Malayalam filmmaker Balachandra Menon who is known for his works in the 1980s and 1990s of Malayalam cinema has voiced his discernment with the Keraleeyam programme. He highlighted that despite his career which spans over 45 years in the industry, none of his films were screened at the film festival taking place as of now.

Balachandra Menon asked why some films that didn’t even release in the theaters were provided with the opportunity to be screened at this festival. He urged that some of his films like Achuvettante Veed which is a feminist movie, Chiriyo Chiri, a comedy film and especially his film April 18 be excluded from the festival.

Balachandar Menon’s argument

The filmmaker who has been part of the Malayalam film fraternity for a long period was also part of various government-led initiatives in promoting film culture in Kerala as well.

Speaking about his contributions, he pointed out that he had made significant contributions to the Kerala government’s Kerala State Film Development Corporation and Chitranjali. He highlighted how his National award-winning film Samantharangal was even shot at Chitranjali studio.

Moreover, he inquired whether his films were avoided from the Keraleeyam film festival due to the fact that his films uphold a sense of nationalism and promote family values. He iterated that his grievance does not come from any personal agenda but more as a concerned citizen.

He also urged the Kerala government to understand that India is a democratic country and should not be forced into a single direction or made question their artistic integrity.

More about Balachandra Menon

Balachandra Menon is a Malayalam-language filmmaker who has donned the roles and responsibilities of various crucial parts of filmmaking which include the role of Director, Actor, Screenwriter, Producer, Distributor, Editor, Singer and even Music composer. Additionally, he is also an author, lawyer and journalist.

His works, particularly from the 80s and 90s of Malayalam cinema were quite popular for their relatable tonality and simplistic nature. Some of his films like Karyam Nissaram, Vivahitare Itihile, April 18 which was the debut film of Thalapathi actress Shobana, Samaantharangal and many more are still enjoyed by people of that decade.

A vibrant and happy picture of power star Pawan Kalyan and Ram Charan seems to have surfaced in social media now. The duo were snapped at the occasion of Varun Tej Konidela and Lavanya Tripathi’s wedding which took place at Tuscany, Italy.

The duo were seen together taking a happy moment in the embrace of the festive wedding venue. Both the actors were sporting rather casual outfits at the wedding whereas everyone else seemed to be quite dressed up as per the occasion. However, that does add to the fact that both of them quickly catch the eyes of onlookers on social media, even if they sport casual looks.

Check out the happy moment of Pawan Kalyan and Ram Charan

Sridevi remains one of the most iconic actresses of Bollywood. She took a break from acting in the late 1990s and made her comeback with the 2012 dramedy English Vinglish. Adil Hussain, who was her co-star in the film, recently spoke about meeting the late actress on the film’s set for the first time. He revealed that he got teary-eyed for a reason.

Adil Hussain on Sridevi

In an interview with ANI, Adil Hussain spoke about his experience of doing English Vinglish with Sridevi. He recalled that it was his third film and told Sridevi how her film Sadma had impacted him so much that he couldn’t eat for one and a half days.

Adil said, “When I met her, Gauri and Balki introduced me to her. She looked at me with her big beautiful eyes. The first thing I told her was that how I could not eat anything after watching Sadma…After listening to it, she had tears in her eyes and I don’t know why. She had a little soft moist eyes and then we got busy with rehearsals.”

Adil then said that she was sensitive and compared her to Hollywood legend Meryl Streep. “She was quite sensitive. I would put her at par with Meryl Streep”, he added. The actor further said that the late actress could have won an Oscar had she been offered stories like the West does.