The simplicity of the story mixed with heaviness of the subject, the candid acting combined with immaculate dialogues, the perfection in screenplay pooled with a remarkable direction and many other elements give the audience a breezy experience in the romantic Malayalam flicks.
In the recent past, there has been a roll of young faces in all the Malayalam romantic movies. They bring freshness to the plot and not to forget the ‘chemistry’, which comes natural to them. The recent one, ‘Premam’ has a simple plot with romance as an integral part. The movie is watchable by all age groups, and gives a virtual attachment towards the protagonist. George David’s (Nivin Pauly) life story has been narrated in a most artistic format. You travel-along the life with the characters he sees and there’s an inconspicuous connect you get to have with George. Packed in a closed–space (theatre) watching nothing but the screens, the audience get what the director wants to tell us. The take away as I recall is life is short, ride along. The movie is simple to understand and predictable, but, we neither walkaway nor have an I-have-seen-this-before-what’s-new feeling. The movie keeps the audience hooked-up to every dialogue that the characters have to deliver.
Take the movie 100 Days of Love; it is a stylish film, and the novelty of the film keeps the audience engaged until the last frame. How about Bangalore Days, the movie has minimal characters with almost predictable plot; nonetheless the amicable bonding that the movie delivers is splendid. Here, you feel sad when there is a misunderstanding with two characters, you feel upset when there’s a fight, and you feel elated when there’s a happy occasion. They take it out from you, the wave of emotions you go through in the 2 hours is just amazing.
What is the one thing that these movies offer? Is it the treatment or the story or the director’s touch of filming it frame-by-frame?
What’s the secret ingredient?
Narrative script, make-up less yet beautiful artists, delivery of dialogues, screen space, importance of ‘role(s)’ for the movie, need for specifics, close-up shots of artists that captures reactions, and the relationship circle of a girl-next-door (heroine) or a guy-next-door (hero); and I could just pile-on the beauty of the Malayalam romantic flicks. The movies are in-trend with the generation and gets an A for the packaging itself. You would definitely feel the homework by the entire cast-and-crew.
The secret ingredient, I feel is the passion with which these movies are made.
When you see the story of these movies, it is mostly inspired from the life of a common man or an instance of eventuality that we come across in our lives. We could relate the occurrence with our circle of influence. If the genre’ is romance then they stick to it, the comedy, the action, the sentiments and every other emotions revolves around it. The sidelines are not given importance. And the scenes are presented with much care without losing its fragrance and essence. The impression of many images in our minds through various sequences makes us travel back and forth of our own experiences and gives a relishing and enjoyable narrative.
The natural elegance with which these movies are created is put together by the new range of directors and technicians. The impeccable record of high quality native literature that these movies provide is also appreciable in all aspects.
The Tamil film industry that is known for its technological advancements, talented artists, big production banners, excellent technicians, and the most world-class directors and screenplay writers in town also produces many illustrious romantic movies, nevertheless the charisma is something that is missing. That’s something we need to learn from the God’s own country. Mixture of talent, pinch of acting, handful of script writing, a tablespoon of flair and a dash of realism in romance will definitely create the magic!
