What constitutes an Anjali Menon cinema? A schmaltzy, romance studded, thick little woolen blanket that envelops you slowly like a teddy bear and gives you this soothing paternal comfort that lasts long hours even after you have left the cinema.
Her films appears as a mother's touch on your forehead. This might seem like a crazy fan-boy fetish, but trust me, I've felt that much of love, care, warmth and affection through her films. The idyllic sub-urban worlds and happy-go-lucky characters in Manjadikkuru for instance. Or the paltry yet palpable exchanges in Usthad Hotel.
Makes no mistakes about it - There is a deep rooted cultural magic in her writings that I find most endearing among all modern directors in India.
Her debut “Manjadikkuru” was a definitive poem on the innocence and innate beauty of childhood, and the follow-up “Ustad Hotel” was a spicy tapestry that soaks you into this grandfather-grandson tale with able performances and a strong emotional threshold.
Her latest entitled “Bangalore Days” however, is perhaps the wildest, most profound script she has attempted thus far; a film that fits perfectly on the new wave cinematic pantheon of Malayalam with ease.
Menon attempts a rare blend of conventional meet modern romanticism in Bangalore Days, and the result is a summer knockout, that, for once, exceeds pre-release hypes.
This is a complete entertainer, nothing like we have ever seen before in Malayalam and, yet, completely familiar in the larger scheme of things - big fat Indian weddings, conundrums, cosmopolitan friendship, family bonding's, estrangement, love, lust, human comfort.
We have a generation of Johar cinema to flagship such soap-opera themes, but be warned – Bangalore Days dreams big! Bigger than any one of those, conventional, teary eyed, Johar-meet-Yash Ji, coffer made in the 1990's.
The trailers reminded me of Farhan Akthar’s seminal Dil Chatha Hain and Zoya Aktar’s exuberant “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” but, as always, not unless you see an Anjali Menon cinema, you haven’t seen an Anjali Menon cinema. No film of hers is never quite what it seems on paper or the trailers and this one also adheres to that tradition like a badge of honor.
My first reaction to this film however, was a mix-bag of feelings. I felt I saw a wonderfully packaged entertainment at Inox, Bangalore with a rather promising script that derailed its way in the second half.
But a second thought enveloped within me soon after. In strange ways, this film reminds me of a time and place that I lived in Bangalore, not-so-long ago. To really catch the real essence of Bangalore Days, you got to live in Bangalore my dear friend or at least in some jaded cosmopolitan city.
The derailment in the second half is what constitutes the heart of the movie and epitomizes how the cosmopolitan demography live in the 21st century – closed doors, private lives and deeply buried traumas and emotional swings up their sleeves. Characters and personalities who wears designer tags and sunglasses but down beneath, emerge as simpletons with a weeping heart, in search of a soul mate.
This has been Anjaly Menon’s great tribute to new wave Malayalam cinema - to bring back the closed door, Satyajit Ray kind of Kaleidoscopic cinema with Manjadikkuru and again reinforce it with Bangalore Days. Although there are partying and fidgeting around too this time around with Nivin, Dulquer and Nazriya reeling at their pomp in the city; but when the main characters sink their teeth into the plot, you really get to see how profound and ambitious Menon’s film really is!
The plot revolves around five characters. Arjun aka Aju played by Dulquer Salman, Kuttan played by Nivin Pauly and Divya played by Nazriya Nazim are three cousins from a Kerala joint family. For years they lived with dreams of making it big in Bangalore one-day, but when Divya gets married to “Das” played by Fahad Fazil, the so-so childhood plans sidetracks its way into a grown-up husband-wife soap opera, that embeds sheer profundity and genuine feelings.
Das? He is your obnoxious, workaholic guy with a perturbed present and a disturbed past and Fahad takes a leaf out of his own 24 North Katham to make him look as obnoxious and original as he could. Its a performance that left me spellbound in this film, may be because he embodies multiple facets of black and white in Das and literally makes you drool over the guy, after having hated him to begin with.
Grow Up! He yells to Divya. And after such gross pummeling, our leading lady chooses to escapade and fidget around in Bangalore and make the most out of the little pleasures of life, with our homesick IT guy, Kuttan and the aspiring yet struggling Bike Mechanic, Aju. They don’t know what Das’s problem is and they might not have, if it had not been for some. Well, plot twists.
Its a conflict of personalities, this film and shows how and why things can get lost in translation in a crowded city like Bangalore. I’m not going to give away the ending as such but be assured of a knockout when it comes at you slowly and steadily.
Dulquer, Nivin, Nazriya they all get their moment in the jovial first half, which works as more of a set-up for the things to follow in second half. There are plenty of inventive humor in it, especially one scene featuring our trio, where a common taboo "Cigarette Smoking" gets erased once and for all.
Menon is your go-to person to erase taboo's be it - Manglish, Cigarette smoking or may be even arranged marriage - that are so over-hyped and popular in the south. She don't just make movies and go away, she leaves templates and memories and teaches us a lesson through such provocative expletives.
In Samir Tahir’s unmistakable photography, Bangalore pops out like a planetarium full of glittering stars and eye-popping visuals. Right from the outskirts of Majestic Street to the nooks and corners of the “Vayu Vajra” volvo, he has etched Bangalore with a poet’s eye vision and immaculate precision!
And add to that, Gopi Sunder's foot-tapping music with the chart-busting "Thudakkam Mangalyam." your perfect imagining of a lazy Sunday afternoon's Icing On The Cake!
I just want to go on and on and on and prolong this review as much as I can. Sorry for the laborious effort, but the truth is, the film was thrice as good as the review is. Guess what? My thumbs are shooting upwards, and so will be yours when you eventually see it on DVD. 5 out of 5! Must Watch.
