{"id":101,"date":"2021-05-26T12:46:21","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/?p=101"},"modified":"2021-05-26T12:46:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:46:22","slug":"malayalam-movie-double-bills-may-day-edition-lal-salam-and-left-right-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/2021\/05\/26\/malayalam-movie-double-bills-may-day-edition-lal-salam-and-left-right-left\/","title":{"rendered":"Malayalam Movie Double Bills — May Day Edition: Lal Salam and Left Right Left"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post first appeared on Totally Filmi on May 1, 2020.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was little, Communism was something to be feared, something to be suppressed, and the news each May 1st<\/sup> carried reports on the displays of military power by the former Soviet Union, probably as an object lesson that we should be ever on guard against allowing our own democratic institutions to be taken over by what was viewed as an oppressive political system.  It was only as I got older that I realized that the subject of Communism was more complex than was often portrayed either in the news or in popular media such as films and television.  For some, it was, and remained, a Red Terror; but for others, it represented an ideal of a classless, egalitarian political system, in which everyone made a contribution to the best of their abilities, and in which everyone in society was looked after. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, there were Communists in Canada, who ran in our elections, but they were often viewed as fringe or crackpot candidates.  When I lived in France, I experienced a different view of Communism; where it seemed more part of a political spectrum on the left that combined a socialist world view with a strong support of worker\u2019s rights \u2013 a party that, although dwindling in support, still seemed to have more respectability than what I\u2019d been familiar with back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then came my foray into the world of Malayalam cinema, where I soon discovered the existence of the Communist party in the state of Kerala, a form of Communism unique in that it works entirely within the state\u2019s democratic political system (not as either a fringe element without power, nor as a totalitarian system), especially towards the goal of eliminating economic inequality in the state.  That doesn\u2019t mean that Communism has always been an acceptable form of political expression \u2013 it has, especially in its early years, seen attempts to suppress the movement, and there are numerous films in which comrades (\u201csakhavu\u201d in Malayalam, like the title of a more recent film) are shown going into hiding in order to avoid going to jail, or in which that jail time is seen as a kind of badge of honour for those working for the betterment of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venu Navagally\u2019s film Lal Salam<\/strong> (\u201cRed Salute\u201d, the greeting used by communists in India) opens with the liberation of three comrades Stephen Nettoor (Mohanlal), DK Antony (Murali) and Sethulakshmi (Geetha) from jail, and the parade that celebrates their release.  Following the parade from a balcony is Annamma (Urvashi), the daughter of Medayil Ittichan (Madhu), a local landlord who owns the press that Stephen Nettoor (aka Nettooran) used to run.  Annamma is in love with Nettooran, and wants to marry him, but although her father is somewhat ambivalent (he feels betrayed by Stephen Nettooran who used the press to promote the Communist cause right under his nose), her brothers are adamant that she will not marry him.  DK (the son of a lawyer respected by Medayil Ittichan) tries to convince her father to allow the marriage, but when it becomes obvious the family will not permit it, he and Sethu (who are a couple), along with the party members, arrange for Annamma and Nettooran to elope. Annamma\u2019s family disowns her, and she and Nettooran begin their married life living out of the local Communist party headquarters.  Annamma\u2019s father, although furious at what he sees as a betrayal by Nettooran, still can\u2019t help but worry about his daughter, wondering if Nettooran gets paid for his work with the party.  He does not, and this, eventually results in Nettooran needing to find a way to earn money and support himself and Annamma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the film is told in flashback, where we see how the relationship between Annamma and Nettooran developed, and how Nettooran used the printing press to secretly support the Communist movement.  When a protest against another landlord breaks out in violence, the landlord is killed by accident, and the three comrades, accused of the killing, go into hiding.  Antony becomes involved with Stella, a friend of Sethu, who takes them in at risk to her own safety; later, after the friends are released from prison, Stella arrives with a young son in tow, and Nettooran realizes that Antony (who has just married Sethu) is the father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lal Salam<\/strong> is a complex and engaging film, detailing not only Communist party politics as the party members gradually become legitimate political candidates, but also the complex and messy nature of human relationships and the human psyche.  Nettooran finds himself involved in helping both Sethu and DK Antony become elected officials, but also finds himself without any means to support himself and his family \u2013 indeed, when Annamma gives birth to their son, on the day the two friends are sworn into office, Nettooran must beg and borrow the money he needs to provide the medicines needed after Annamma requires a caesarean.  Encouraged by DK, Nathooran goes into business in order to earn a living, but he\u2019s forced to step away from the party, since capitalism and Communism don\u2019t mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, the three comrades grow older, and more \u2013 not exactly disillusioned, but they build lives that seem increasingly part of the mainstream instead of continuing to be the young firebrands they once were, fighting for a cause.  Election gives the party legitimacy.  It allows DK and Sethu to become ministers, to enter the political mainstream.  