menon's", he advertised to mummy.
The look on his face told me instantly that mummy would surely rent out that one. I still remember mummy's face brighten up on reading the title written out bold across the white sticker on the tape.
"Oh! It's April 18. Heard of this one. Is it good?", asked Amma maintaining her poise.
"It's a hit!", he exclaimed.
Money out. Cassette in. Business done. Cassette uncle gone. Door shut.
Our VCR was still new and playing cassettes at home was a novel idea. An excited me asked, "Shall we watch it Amma?"
The request was declined. My mother retired for her afternoon nap after having declared that we would watch it during dinner. That verdict meant that the movie should be a good one. The movies tagged as good ones would be previewed only with the whole family in sitting. The ones that weren't a sure shot had chances of going through a preview of sorts. The pretext that flew in the air at such instances were that, the brief screening was to understand the cast and crew, etc.
However, that afternoon I decided to take a chance. Having sneaked into the bedroom to make sure my mother was asleep, I loaded the VCR with the cassette. For the benefit of the new gen, cassettes had to be re-winded so that you could watch a flick from the beginning. But since childhood adventures had time constraints, I simply opted to play it. I saw a vertical white sari and a guy (I presumed he would be the hero) sitting on the floor tugging at it, saying, "Ninte oru samayam". Since he didn't look familiar, my adventurous spirit fizzed out. The cassette went back into its cover and I probably opted for the afternoon nap.
Over tea, mummy shot out the good news about the movie we got lucky with. I still don't know how she did it with such calm. "Oh then we'll say our prayers earlier than the usual time and watch it during dinner.", declared daddy. Now it got exciting again. Something to watch during dinner time - something other than the boring 10 'o' clock news.
Prayer time - The cassette was set to rewind while we prayed. I could hardly pray. My ears were tuned, waiting for the feeble 'tak' sound that the machine would give out indicating that the cassette was done rewinding. And in my opinion, there was an ocean of prayers yet to be chanted. And then, daddy had to shower - such a long way to go...
Finally, after what seemed to me like an eternity, it happened! The play button was given command...
Daddy and mummy giggled and laughed. They commented. They agreed. They disagreed. And me? I mimicked them - I didn't understand much whatever it was that was happening on screen. I liked a dance though and swore I'd perform that on stage once, with the same costume. The movie should have been a good one because mummy and daddy seemed to like it. A few hours later, an uncle and aunty hugged on screen and something got written across their face. The movie had ended - thank God I understood that much! "Very nice movie.", said mummy; and daddy nodded in agreement. I also agreed, completely in awe of my parents - God! They know everything. They know a good movie from a bad one. Now that they said it, I was sure that the one we just saw was a good one.
I don't remember what happened of cassette uncle and I don't know how this cassette got stranded at home. But, I do know that I got habitual of seeing this movie time and again. Gradually, I realized that it was indeed a feel good movie. I learned that it wasn't Balendran Menon's movie, but Balachandran Menon's movie. I learned the dance and the song. I knew all the dialogues by heart - scene by scene. I even wished I was playing the role of Shobana. Never saw the movie after I left Dubai in 1993.
Watched the movie on YouTube again this week. Here I was watching this flick 30 years later, giving out each and every one of those dialogues - scene by scene - as and when they appeared on screen. The diction, to my surprise, was strikingly in sync with that of the actors. Loved the experience!
Today, I understand that the movie is indeed a good one. Simple story line and neat performances.
April 18 narrates the tale of Sub Inspector Ravikumar Pillai, played by Balachandran Menon himself. The film balances out the personal and professional life of this policeman. It's all simple and realistic in this one - no strain.
This movie debuted a 13 and half year old girl to play the role of the SI's wife - Shobana. And what an impressive performance it was for a 13 year old! Another actor worth mentioning is Unni Mary as Rajamma. I admit that I haven't seen all of the movies she's acted in, but, from the few that I have seen I think this was a solid performance - a typical Christian house wife of the times. Like I said before, each and every actor has done justice to their role. Whether it was Adoor Bhasi, Venu Nagavalli, Bharath Gopi, Adoor Bhavani, Sukumari or even the junior artists - I wouldn't imagine anybody else in the roles they played.
By now, I am hoping you would have understood that the movie is a personal favorite for no phenomenal reason. But as I write this post, my mind does ponder on whether I want to mark any part of the movie as a favorite scene...
As a child I didn't understand anything more than an uncle addressing his wife as kutta... kutto... and I really liked the feel of it.
As a teenager, I thought I understood all of it. The term navamukulangal, often came to my mind like a flash card and set me giggling whenever I attempted writing out a speech, back in those days. I refused to believe that it was Unni Mary who played Rajamma because I didn't like Unni Mary but I liked Rajamma. I completely agreed when she tells her husband, "Penungalkkum oru vela vendayo?" I loved the scenes where Ravikumar teases his wife, reprimands a child at the police station and felt wow when he resigns from his duties. Whenever the air conditioner was switched on, I even tried sniffing the air to see if it does have a stink.
As an adult, I understand that I hardly understood anything in my teens. The final court scene stole my heart. When Ravikumar says, "Separate us.", I felt touched, because I knew what he meant and the explanation he gives didn't just justify my thoughts but was extremely heartfelt.
The beauty of April 18 is that it doesn't show a flawless marriage at any point and yet we vouch for them as a couple.
Priyappetta Shri. Balachandran Menon-nu Oru Thuranna Kathu - one of the short stories by Mr.Mahesh Ravi in his recent collection Ethir Disha was what set all these memories rolling. Thank you Mahesh Ravi for bringing in so much of nostalgia...
Also Read:
Posts
