A free-wheeling script
“Be careful. Don’t go out,” his father’s words still ring in Siju Vijayan’s ears. It was 1997 and Siju had just joined Maharaja’s College for a B.Sc. degree in Botany.
Siju’s father had a reason for advising his son to be cautious. Siju has been suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that causes weakening of muscles, and could fall down anytime while walking. Still, Siju paid little heed to his father’s words. There was something special about “going to cinema” and he could hardly resist it. He went out for a movie the first day he joined the hostel, he says.
Everyone loves a good despot April 3, 2021, 3:34 PM IST
History has shown that every society wishes to be ruled by an iron-willed leader during an emergency.
Kerala cannot claim to be an exception. The pre-poll surveys and the general political situation in the state seem to hint at a preference for a strongman (no prizes for guessing who!).
Kerala has been facing a series of crises natural calamities and catastrophes from Ockhi to Nipah and the floods to Covid-19 – and this ‘emergency’ situation, it would seem, has led to Kerala’s distinct and much-touted socio-political identity being temporarily relegated to the backburner.
More soundbyte than substance
As electioneering enters the last lap it is becoming clear that, like the past couple of editions, this campaign will also end up skirting meaningful debates on fundamental issues facing Kerala, though the state is passing through one of the most acute crises since its formation in November 1956.
The ruckus, slogans and fiery arguments on TV channels and at public places are centred on peripheral issues and scams like gold smuggling, the Enforcement Directorate, ‘counter-cases’ and `clandestine deals’ between parties and groups etc. The myopia of the political leadership, the casual attitude of people and the complicity of the media may have contributed to the perpetuation of such a shallow campaign, intellectuals like K P Kannan point out.
Supporting role
These stars unabashedly make ageing an art, always in love with themselves and indulging in set-pieces that send their fans into a tizzy. Nobody exhibits this phenomenon better than Mammootty. In his first pre-release presser of a film in a year, Mammootty, with a designer mask and flowy strands, talks about his beard and how he lets it grow. He says how he stepped out of his house after 275 days and had tea.
He makes people laugh, he smiles over his own wisecracks. He disses attempts at roiling his irritable temper with clipped, snappy monosyllables. He is enabled by the wisdom and liberty his age affords. He takes off his mask to show he is unflustered, even when he tackles politics. “My politics is what I do”, he says.
Well-read, articulate and often witty, they can quote Marx, Derrida and feminist theory with equal ease in mixed company, over alcohol and mood music. They attend theatre, film and literary fests, art shows, protests against.