BRAHMAYUGAM

 

The film that gave Mammooty his best actor award .

I am reposting my post last year after this film was released

Brahmayugam ...review 

First of all Iam giving NO SPOILERS for I want every one of you to see this film in its nitty gritty and go through what each one of us in theater did today 

In that sense this is an unconventional review 

Malayalam movies are known for thier horror genre ,from Bhargavi nilayam ,Ezra ,Rahul Sivadasans Boothakaalam ,Vayanaadan thambaan ,lisa etc many were impressive unlike  comedies labelled as horrors in some other languages .

One reason could be the stories kerala spurned in its mediaveal and even later periods of old haunted houses palaces black magic satan worship which even to this day persists in temples in Trissur dt .

Of course Manichitrathaazu would get the price for a horror film taken so slickly with great actors like Shobana ,Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi it almosts cheats one to think its a happy colurful family drama which ultimately it ends to but not withput taking all for a ride into the supernatural .

Now lets talk of Bramayugams megastar Mamooty 

Mamooty is I feel taking the ideal path a succesful senior superstar can and should take , but most  wont take ,as they are stuck to thier imprisoned grooves and fear to venture out .

Last few films  Mamooty had shown us his forays into non comfort zones and doing it extremely well too 

Amitabh Bhachan probably is the only megastar who has similarly experimented and suceeded .

Look at kamal Rajni of course they all are thier older versions but still not beyomd what thier fans have been used to seeing while Mamooty surprises one in most of his films these days .

Brahmayugam ( its the part of kaliyugam described as age of madness )  rightly described is a black and white film that brings the grey of horror into ones soul  through its 2.30 hours of unrelenting forebodes .

Unkempt mansions ,satanic laughters  ,blood curdling sounds,cannibalistic witches cauldrons ,all not stilted or unreal but plausible in mediaveal kerala where black magic or Durmanthravaatham ,Chaathan seva or satanic worship ,and yakshis erotic captures of susceptible young men are part of the tapestry of stories of this part of the country .

A  smiling calm Mamooty  just puts one off gaurd only to suddenly punch  us into revulsion by his chameleonic changes ,

The pouring rains in the pitch dark forest or clouded daytime in leaking mansion  ( till interval there was no rain and  I was wondering how the Director left rain alone with a mansion perfectly suited for it to instil more dread and then he gave us rain in abundance post interval telling us well you asked for it have fun )

 There are only three actors in the film all males  other than the female yakshi who appears in just a scene ,( a lesson to some films from other languages and Hindi spending ten to hundred times the 27 crores spent with less than one hundredth of the punch this film would leave you with ) 

Each actor did thier job best but it was Mamooty   who takes  away the crown and if as an actor if  this film doesnt fetch him a national award I wonder which other actor would deserve it more then him !

I have given no spoilers but to say it s a period film in 16th  century during the Portugese colonisation 

It  is based loosly on a Namboothiri illam or an  ancestral house inside a forest where evil happenings take place and redeemers attempts turns awry .

Director Rahul Sivadasan

Actors 

Mamooty 

Arjun Asokan 

And Siddharth Bharatan 

Christo xavier music 

Photography.. hats off by Shehanad Jalal 

I assume the mansion was somewhere inside Malayatoor hills and all marks to the ones who scouted it out .

Dr Madhangi a tribute

 Prof Dr.Mathangi Ramakrishnan passed away at 91 years today 27 oct 2025 after living a life fullfilled with service to society and being a pioneer in Burns treatment as well as a teacher and Professor who nurtured hundreds of able plastic surgeons , specially many in field of Burns subspeciality .

When we saw her as medical students madam looked more like a film star with her bright beautiful face .

In undergraduation we do not get speciality surgery postings , its only for PG Surgicals and those keen on plastic surgery fellowship .

She was too big a professor for us , though I remember my first medical conference in life at  Adayar Gate the new five star hotel just started in Madras in around 1982 I think ,it was  a Burns conference organised by madam who was kind enough to invite even medical students for a session .

She  was profesor and HOD of plastic surgery and Founder director of Burns institute her project first of its kind in Kilpauk medical college my alma mater .

Those days AC wards were rare even in Govt medical college hospitals but madam built a state of art burns unit 

Airconditioning is vital to maintain temperature prevent infections in Burns patients .

Madam herself did her MBBS in Madras Medical College later advanced training in plastic and reconstructive surgery in UK and in US .

She would retire as Prof of plastic surgery and Burns in Kilpauk medical college ,

She associated with Central leather research institute Chennai to invent a collagen dressing for burns patient 

Some of my classmates would be her students in thier career of becoming plastic surgeons .

