The Old Man and The Sea. Review on Moonnaam Pakkam Movie

Palolem Beach- Goa. I have never been to that beach, but the picture uploaded on the review reminded me of a movie I once saw- Moonnam Pakkam- of a sea like that. It is an old (1988) Mallu movie, from one of the finest moviemakers in Malluland- Padmarajan, who sadly is no more in the land of the living.. But if you have seen that movie, folks, you will not forget it in a hurry, if indeed you will at all.

The movie is about life, about loving, about hope and despair.Thampi (Thilakan) is an old patriarch who leads a peaceful, if solitary life in his ancestral house by the sea side. A retired lawyer, he has for companions his faithful karyasthan (valet) Kavala (Jagathi), a Doc neighbour/friend and his daughter Bhadra (Keerthi). One day there is great excitement and happiness and anticipation with the advent of a letter, which says that Thampi's grandson is coming home for the holidays, with 3 friends of his. It sets the doting grandfather off into nostalgia mode, and he remembers the days past, when he and his little grandson had gambolled on the sands and whiled away some happy times.

After his son's death, the grandson moved, but kept in touch with his grandpa through yearly B'day cards.That small boy kid has now finished his MBBS and is coming back for his vacations.The son Bhasi (Jayaram) lands up and brings with him, 3 friends, mischief, vibrancy and the effervescence of youth to the house and its aging inmates. It also brings colour to the cheeks of the Doc's daughter, for they have been childhood sweethearts. Life is a happy swirl of fun and laughter and togetherness and picnicking- for the grandfather- grandson, the four friends and the boy-girl. The photography is breathtaking, with seaside locales shot to perfect blue-greens and browns and whites.

The strong bond between the old man and his grandson is beautifully brought out in nearly every frame in the first half of the movie. Thampi's cup of happiness is full to the brim, when tragedy strikes...The four friends go for an early morning swim, when they are swept out to sea. Finally three of them manage to get back to land, but the fourth- Bhasi is missing. The friends shout themselves hoarse for their missing friend. But to no avail. They spend the rest of the day sobbing on the beach itself, for who will tell the grand old man that his grandson who is dearer than life to him has been swept away to sea? Finally news of the mishap is out, and people gather, along with the police, for till the body is got, no one knows for sure if it was indeed an accident. Fisher lore has it that the sea will return its dead on the moonnam pakkam -the third day.

And so all of us in the theatre wait along with those on screen - with beating hearts and clammy hands and dread -for what the third day will bring to light. Thilakan's emotions are highlighted beautifully in this period, where in the midst of his grief, he tries to remain strong for the young friends, for whom this is the first brush with tragedy. His love for the boy refuses to let him believe that he could be dead. Hope clings strongly to his breast that somehow, his kochumon, his Pachu, would come back. Every morning sees him keeping vigil at the seaside, awake long before any of the others.

Padmarajan brings out the guilt of the friends that preys on their conscience- at not being able to bring back Bhasi, at letting down their host, at their remaining alive even.. along with a niggling fear of what the third day will bring. Everybody seems waiting for reasons of their own- the grandfather for his beloved grandson, Bhadra for her lover, the friends for their friend, and also for proof of their innocence (or are they innocent?- the third day will tell), the coastal folk for some juicy news which will last them for some days at least, the police for a closure to the case, and you wait too, hoping that Bhasi will come back smiling his infectious smile..

Anybody who loves the sea will be simply spellbound by the beauty of the sea in these shots. The sea is by turns alluring, majestic, awe inspiring, mysterious and dangerous with treacherous depths to it. You feel the sea beckoning to you as the camera pans over the surface and the horizon, then as it starts to go deeper, you start feeling uncomfortable, which feeling intensifies as the water rises over the camera lens..the sense of relief as the camera surfaces is almost as you have been there drowning and have come up... And yet, you still love the beauty of the sea at the end of it all.

There is a morbidity and fatality to the second half which sharply offsets the fun and joy of the first half, for ultimately, we are all waiting for a dead body. For it is impossible for anyone to survive so long on the high seas. There have been no glad tidings from the neighbouring coasts, nor have the search boats yielded any results. But yet, the grandfather's faith and hope and anticipation of the third morn keeps you also hoping against hope- for good news.

There is one scene where one of the friends sees a dark blob in the water, and he shouts and races over, everybody else also rushes to the edge of the waves, but it is only some flotsam...Finally the third day dawns, and brings with it the body of Bhasi. The sea has indeed yielded up its dead. Finally the wait is over. But the movie goes on to show the next few days as the relatives who have gathered leave, as the friends leave, as the old man puts up a board, saying- Dangerous to swim in these waters..

At the end of it all, the old man takes the pot holding the ashes of his dead grandson to immerse in the sea, as part of the last rites for the dead. He walks into the depths of the sea with Bhasi's ashes held safely in his old hands and- doesn't look back in his journey ahead..The movie ends with the message- 'yet another moonnam pakkam.'The movie is full of laughs and gaiety in the first half. The photography is simply breathtaking and music by Ilaiyaraja is lilting. G. Venugopal won the State Award for the song Unarumee gaanam. Jayaram plays a lovable grandson and his cheerful insouciance makes his loss dear to the viewer too.

Jagathy is his usual inimitable self and provides comic relief in the early scenes. Asokan and Rehman have also done well in the roles of guilt/grief stricken friends. But the best part of the movie is Thilakan. He brings to life the emotions of a grandfather. His eyes and face emote so well the various feelings of an old man awaiting, reunited with and then losing his beloved grandson. No one else could have done justice to the role except him.It is a movie to be watched, folks.

And the movie will bring a lump to your throats every time you see it. No long teary scenes, no weeping and shouting and long drawn out dialogues. Inspite of all that it is a hard hitting movie, focussing and playing on the emotions of the actors and the viewers. . Undisputably, the movie is one of the gems of Malludom.