neela thamara

This is a bit late in the day... but I loved this movie. I really heart MT Vasudevan Nair, on whose story the movie is based. MT's stories always leave you with this unsatisfied feeling, but then you realise that life is like that - never quite perfect, no?

I thought Archana Kavi and Reema Kallingal did a wonderful job. But the star of the movie is the story. The older Kunji malu comes back to Haridas' house to take care of his mother and seems to genuinely care for the old lady. But she seems to hold something against him, refusing Haridas's widow's offer to hand over Haridas' last letter which was addressed to her. I sensed a lot of hurt in that. Still nursing the wounds of that heart break? The story unfolds in the background of a myth about a neelathamara aka blue lotus which blooms where the prayers addressed to the deity of a local temple are answered.

Kerala hummed and sang along with Anuraga Vilochananayi for a good six months after the movie was released. Lovely song and surprise of surprises is that the female playback singer cannot even speak Malayalam. Also lovely is the title song Neelathamare

Lal Jose, the director of the movie has a blog with several thoughtful entries. Here is hoping he posts more regularly.