Namma Bangalore days

Films that reverberate with the vibes of the new generation had started to feel lackluster, when fed with the same cliches. In Bollywood there had been a few Aamir Khan movies that actually helped awaken a generation, one of which had mentioned: 

'We have one leg in the past and one leg in the future … that's why we are peeing on the present'.

However the Mollywood audience had to be content with the stereotypes that mostly mostly backfired and never really inspired. With so many wonderful Mollywood classics of the eighties to boast of, the present generation had almost certainly accepted the peeing part as their fate. 

The new generation Mollywood gave few movies that had the audience refreshed as well as thinking. One such movie had a lady gracefully knitting a story about a grandfather-father-grandson relation with a message: 

'There is something called destiny sweetie, and no one can stop it'. 

Touche. And boy, the generation (both old and new) accepted the change with a big 'Yes'!

This time the lady is back with her new movie Bangalore Days, both yielding the pen and helming the ship to tell a story about the wonderful memories, while experiencing freedom away from home. 



Witnessing a culture unfold through the prism of Anjali Menon's Bangalore Days, was more than a pleasant outing. You must give it to the writer for exploiting a straightforward storyline and taking you for a rollicking three hour long ride.

The film explores the bonding of cousins, certain aspects of human nature such as the grass being always greener on the other side, of love, of hope and experiencing freedom with a no-holds-barred. Packaging all of these with a multi-star cast, giving due importance to each of the characters is no mean task. 

One which has been executed with great panache.

With almost like an extension of the characters from her first film 'Manjadikuru', where a bemused childhood homecoming is narrated, perceiving a strange adult world. The characters grow up to live their dreams, as they continue to bond away from home. For starters, there is a wedding song that reckons 'Marriage is just the right beginning', or so it goes. 

The film slowly picks pace getting into the flesh of the characters as the ensemble star cast is revealed through their respective characters. The detailing with regard to the characters is evident when the plot reveals such emotional intensity, that can turn tears into smiles with a blend of humor, sarcasm and blunt reality. 

This time too Kerala tradition is the pick of the fun part, where culture and the new generation have a gap that is ever widening. Instead of defaulting on its seriousness and getting stuck between a rock and a hard place, the gap is best exposed in a light-hearted, feel-good sense of exploration.

So many wonderful scenes, with the dialogues being so natural that the audience could find themselves playing their part on screen. No drama, just the situation itself kept so real and all the more with a wonderful casting.

The characters played by Fahadh and Parvathy stood out from the rest - credit to the intense actors that they are and the right casting. Dulquer was just absolutely charming in his rebellious outing, haunted by his discrete past and living the passionate life. Nivin and Nazriya worked their magic with their boy/girl-next door looks, this time to perfection with a bit of unconventionality - spoofing the old romance, yet moving one step at a time away from being stereotyped. Isha and Nithya glittered in their cameos, with the old school of Kalpana, Maniyanpilla Raju and Vijay Raghavan adding to the laugh riot.

For cynics wondering what is it that maketh an Anjali Menon movie intriguing and something to cherish, goes beyond attention to detailing with regard to the technicalities. Its those quick-witted jibes on life, about a feeling of attraction, realizing the pain from relation, yet holding onto something pristine - eventually calling that love.

With so many film makers tediously trying to surprise the audience with carefully planted twists at the climax, she keeps it simple with the regular happy ending, without the slightest of hesitation.

When one can etch certain dialogues and scenes in the mind of an audience, like a confused rebel-turned lover confidently admitting his love to a person slumped in deep dejection and capturing the spontaneous reaction in such detail, one maybe excused from trying to tweak the climax!

Sameer Thahir has rocked yet again, this time capturing Namma Bangalore in all its glory. There was a period in Mollywood when fast paced action such as Prem Nazir dribbling a soccer ball focussed on Prem Nazir's soles, the playing ground and left the rest to the audience imagination.

Well, Mollywood has come a long way in terms of technicalities - with Bangalore Days having motocross dirt bikes going bezerk and the actors ripping it up in full blast, is just one of the myriad reasons not to miss this full throttled entertainer right at the movie theater.