Ennu Ninte Moideen | My Thoughts

It will break your heart for sure.

Oh my god. Did I expect this? No. I didn’t, one bit. Ennum Ninte Moideen blew me away. My soul has been broken into smithereens and my heart has been sobbing ever since. Having closely followed the movie much before it hit the screens, I was intrigued by what would be in store. And when it did, it transported not just me, but a generation into their yester years while the new generation watched it in unbelievable awe. For the elders, the saga that unfurled on screen was not just undiluted entertainment, but a story that was never written; of themselves.

I was also born in a generation which believed in ideal love that bordered on a soul to soul connect. The concepts of twin flames and soul mates were not known then and those in love were bewildered at the intensity of their relationships when their partners completed their thoughts or sentences every time they were together. I have seen couples become a single identity with my own eyes. This is a story of such a single identity. One cannot break Moideen and Kanjanamala as two different people, beings. One begins where the other ends and their synergy flows so seamlessly between them that even inspires and influences those around them.

Here is a true saga of love created in epic dimensions by a debutant director, R S Vimal who is said to have worked for almost 6 years to create this visual magic on screen. I wonder how a journalism student who turned into a film maker without the guiles and skills of a seasoned professional could create such a grand canvas. This one film could be easily termed as a study in film making. The detailing of the period is done with such care, clarity and precision that when we sit there watching the frames move from one to the other, we become one of those around Moitheen and Kanjanamala. They don’t leave us even when we leave our seats at the end of it all. They travel with us to our homes and their beings continue to enthrall us, haunt us and make us weep to sleep.

I have travelled through cinema during the last 30 years of clear memory. I have been a great fan of the super stars that rule our screens and films like Bharatham, Chithram and Vadakkan Veeragadha and so many from veteran films makers like Hariharan, Padmarajan, Aravindan to Siby Malayil, Kamal, Fazil etc. But Vimal has outdone them all through this wonderfully crafted eulogy of love. It is an ode, a recreated ocean of love between a man and a woman which doesn’t end with death. It continues to flow, ebb and retreat and I am sure this film would smudge the memory of other films from us for a long time. Jomon T John, I knew after having worked with him on a TV Commercial two years back, was a classical genius behind the camera. He has truly lifted this film into a global canvas through the celestial movement of his lens which has unequivocally captured the beauty of the relatively unknown hamlet called Mukkam. He has lived this film along with the film maker as the frames etch in us not just the sequences but the spirit of the place. Gokuldas, the Art director is another who deserves a standing ovation. He has recreated the period with consummate ease. Small things like a Diary page which shows the period 1957 and the Passports that are the older versions and the posters that seem to be unimportant, reveals the timeline of the whole story. The vehicles, the attire and the mood of the church, the temple festival as well the interiors of Moideen’s home – they all take us to the period where the two eternal lovers lived. M Jayachandran and Ramesh Narayan have further intensified the film with their melodies that hurt us while Gopi Sundar has effectively drummed up the background score that reverberates with the incessant rains that provides the most memorable backdrops I have ever experienced in Malayalam cinema.

The cast of the film is indeed another highlight. For once, Prithviraj has stepped out of his comfort zone and become the character. He has evolved into an actor from a star. In his own submission, he is not a method actor. If that is true, then the credit goes to Vimal the film maker for having written a role that not only depicts the real Moideen so emphatically but also give the actor an opportunity to express freely. This could very well be a defining moment in the career of Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Parvathy as Kanjanamala erupts into an ensemble of emotions on the screen. After watching her speak about the intensity experienced while donning the role, I have no doubts in my mind that actress will take ages to come out of the character she played with such élan. She is undoubtedly the most thinking actress of the times.

I have been a great admirer of Lena. She is an underrated performer who carries her roles with such finesse that we only see the character she portrays. Her power packed performance as Moideen’s mother, is a symbol of womanhood in its ultimate revelry. If she was born in a Hindi speaking environment, she would have by now achieved national glory through the versatile roles she has played with great aplomb. Along with the love between Moideen and Kanjana, we can see another immortal love story in the background. Kanjana’s cousin Appettan, played by the incredibly talented Tovino comes as a genuine surprise in the film. His life is as tragic or even more than that of the protagonists. His unrequited love will haunt even the most hardened hearts though the film progresses into telling the story of the unconsummated love of the hero and the heroine.

Saikumar, Sudhir Karamana, Indrans, Kala Ranjini, Sasikumar; perhaps they haven’t yet realized what they have created together in this film. Perhaps Bala is the only weak link in the movie. I believe if it was someone more seasoned, the role would have been made more meaningful.

I am sure Vimal himself would never perhaps be able to create another movie of this magnitude and this intensity ever again. Dear Vimal, even if you don’t make another movie in this life, we would understand dear friend. We will remain grateful to you this whole life for recreating those moments lived by two people in love. Their love will remain tied to our memory as long as we all live. I am sure the current crop of men and women would revisit their own lives and certainly live a life in love that is both truthful and intense.

Finally Malayalam cinema has come of age. Proud of you R S Vimal.

by Sujil Bose