Impact Movie

I asked my wife, ” Should we see it now or continue tomorrow?” It was already 11.30 pm on a Saturday. I had planned to rise early and run the next day. She said in her characteristic nod, “Let us see it now”. I immediately agreed. That was the kind of impact that movie had on us so far. It was in the afternoon that she had a look at the trailer and said, ” Looks like it’s a good movie”. So we finished our dinner and decided to sit on the couch and see it. I decided not to have my phone beside me so that I would not make notes and distract her. I was taking stock of the number of movies I have seen and I am sure in my year-end blog I will capture in a must-watch section. I love to watch movies selectively and that job I have left it to the algorithm on OTT these days. Watching movies is a great way for me to relax.

Spoilers ahead…..

In the initial scenes, I was wondering where the plot was going. It’s about a man who feels betrayed as he has to leave his hometown and settle in another place. That was the inciting incident in the story as far as the script is concerned. He loses his balance in life because of this separation from that place and after years he plans to go back to the village to attend the marriage of his cousin sister. Initially he is reluctant, as he does not want to meet his relatives as they were the reason for the separation. Family squabbles and wealth distribution were the order of that day and siblings fought for money. Those are the reasons cited as the back story for the separation.

I liked the conversations which our hero was having on the way to his village. On the bus, around the temple and finally in the wedding place. He gets to meet another talkative person who bores him to death. We have seen such people in our lives and we generally run away from them. Call them as chatterboxes. Our hero even gives a wrong number to him when he notes it in his diary. He wanted to spend only a minimum of time in the village and wanted to leave at night. But he ends up staying that night with the chatterbox in his house. That is where the story takes different twists and turns. The chatterbox knows every little detail of our hero but he doesn’t remember the chatterbox at all and every attempt to find his name are thwarted. Anecdotes from the past are shared by our witty friend to the hero and his hatred starts changing to liking. In one such scene, after getting fully drunk, both of them dance and even do a moonwalk step in the middle of the road. I was reminded of what I did after drinking during my teens!

The real test for our hero comes when the chatterbox asks him to call him by his name the next day but our hero still could not figure out his name. It was enough for our hero who decided to leave the village that night to reach the city and continue with his life. He never called the chatterbox as he was ashamed and guilty of asking his name. However, the guilt continues to haunt him. Every time he thinks about his village he feels awkward about not knowing the name of the person who helped him. Finally, our hero manages to get the name and he lands in the village. We as the audience get to know the name which happens to be the name of the movie. This movie epitomises how a lost man re-discovers his mojo for life which he lost after leaving his hometown. He is pulled into an abyss and he gets out with the help of another person who lives a simple life.

My wife and I were discussing the movie and we were pulled into some of the scenes which touched us. The long shot scene from inside the house when the boy closes the door from outside and how his life was filled with darkness after leaving the place. I was connecting with the way chatter box learned to cycle and I was comparing it to how I learned to cycle in my childhood, first by pushing it around, then pedalling halfway not sitting in the seat and somebody holding from behind. For me that person who held me from behind used to be our paper boy. Every time he got his cycle I would do it and I used to look forward to his coming along with the paper.

In the movie, they show parrots, dogs, and cows and that reminded me of our grandparents’ place. We used to go for vacations sometime there and I could remember some of those nice memories. It’s quite interesting how through the reel you get to remember some of those memories.

Seeing this kind of movie takes you to a special place. A sacred place where there is sweet nostalgia and goodness of heart. Meiyazhagan translates as truth with beauty. I took a trip down memory lane with this movie. I left home in 1995 and every time I go back to VIVID ( House name), I vividly remember so many things from the past. Places where I have hidden peanuts (for snacking in the night) from my sister, Seeing my study room where I had those conversations with my grandfather late into the night. When I see our front porch, I still visualise how my father used to put his leg up on the iron rails and read.

Movies can create a deeper impact in your lives. I have started looking for people with that inner greatness.I have already mentally made up my mind to reach out to them. This is one such movie which makes you feel for those gems who touched your lives and we have forgotten to thank them. I appreciate the goodness of such people in my life and our families who have helped me become what I am today.