Pookkalam Varavayi

Pookalam Varavaayi reminds me of the good old golden era of Malayalam cinema in the late 80s-mid 90s. This is a rare piece of gem: a story with a simple plot and a subtle message that is sure to touch your heart.

The story revolves around the friendship between Jayaram, a school bus driver and Baby Shamili, a little school girl who gets very little affection from her parents who are on course to get divorced. The movie has a very subtle message, but it never takes the preachy route.

The performance of the entire cast: Jayaram, Innocent, Rekha, Murali, Geetha etc is top class. But it is the performance of little Baby Shamili that bowls us all over with her cuteness and innocence. The track "Etho Varmukilin" will remain an ever green hit song in the minds of Malayalees.

Pookalam Varavaayi is more applicable in today's era, nearly 25 years after the movie was released. I highly recommend this movie to Non-Malayalee audience too, as it is movies like this with a simple story sans superstardom that sets our industry apart.

This film deserves to be in the archives for many reasons:

• Impact of bitter marriages on children
• What really matters to children, be it loving friends and the greenery of nature
• Social norms and customs, folk lore
• Of the beauty of Kerala's villages and traditional family way of life

The first half comic scenes (at least a few) and a couple of songs could have been cut down