The Hero and The Gentleman
Our local channel always telecast "family" movies from the '80s and 90's; and even though watching the local channel meant sitting through abrupt ad breaks and poorly made advertisements, the movies were always worth it. I had the joy of watching a 1992 movie Ayalathe Adheham, by Ra jasenan, that while skipping through channels. And few minutes into the movie, I started comparing the character – Rajiv, played by Siddique, with the infamous Shammi, played by our beloved ‘FaFa’ in Kumbalangi Nights . Ok, FaFa is Fahadh Faasil. [Do watch both these movies, they’re very nice.] Rajiv is the ideal husband, son, father- doting on everyone around him, expressing his love for his wife, Radhika, openly, something most men, at least Malayali men, rarely do according to my mother, and definitely according to the heroine of the movie, Sulochana (played by the gorgeous Gautami), who is annoyed at her husband, Premachandran (Jayaram), for being constantly grumpy and reserved an...