KOZHIKODE: Vilkkanundu Swapnangal (Dreams for Sale), the first Malayalam movie to showcase the aspirations, trials, and tribulations of the Gulf Malyalees, is set to celebrate forty years of its release. The historic anniversary of the film is to be held on June 20 at Kozhikode Town Hall in collaboration with Kerala Film Academy and Gulf Indian Cultural Centre. Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri will be the special guest of honour at the event.
Featuring an ensemble cast of Sukumaran, Sreevidya, Bahadoor, Mammootty, and Sreenivasan, the movie was the first-ever Malayalam movie to be shot in Gulf countries. A quintessential M T Vasudevan Nair cinematic spectacle, it was set in the backdrop of the Gulf boom when lakhs of Keralites migrated to West-Asian countries, lured by the oil boom and high-paying jobs in the oil industry.
Directed by Azad, the movie revolves around Rajagopal, enacted by Sukumaran, who migrates to the Gulf, for money and a better life. After his arduous stint abroad, he is seen to be returning home with the dream of settling in Kerala. However, fate had other plans for him. His dreams were flushed down the drain after being betrayed by a close associate, forcing him to return to the Gulf, compromising “his dreams” of leading a peaceful life.
“There is a preconceived notion that life in Gulf countries is all about luxury and comfort. However, life there is not as rosy as it appears, especially for the expats who migrated in the 1980s. The glittering cities in the Middle East were built on the sweat, blood, and tears of the Malayali migrants, who had travelled in urus and barges, putting their very lives in danger. The film holds a special place as it was the first of its kind to unravel the dark side of the “Gulf phenomenon”, remarked Attakoya Pallikandi, the chairman of the Gulf Indian Cultural Center.