DK resumes his relationship with Stella, causing a rift in his marriage with Sethu.  Nettooran is successful, but it rankles at him that even though he pays his employees well and makes sure they are looked after, he is branded as a \u201cbourgeois capitalist\u201d and refused any role in the party he supported his whole life.  The death of DK (after an accident) momentarily rallies everyone together, and Nettooran promises to look after DK\u2019s young son, seeing him as the future hope of the Communist cause, a metaphor, perhaps, for the young activists they once were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"LRL_May003\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"LRL_May004\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Arun Kumar Aravind\u2019s Left Right Left<\/strong> also has the Communist party at the core of its story, centred around the characters P.K. Jayan (Indrajith), Roy Joseph (Murali Gopy) and Kaitheri Sahadevan (Hareesh Peradi). Roy (also known as \u201cChe Guevara Roy\u201d after the charismatic Argentinian who was at the centre of the Cuban Revolution) bears a scar on his face, a limp, and a hand he is unable to use, as well as a fragile heart.  No longer a young firebrand, he teaches at a school along with his wife Anitha (Lena).  He is the son of a respected Communist party member, murdered while he was in hiding.  Sahadevan has, after a split in the Communist party, become the leader of one of the factions, now in government, and suspected of some corrupt dealings in the awarding of a dam contract (something that echoes the actual SNC-Lavalin Kerala hydroelectric scandal from 1995).  Jayan (also known as \u201cVattu\u201d or \u201cCrazy\u201d Jayan for his temper as well as for his deliberate abusing of his position) and his mother live alongside Roy and Anitha, and it\u2019s through Jayan that we finally learn about the truth of the relationship between Roy and Sahadevan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Left Right Left<\/strong> has at its core the idea of nature versus nurture:  do seeds inherently contain everything they need to grow into full-fledged plants, or is that growth influenced by the kind of care they receive.  Too much water or sun?  Not enough?  And like those seeds, are children\u2019s personalities fully formed from birth, or are they influenced by what happens to them as children, so that the adults they become still bear the traces of childhood events?  Certainly, for the three main protagonists, the answer would imply that the things they experienced as children have directly influenced the kinds of adults they have become, and how they respond to the things that happen around them.  Jayan became a policeman precisely because he saw the power that the police have, when a policeman gives some of his bribe money to help with the treatment of Jayan\u2019s sister\u2019s tuberculosis.  Sahadevan believes that the best thing he can do as a left-wing politician is not to become like the bourgeoisie, but to become the father of children raised as the bourgeoisie, so that they can have better lives than he or the children of other party supporters had, and that a Communist should do whatever it takes to better the lives of the poor, even if that means taking a commission from a Canadian company on a dam contract.  Roy is respected by other Communists not only because of his father, but also because he puts the welfare of the party (and through it, the welfare of the people who rely on it) ahead of other interests, trying, initially, to deal with the potential corruption scandal by working through party channels, and by desperately appealing to various party officials in order to try to prevent the worst from happening.  Roy remains the most idealistic of the three men, and the stress of dealing with the scandal and its fall-out (resulting in the deaths of two former party workers who broke the story) takes its toll on Roy, whose doctor tells Anitha that the problems of the world will always be there, no matter if Roy involves himself or not, and that it would be better if Roy looked after his heart, which is more red than the flag that inspires him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"LRL_May005\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But Left Right Left<\/strong> also echoes Lal Salam<\/strong>, in that it reflects the similar idea that the activism of youth diminishes as people grow older and have more concerns and responsibilities, and that political power can be a corrupting force even on the most altruistic of philosophies.  And that, in the end, some people, no matter what their political stripe, will always think it\u2019s better to look out for one\u2019s self than to prioritize the welfare of others, or even convince themselves that they are still looking out for others even while they are turning away from their youthful idealism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, in the end, it\u2019s Anitha who realizes what Communism really is:  the true Communist never gives up, and, even when alone, never stops fighting for what is right.  In that way, Nettooran and Roy, and even Anitha herself, remain true to their cause, even after they\u2019ve outgrown their youthful zeal and find themselves weighed down by life\u2019s responsibilities.  Each of them works to reason, to understand, to convince, and yes, to keep fighting, to remain true to the ideals that inspired them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post first appeared on Totally Filmi on May 1, 2020. When I was little, Communism was something to be feared, something to be suppressed, and the news each May 1st carried reports on the displays of military power by the former Soviet Union, probably as an object lesson that we…<\/p>\n

Continue ReadingMalayalam Movie Double Bills — May Day Edition: Lal Salam and Left Right Left<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[136,133,135,124,141,137,139,140,63,21,138,134,50,142],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-arun-kumar-aravind","tag-geetha","tag-hareesh-peradi","tag-indrajith","tag-lal-salam","tag-left-right-left","tag-lena","tag-madhu","tag-malayalam-cinema","tag-mohanlal","tag-murali","tag-murali-gopy","tag-urvashi","tag-venu-navagally","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}