The sweet scent of Latha Kurien Rajeev’s Cologne lingers on long after you leave the hall. Cologne, Latha’s first ever attempt at filmmaking, was premiered the other day at Co-Bank Towers in the capital city.
“This is my first ever attempt at film making and I literally had butterflies in my stomach before the premiere of the film,” Latha admits.
Latha’s Cologne is a straight forward visual approach to a simple thought-provoking subject.
On what made her take up making films Latha says, “Everything visual have always attracted me. And whatever I tried to do I would film it. Paintings are a bit too static for me and hence I have always preferred moving images. So when I got a chance I grabbed it with both hands.”
Through her film the director tells her audience that what ever your age maybe it is never too late to embark on something new, something that you have always yearned to do.
“Age is never a limiting factor. As long as you are healthy and has an open mind, age is just a number,” says Latha.
Cologne takes us to Sheila, an educated upper middle-class lonely housewife. How a beautiful and refreshing chance encounter between Sheila and a delivery boy Eshwar changes Sheila’s life, forms the crux of the story.
It is Sheila’s 40th birthday and the first birthday greeting she gets is not from her husband or her son but an automated message she gets from a boutique. Her husband who is too busy forgets her birthday and is reminded of it only when their son calls up to wish her.
A detached wish and some routine dialogues later he goes to work. And Sheila is left to spend her birthday all alone in a big house with no one for company.
We see that Sheila has silently resigned to her fate. While her husband and son are busy with their lives Sheila who is a housewife has nothing to do or keep her busy. Her loneliness frustrates her which reflects in her relation with her husband too which seem distant.
Since she does not want to cook just for herself she orders in lunch. What is it we never know, is it her loneliness or her unwillingness to be alone on her birthday, whatever it might be, she makes a spur of the moment decision and invites the delivery boy in to have lunch with her. It is a beautiful impromptu lunch wherein the boy is happy at receiving fresh set of cloths a cologne and a delicious lunch. But for Sheila it is a walk down the memory lane remembering all her previous birthdays. In the company of the boy who does not speak her tongue Sheila freely speaks her mind and relives her past, in all something sparks in her. She breaks the invisible shackles that were holding her back from doing so many things in life. After lunch Sheila sends off the boy with a few gifts and some money. “Usually it is the birthday girl or boy who gets the presents and it is they who are treated and pampered by others. But here quite the opposite happens. For Sheila the joy she receives out of the whole thing refreshes her and helps her overcome her issues,” Latha says.
For the delivery boy more than the meal, the gift and the warm hospitality that was showered upon him it is the cologne that truly entices him.
As he leaves Sheila asks the boy for his name to which he replies Eshwar. For Sheila he really was God in disguise.
Sheila wastes no time and sets to work on her future. For her, life began at 40.
Beautifully crafted Cologne does give the audience something to ponder on.
Directed by Latha the story and screenplay of Cologne is by Deepti Nair.
About future plans Latha says she has two stories with her for which she is on the search for script writers.