Balachandra Menon and his leading ladies’ debut in Malayalam cinema – 1

Courtesy : BalachandraMenon.com

With the Malayalam mainstream media awash and rabid with the purported ‘second coming’ of Balachandra Menon, and catching a re-run of his old 1984 box-office hit Oru Painkkili Katha {A Candyfloss Tale …my translation}, I thought it would be fun, going back in time and taking a trip with the now leading ladies who debuted in his productions. There are surprisingly, some of the very famous ones of our times, mind you. The ‘Return of Balachandra Menon’ saw him launching his 9th book in Malayalam (of which four are screenplays) and ofcourse, the launch of his personal website. Though I haven’t been able to read any of his books (though having watched the movies), was able to take a trip through his newly launched website, which was an excruciatingly painful experience.

S Janaki | 10 Songs for a rainy, lazy, laidback evening

As with any other legend in our film industry, its impossible to choose when it comes to our Nightingale of Celluloid, S Janaki, or fondly Janakiamma with all the respect that I can muster. Her voice  is like warm honey over a cold heart when it wants to be and like a comforting cloak on a windy evening.While on the subject, I just felt I need to mention about Dhool, a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the yesteryears of Malayalam playback singing amongst a host of other subjects. Sadly, it has been live but inactive since the past two years.

I have managed to write a note to the owner to keep it up forever. I sincerely hope he does.