KOCHI: Malayalam cinema has loved to wax eloquent about social issues, often perceiving them through the prism of politics. However, the emphasis given of late to themes based on Left ideology in movies like Oru Mexican Aparatha, CIA, Sagavu, and the latest flick Ramaleela, has made right-wingers feel if there was an overdose of ‘Red’ tone in them.
Thrissur District Congress Committee general secretary John Daniel, who posted on Facebook regarding the new trend in Malayalam films, said several movies released in the past few years were actively discussing Left themes.
Movies like Arabikkatha or Left Right Left would be an exception in terms of supporting the Left, but Oru Mexican Aparatha, CIA, Sagavu, and Ramaleela seem to be setting a new trend in terms of influencing the younger generation, said AICC state secretary P C Vishnunath.
“There has been a deliberate attempt to propagate the Left themes though the medium of cinema and movies like Oru Mexican Aparatha have been misguiding the younger generation as it twists the history. We hope these trends are short-lived and the cinema, as a medium, will keep its unbiased nature while portraying the social and political issues of a state,” said Vishnunath.
Noted film critic C S Venkiteswaran said ‘Left’ theme had always enjoyed a relatively good position in the medium of cinema or literature as it was relevant in the state’s social order.
Venkiteswaran said, “There were good movies based on Left themes in the past as well. While the movies of noted screenplay writer T Damodaran dealt with the trade-unionism in the 80s, Cheriyan Kalpakavadi and Venu Nagavally had set the box office registers ringing in the end of 80s and 90s. However, there were hardly any Left political movies in the first decade of this millennium and now the theme is catching the fancy of new generation writers after a hiatus, said Venkiteswaran.