My student and good friend Rao reminded me on friday that of late I am going down the memory lane with my blog posts. There is no specific reason for this. The chain of thought was triggered by a dream I had of my college days.
I took a decision to let bygones be bygones when out of the blue a very nostalgic film from late 1970s was shown on the malayalam channel Surya TV.
Most of the younger generation might not even remember the name of the film 'Ulkadal' and wont be able to understand why such a slow paced film should have been a hit. But the story of a PG student Rahulan ( portrayed by Venu Nagavalli ) and the late Shobha, playing a coy Reena, a christian girl doing her undergraduation, is a classic. It took me back to an era where the boys and girls were not as brazen as they are today. The love being developed with a look here, a touch there - the intimacy born out of, not physical attraction, but simple mental compatability. And the settings so natural with hardly any background score, apart from the 3 or 4 haunting tunes with the chirping of the birds being the only decipherable sound otherwise. Step cut, bell bottom pants, sarees with high neck blouses and not an iota of indecency. All these made the film one that brought nostalgic memories. The talented Shobha, who died so tragically after an affair with cameraman Balu Mahendra a few years later, has emoted beautifully with sadness, fear, happiness, love, affection fleeting through her face in a short span and contrastingly Venu Nagavally going through the whole film with a deadpan, indifferent face. Finally, the songs. What melancholic tunes! Pure poetry starting with 'Ente kadinjool pranayakathayile' that talks about the lost teenage love, to the lovely duet 'Sarabindu malardeepa nalam neeti' and the award winning 'Nashta vasanthathin thapta niswasame' - a treat to the ears.
I sat through this film after nearly 25 years and I could remember many scenes as if I saw it yesterday. Such was the lasting impression I had of this film. Quarter of a century later, I was able to live through a period of my life where I became a man from the dreamy eyed teenager.
At the end of it all, it left me with a tinge of sadness. A pleasurable pain that hurt the corner of my heart.
