“I feel it in my fingers,
I feel it in my toes,
Love is all around,
And so the feeling grows”.
Apart from this being a soundtrack from a popular 1994 film “Four Weddings and A Funeral”, these lines best describes the state of Malayalam cinema in the year 2015.
This year the Malayalam film industry was largely dominated by two films on love – Alphonse Putharen’s “Premam” and R S Vimal’s “Ennu Ninte Moideen”. Both films crossed 200 and 100 days at the theatres respectively, with people watching them over and over again.
While Premam was nothing short of a storm that took over the Malayali audience, Ennu Ninte Moideen touched the conscience of the audience, in part because it was based on real people.
Though both the films narrated tales of love, the energy that they imparted was completely different.
If Premam gave the youth the courage to get over their first love, Kanchanamala in Ennu Ninte Moideen lives long enough to prove that love never dies, the feeling stays, long after walking out of the theatre.
If Premam takes the audience through three phases dealing with three different kinds of relationships, Ennu Ninte Moideen takes the audience on a ride of early 60s-70s Kerala, in the backdrop of an inter-faith relationship to which the couple’s families objected.
Premam thrives in perfect settings of school and college background, while Ennu Ninte Moideen celebrates love in the times when unspoken was beautiful.
If Premam tells the story of George who finds love when he least expected it over a fancy red velvet cake at a fancy café, Kanchanamala’s life is testimony that love can also be the opposite.
Premam for instance, dominated the industry news long before it released in May. So much so, that there is even a name for it: thePremam effect.
From fan following to trend setting to being neck-deep in controversies, Premam has had it all. Even as the lead actor Nivin Pauly’s character turned into a star symbol over night, with the thick beard, dark shades and mundu being adopted by the Malayali youth, the film found itself at the receiving end of criticism too.
Ennu Ninte Moideen did have its fair share of controversies. But as they say, everything is well if it ends well. As 2015 is drawing to a close, love is still in the air.