What is the address of love?

Did Malayalam cinema writing peak and breakthrough new highs with this one?

I am nearly two and half years behind in watching this movie since its release in February 2023.

Of late I had been getting upset with the fact that most of the Malayalam films have become marketing and advertising vehicles for alcohol with one exception being Janamaithri. I have been quite concerned with the way alcoholism has been normalised in the movies.

I thought this movie was boring and wanted to switch off but the only reason I stayed on was the strong recommendation from my friend Rajesh.

And I was about to switch this film off when in the first twenty minutes or so, it was just about drinking, smoking and pedestrian stuff when the first unexpected twist in the tale happens and it catches you off guard and then makes you wonder how is the story going to proceed from here with more than an hour of the movie still left.

In that part of the movie, the little cat’s two scenes and its expression truly captivates your heart and makes you choke.

A few minutes later the next plot reveal happens which in a way captures you totally off guard and scared me a bit. But it’s a plot reveal that sends the father son duo on an interesting journey - a journey that is progressive and mature.

As the journey unfolds, there are a number of elements that come up and towards the end, it’s a series of plot reveals and twists that end in a long period of goosebumps and a slightly choked throat.

And on top of it, what an amazing background score that in a way reminds people of my generation of the scores from the movies in the late 1980s.

While the characters in the movie talk about nostalgia a lot, for me the background score in the second half was all pure nostalgia.

One line that will stay with me forever from the movie is - ‘People are not like what we think of them to be.’

This may sound trivial but when you watch it and the context in which it was said unfolds, then its meaning is deep.

Another powerful line for me was - ‘She loved him first and then learnt about him. But I first learned all about him from A to Z and then chose to love him.’

For me the first best part is the way actor Manoj KU’s character as the husband cum father turned widower in the story has shaped up and the way I have seen him enact since Thinglazhcha Nishchayam, Autorsha and Irratta.

The next best part is the way Hakkim Shahjahan’s character arc has been developed; the way his aging is captured and the way he acts his age in his later days towards the end of the movie.

I would have loved to try my hand at that character to see if I could have come anywhere near Hakkim’s enacting. Hats off to him!!

But for me the best part of the film is in it’s final moments - what a climax; what a momentary flash back and what a way to end the story that leaves a new beginning for Arjun Ashokan and Hakkim’s characters and the way Arjun’s mother’s character’s last wish is brought to fruition.

For the life of me I could have never imagined such a story development and ending. Hats off to you Jyothish M and Sunnu AV for your writing and Nikhil Murali for your direction.

And that’s why I wondered in the beginning if Malayalam cinema writing peaked with that second last scene of this movie.

Even as it has been a good half an hour after the movie ended and I am almost at the end of my draft, the feeling is still so strong inside me that you would wish such stories to become real than just remain confined to the reel. There are so many good moments and points in the story that I can keep writing.

What a truly uplifting and inspiring film!!

In the end let me answer my question: What is the address of love?

A couple of months ago I came across an interesting image of a conversation starring Winnie the Pooh where it was written, 'If there ever come a time when we can't be together, then just keep me in your heart. I will stay there forever.'

And I believe, that's the address of love.

You can watch Love Address on Zee 5 as Pranaya Vilasam. I will give it a strong 8/10 with repeat watch value.

Here is the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7aKvMAfRUw&ab_channel=ThinkMusicIndia

PS: As usual, with most of the new wave Malayalam movies over the last 15 years or so, don’t be misled by the trailer to trivialise the movie before watching.

Like an apt line that I came across a couple of weeks ago - People are like books. Some deceive you with the cover while others impress you with the content. Similarly, Malayalam movies may deceive you with their senseless or deliberately trivial looking trailers but will captivate you with their stories and film making.

While I came across an interesting image that is a collage of the main characters of the film, it is this image of Hakkim that I want to share with this post.

When you watch the film and see this scene is when you will realise what his eyes are conveying and that's why I don't think I have a better image than this one to put with this post.