Kerala Cafe

I finished watching Ranjith's experiment, Kerala Café the other day. Ten different short stories by ten different directors combined to form a single movie. The experiment has been done, of course, in other languages, including in Bollywood (Dus Kahaniyaan). However, in the barren wasteland of creativity that Malayalam cinema has become since the turn of the century, Ranjith is one maker who keeps trying to revolutionize the industry, almost as a one man army out to repair the damage.

The movie has various stories from 10 directors, some established and some new. The opening is a story of NRI angst and memories, in a story fittingly called Nostalgia. Though this is not among the best, it does in a way capture NRI attitudes with respect to Kerala, and Dileep does well portraying a character with shades of gray.

After this, we see Prithviraj in all his effortless dashing best, talking about Jesus, Frankenstein and Mangalassery Neelakantan and about his 'bitch'. As only he can do these days, he pulls it off, in what turns out to be a touching story of a gathering of people from different walks of life, who bear common witness to a tragedy which affected them all. Called 'Island Express', this stars Jayasurya and Rahman as well and is one of my favorites from the collection.

The next was a story on adultery by Shaji Kailas with Suresh Gopi. It's a relief to know that Shaji hasn't totally lost it. Another decent effort to add to. After that is Uday Ananthan's Mrityunjayam, which has Fahd Fazil in a new avatar as compared to his last outing a few years back in his dad's venture. A horror movie, it does manage to send a chill or two down your spine, but still not one of the best here. Despite that, Fahd definitely does look much more assured now.

The next story is Anjali Menon's Happy Journey. This one beautifully captures the mind of a middle class Keralite male(Jagathy) who, on a night journey in a bus, tries to get flirty and touchy with a young co passenger next to him. What follows is a brilliant game of oneupmanship between them, which keeps the viewer guessing. I do hope that Anjali's Manjadikuru gets a release in Kerala. If this short feature is anything to go by, her full length movie must be great. After this, there are a couple of nice efforts including one on the effects of recession (brilliantly acted by Siddique and Shweta Menon) and another by Shyamprasad. Good to know he can do the light hearted ventures too.

However, one of the best here is Anwar Rasheed's Bridge. A brilliantly metaphorical and hauntingly sad tale about a son who tries to lose his mother, much the same way as a dad tries to lose the stray cat his son had brought home. The story talks of themes of helplessness, desolation and love and is beautifully acted (mainly Salim Kumar). Amazingly, this is done by Anwar Rasheed, the same guy who did those mindless potboilers with Mammooty and Mohanlal before this. I sure hope he continues on this path rather than go back to those.

PuramKazhchakal, starring Sreenivasan and Mammooty, is the last one, and another fine one. Sreenivasan is a traveler on a bus thinking of his past, when suddenly a man in a hurry gets on the bus. Throughout the journey he pesters the driver and gets ridiculed also, while trying to get the bus to move fast. The ending of this is touching and speaks a lot of how we may not realize why someone does what he does. Mamooty is shorn of all his star power here and does brilliantly.

Seeing these 10 minute stories, I couldn't help wondering… If these guys can do so well with short stories, why the heck can't they start replicating this onto their longer counterparts?

Three days after watching Kerala Cafe, I am still reeling under the impact of Anwar Rasheed's "Bridge". Very little to say about it - this is cinema at its finest - technical choices perfectly complimenting the emotional story of the characters. A simple tale told with great power. Haven't seen a film like this in years.

If the other films in the series even touched the calibre of "Bridge", it would have been even more delicious - but that is probably too much to ask for in the state that Malayalam cinema is in today.

There are pluses and minuses. But the overall impact of Kerala Cafe is quite unforgettable. The film is presented in an interesting format - at least for Malayalam film-viewers. 10 short films - about 10 minutes each. If you don't like one, you quickly move on to the next. One could walk out picking the best and worst after these 2 hours - more preferable than feeling entirely upset after a full 2 and a half hours.

As would happen in such a viewing, it is the impact of the last few films that stays with you. The film that comes immediately after "Bridge", Revathy's "Makal"(Daughter) is set amongst Nagercoil's Tamil migrants. It is made with conviction, the cinematography and sound design delicately treading the characters' emotional journeys. Ultimately though, the screenplay is simplistic and predictable. I am glad this milieu was included in this series, though - an anthology about Kerala wouldn't be complete without a reference to Nagercoil or Palakkad. Right after that, the last film in the series, Laljose's "Puramkazhchyakal" (Passing Views) hits upon an ordinary situation that any commuter in Kerala would relate to. What had been significant about the 80s' middle-stream Malayalam film were the truthful characterizations. Writing real characters, steering clear of stereotypes, Laljose's film sets itself up as a wistful comedy of sorts, and ends up as a touching insight into a seemingly ordinary situation. The film is not without its flaws – the point of view shifts from Sreenivasan's character to Mamooty's irate co-passenger quite suddenly. Sreenivasan's flashback scenes are unnecessary and the film leaves you a little unsatisfied.

