KOCHI: It was the legendary Prem Nazir who crooned Marijuana virinju vannaal manassoru maya pushpavanam on screen for Vijayanum Veeranum (1979). The song - that may have been a statement of cool for the hippie generation then - was alluded to for comic effect in the recent film Kili Poyi, Malayalam cinema’s first shot at stoner film genre (stoner flicks usually revolve around marijuana). But the question is how will the generation 25 years down the line treat a movie like Kili Poyi.
Unlike western hits such as Saving Grace, Half Baked or Club Paradise that deals with the violence of narcotics and the fun and crime behind their use, few Malayalam movies have explored such a theme. Kili Poyi, Idukki Gold, Honey Bee and to a certain extent China Town centre around drugs and the kick that it offers. (China Town is inspired from Hollywood hit Hangover).
In western movies, Marijuana was glorified as hellish as heroin rather than an evil drug. In Malayalam also, the use of drugs is getting glorified at least through some of the movies. For instance, in Honey Bee, the first look posters came with a tagline, “If you ain’t tripping on honey bee...u ain’t f*****g tripping at all!! “.
The movie shows many scenes that depict lead actors drinking Honey Bee, a liquor brand popular in Kerala. But the success of Honey Bee in the box office has prompted many others to try the genre.
Idukki Gold, portrays a gang of childhood friends who reunite and go in search of Idukki Gold, which they believe, could take them to their good old days. But critics were wary of pinning it under stoner films as the movie was not about being ‘stoned alone’ but more about friendship.
“However, the ‘weed culture’ is growing fast among the Malayalam moviedom, especially among some technicians. We have several recent examples. Even there is a post of ‘joint assistant director’ now. A joint assistant director is the one who deals with ‘joints’, and rolls the ‘stuff’ for the director and other technicians. Even some actors use weeds,” said a production controller who did not want his name to be quoted.
Recently, a scriptwriter of a movie that fared well in the box office last year was taken into custody after attacking a woman in Kochi, under the influence of drugs. “There is a wrong notion that drugs and liquor can stimulate your imagination. In the script writer’s case, we do not know whether he had done it for stimulating his imagination. But on interrogation, he told us under the influence of drugs that he wanted to commit seven deadly sins, ‘rape’ being the divine among them. Look how the imagination of such guys run wild and we wonder what would happen if they try to incorporate such weird thoughts into their scripts,” said a police official.
Most films that fall in this genre do not deal with the stark realities or create awareness on its dangers or steps to wipe out the menace. Instead, they focus on the fun element that teenagers would find irresistable to ‘score’ at least once in a lifetime.
“There is no dispute over the fact that it will have repercussions on the targeted audience,” said Dr C J John, senior psychiatrist, Medical Trust Hospital. “Since many films celebrate smoking and do not talk about its adverse effects, it shatters the inhibition to say ‘no’ to cannabis and marijuana. It sets a style and the targeted audience will no longer be hesitant to try it out,” he said.
