Home scenes

Watched two Malayalam movies last week - Kuruthi and #Home, (and Malik a few days earlier). While the former touches issue of latent fundamentalism and terrorism in Kerala through a home invasion plot, the latter is an endearing domestic scene - of three generations and the difference in the attitude of each to their parents and how technology and social media has changed relationships.

Kuruthi got a tad too long and boring, and the end is a cliffhanger on a suspension bridge - the younger generation of two communities bitten by hatred for the other on account of wrongs encounter each other on the bridge as they escape after endless conflicts. Will they bay for each other's blood again or make peace - this question the director has left to us. 

In the age of OTT movies, Kuruthi seems a tad too long. That Prithviraj comes as the Laiq makes the fundamentalist more acceptable and likeable though he is just too sinister and full of hate. Roshan Mathew is the devout Muslim caught between his faith and the extremist elements while Mamukoya, the good old comedian, is endearing as his father. Though in the end he seems to be sermonising, he packs some humour in them and makes the audience think. Srinda as the only female character in the movie packs a punch - the Hindu girl in love with her Muslim neighbour whose true emotions surface later. 

#Home is a beautiful depiction of life in modern times. Two comedians, Indrans and Manju, don the roles of the parents of two modern-day kids, one into script writing and the other into YouTube videos. Manju's teeth get a makeover, though not too grotesque. Indrans as Oliver Twist is a mild-mannered man whose true greatness is revealed towards the end, although that part looks a bit filmy like in Kadha Parayumbol. Vijay Babu who appears as the psychologist has produced another masterpiece with Rojin after Philip and the Monkey Pen.

And going through a vlogger's video after that about how his dad in his 50s would make him pluck each strand of white hair much to his irritation, I was reminded of my own habit of making Mira search for the random grey hair. On second thoughts, I think more than the worry about greying, it is the  proximity and kinship with the progeny that makes you do so.

Thanks to #Home for reminding us about the depth of relationships in the time of YouTube, Facebook and smartphones :)

#Home