For many of us, some of these films might be predictable. But the short film format can be rather forgiving. As soon as you begin to notice a flaw, the film is already over.

Anjali Menon's "Happy Journey" takes place in a similar situation - this time, a bus journey to Kozhikode brings a creepy gentleman in his 50s (Jagathy) and a young woman (Nithya Menon) together. The film, which relies almost entirely on a smart, intriguing screenplay to deliver, does end up making you smile. Nithya Menon stands up quite impressively to Jagathy's mature performance. Of late, he has been tested and he has been delivering superbly (Passenger, Pazhassi Raja). One only wishes he'd be cast in off-cliché roles more often. Anjali Menon's direction is taut even if the screenplay falters - expect to see some very good work from this young director.

Early in the first half, a surprise - my other personal favourite -Shaji Kailas' "Lalitham Hiranmayam" (broadly, The Story of Two Women). Although helped by a first-class performance from Jyothirmayee, I was quite shocked by this particular director's restraint and his attempt to make an almost entirely visual film. Trust me, I had no idea that this film was made by Shaji Kailas – the director of films like "Commissioner", "Mafia", "Thalasthanam" (Capital City) and "FIR". Although the premise is hackneyed, the shot-taking, sound design and overall style is compelling. Among the films in the first half, this one remained with me the most. Both "Bridge" and "Lalitham Hiranmayam" are aiming for craft. Malayalam films, including most of the good films from the eighties (barring Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Shaji N Karun,et al) looked to a theatrical style - these films seem to be opening out to a more audio-visual language.

Amongst the others, 3 films of note were B.Unnikrishnan's "Aviramam" (Endless), with a fine performance by Shweta Menon, Shankar Ramakrishnan's "Island Express" and Shyamaprasad's quirky "Off-Season". While "Aviramam" succeeds in a pulling-at-the-heart-strings approach, with its very real characters and subject, "Off-season" has an offbeat, albeit derivative treatment. For me, the story itself fell short, but still a worthy fit in this package. Shankar Ramakrishnan's "Island Express" begins with Prithviraj's voice-over. But Prithvi fans like Him and His Voice, so there. The film revisits a real-life train tragedy, an ensemble cast across different spaces and locations come together to the site of the accident. Some very cool shot-taking, decent performances and an elephant thrown into the mix, keep you going. I definitely expect this director to come up with some more entertainingly-told tales - we need more like you.

The most lacklustre of the Kerala Cafe films, "Nostalgia" is the first in this series - it has the smell of present-day Malayalam cinema – loads of dialog and over-the-top story-telling - the less said about them, the better. Uday Ananthan's "Mrityunjayam" (Victory Over Death) was even more mediocre - half-baked, a tad shallow and ending up looking amateurish. To be truthful, both these films were actually what I expected to see when I walked in.

To have ended up with a film like 'Bridge' is a real pleasure. And yes, the director, Anwar Rasheed has been around for a while. His earlier work does not reflect the sensitivity and sublime vision with which this film has been made. Clearly, we must forgive him. This is a true cinematic achievement.

It truly is the best movie I have seen in 2009 in Malayalam. It truly shows we still have quality artists in Malayalam. Excellent story telling, script, movie making and everything. I still cant get them out of my mind. Bridge, Makal, Nostalgia, Puramkazhchakal were extra-ordinary story telling. Island express is also worth mentioning.

All ten stories put together is an excellent choice, and reflection of the diversity one come across, as we move around in real life. Nostalgia has hit the right cords of a typical expat - beautiful, Bridge was very disturbing but excellent story telling, so was Makal, the end was absolutely stunning, even though one was kind expecting such a turn it still raced your adrenaline, and emotions.

Its a true mind stirrer !!! That was much more than one would expect from directors like Shaji Kilas, who I usually despair. Hope More comes out of kerala, Directors like these are an Asset whom I thought didn't exist after Barathan, lohithadas, padmarajan etc.

The acting of whole cast is top-notch. The script, background score, cinematography and above all, brilliant direction from remarkable directors, make this a phenomenal flick.

Wow, wow, wow!!!

I'm sorry to myself that I discovered this 2009 film only in 2022. This is one of the most underrated films ever. Anwar Rasheed gave a cinematic experience that I'd not expected from him. The horror element in Mrityunjayam didn't work for me. Many brilliant performances and directions across the anthology.

Ranking the ten segments below (my pov): #1: Bridge #2: Happy Journey #3: Makal #4: Island Express #5: Puramkazhchakal #6: Aviramam #7: Lalitham Hiranmayam #8: Off Season #9: Nostalgia #10: Mrityunjayam.