What struck us then was madams charisma and she dressed well always rare for a Doctor then and now !

most are sloppily dressed .

But her skills were far beyond her cosmetic good looks .

Madam would author several books ,publish many articles and do frontline research in her speciality .

She would nurture many students , be the examiner for many ,was in the boards of many institutes ,got so many awards including 

Padma Sri ,Avayyar award ,BC Roy national award ,lifetime achievement award from national academy of Burns India, Susrutha Gold medal from Association of surgeons of India ,G Whitaker International Burns prize Palermo Italy amongst others .

She was associated with national and international medical and plastic surgery and Burns assns .

Finally even in death she served humanity by donating her eyes to Sankara Nethralaya.

Rest in peace madam

you deserve it

Guruvayur temple

 To me Guruvayur temple and town is a childhood memory like for most malayalees I think .

Around five to seven years is the  youngest I can think of I remember staying there for more than a week .

My dad was insistent on that .

Those days it was literally empty just a famous temple mostly known to people from Malabar .

My grandfather hailed from Maankaavu kovilakam of Samoodhiris and temple belonged to them originally till the Dewasom stole it and are still looting it .

My mother used to tell during my Choroonu or ceremonial rice feeding at 6 months of age my grandfather had come along and we were taken in VIP style as they still had powers then .

Of course crowds too were much less .

One could just enter temple through front door and walk into sanctum when open pray and come back .

We stayed mostly  in Chatram of Dewasom once formed .

very few hotels were there then .

Chatram cottages were in the present Kowsthubam area .

The chatram restaurant I remember even had a thatched roof later tiled .

Food used to be brought into cottage swiggy style even than though mother used to cook in the small kitchen .

She carried vessels and provisions and a small stove .

By evening lamp was lit and me and my elder sister had to tell naamam or prayers just like in house .

Reaching Guruvayur too wasnt easy .

no trains were there .

One had to get down at Kuttipuram or Pattambi and take a bus to Guruvayur via chaavakaad .

Later Guruvayur was venue for so many weddings 

myself my nieces and so many friends and families 

With more than 100 weddings per day it at times was a comedy of errors .

Crowds had increased and one waited for 2 to 3 hours for darshan .

Finally we bought a small homely apartment to stay too .

My darshan as a local ( owning property ) takes just half hour at specified times .

I had today at 4.45 pm .

no mobiles are allowed no pants too only dhoti for men so I quickly returned took rest and around 9 pm went out to temple area 

I wanted to check out a food truck famous in insta on West nada .

thats my next post .

Idli Food truck Guruvayur

 We saw in Instagram about a new food truck in Guruvayur .in fact its the only one such truck .

it served Idlis the big flatter variety either with ghee and podi or plain idli also mini idlis .

vada dahi vada sambhar vada .

Though not very hungry I did walk to temple area  took pictures ( no mobile if planning to go into temple ) 

went to west nada and finally reached spot of food truck .

Though the truck had just come there was a small crowd which kept incresing .

There were two men inside truck the chefs suitably dressed with apron cap and gloves .

They poured batter into moulds and kept it to steam in idli cookers .

The dosas were set dossas .

Two men were  outside one took orders and other called us to deliver it .

All very organised .

Though I had ordered two plain idlis even one was quite big with vada sambhar chutney and some rava kesari which was complimentary .

By time I finished one idli with rest I was full .

I decided to forego the second .

It was tasty, warm no hot ,well cooked and tasty, chutneys and sambhar were fresh and 

the sweet ( rava kesari ) was a delight .

All this for a princely sum of less than hundred !!

I told them to forget about the second  idli 

he said sir I will return balance 

I told him its fine food very tasty but too cheap so i dont want a refund .

but he insisted on returning money so I told hom ok just give me some sweet you gave as compliment .

He put sweet in a big container I asked him hey this is big quantity indeed  can I pay for this ?

he said no sir you ate less than what you paid .

well thats Honesty a rare virtue these days 

 

Looking at crowd the town can have few more food trucks as a venture but this food truck has dedicated experts who quietly did thier jobs very profesionaly .

Above all they are honest .

wishing them very best

Shaspeare mania .Stratford on avon

William Shakespear should be the greatest writer known to mankind at least one of them .

No one is there not aware of this great man and his volumunious works .

Born in April 1564 he died in April 1616 just 52 years old !

He wrote more than 36 plays many sonnets

Called as Bard of England he formed a drama company and even acted in early dramas .

After 1613 he retired back to Stratford from London unfoftunately to die in 1616 april 23 

Strangely he wrote his will before he died hence it was thought if he committed suicide .

He married 26 year old Anne and had three daughters teo being twins .

He studied in school in. Stratford and is buried in churc

h of guild .