Kerala State School Arts Festival: Aaradukayanu! Social media ‘influence’ takes centre stage in Tvm
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ove over film stars and politicians, social media personalities are the new favourites of budding mimics if the trend of the mimicry competition for higher secondary boys is anything to go by. The overbearing influence of social media was evident as background music aka ‘BGM’ of movies, popularised manifold through Instagram reels, resonated in most of the performances this time around.
While routine numbers such as train, helicopter and fireworks evoked lukewarm responses, beatboxing and DJ music were well-received by the audience comprising mostly students.
However, the sore point of this year’s mimicry competition, billed as the star event of the fete, was the low turnout of the general public at the venue, St Joseph’s HSS. Monday morning blues and the location of the venue could have been the factors that kept the crowds away.
Mammootty and Mohanlal have made way for impressions of Youtubers ‘Aarattannan’ (Santhosh Varkey) and Alin Jose Pereira. Instagram ‘sensation’ Pala Saji’s viral songs and food vlogger Firoz Chuttipara’s inimitable narration style were not to be missed.
Among actors, Bala’s hugely popular “This is wraaang (sic)” remark and Prithivraj’s constant reminder in an advertisement that “Aadi sale is on” evoked peals of laughter and applause.
Of these, the performance of Varun C S of Shoranur THSS, was noteworthy as he handled three distinct sounds simultaneously with finesse. While M B Mayukhanath of Sultan Bathery Technical HSS, Wayanad, recreated the peculiar sounds of various automobile engines with perfection, Mohammed Aban M of Ideal EHSS, Malappuram, proved he was the best of the lot when it came to voice impressions.