Remembering Monisha!

Yesterday while scrolling through TV channels, i happened to see the movie 'Adhipan' being aired in Kiran TV. I needn't get in detail about the movie as it is not the topic of discussion here. The movie really took me back to the memories of a fine actress called Monisha Unni (Monisha). Coincidentally, its her 18th death anniversary tomorrow. 

Recently i happened to read an article by one Bala Menon which tells us about life of Sreedevi Unni(her mother) after her death and the last few moments of Monisha's life. I am sure all her fans&film lovers will get disturbed after reading this, just because many still hesitate to accept her death. I am not going to get in detail about that as i am a great fan of her too. No one will ever forget 'Gouri' of 'Nakhashathangal', which introduced her to the film world. It bagged her the National Film Award for the best actress, the youngest recipient for that and the only actress to receive this award for debut film. The very first scene which comes to my memory when i think about her is the famous song 'Manjal Prasadavum Nettiyil Charthi' written by ONV Kurup..i think everyone shares the same memory:)..She went on to act in about 20 more films which included Tamil and Kannada movies. The characters in Perumthachan and Kamaladalam really proved her acting talent. It's known to everyone that she was an exceptional dancer, had her first stage performance at an age of 9 and went on to win many awards for Bharatanatyam and all. Her dancing talent was well used in Kamaladalam directed by Sibi Malayil. How can we ever forget that movie which showcased the brilliant performances of Mohanal and Monisha? The role of 'Kunhikkavu Thamburatti' in Perumthachan was the strongest character of her career. She had a divine look in that film:)..Still everyone remembers almost every character portrayed by her. I love her song sequences in movies like Aryan and Kudumbasametham!

I always feel that the song 'Manjal Prasadavum' was written about her. Till now i haven't seen an actress with such grace in our film industry..To me she was the face of Kerala woman. A very talented actor,dancer with a lot of innocence,genuine charm and delightful smile on her face always! Her face always had the innocent expression, which always reflected in her characters too. December 5,1992 will be always remembered as a black day for the cultural society of Kerala, the day which left the film lovers in immense pain . She joined the list of artists like Jayan, Shobha etc who left us when their career was at the peak. 'Nrithyavedi', an organisation founded by Sreedevi Unni in 1979 was renmaned to 'Monisha Arts' in memory of her, which provides a good platform to many young artists. It's not essential that it has to be December 5 for us to remember her as she still lives in all our hearts. While seeing her mother acting in movies these days, we just wish that she was alive..she left us leaving a lot of great characters behind. Perhaps she would have been the best actor in India by now, that much talent she possessed. It's sheer coincidence that December 5,1992 happened to be a Saturday and i am publishing this blog on another Saturday! Monisha..you will live in our hearts forever!I dedicate this writeup in memory of this great actress and a mother who came back strongly to life after suffering so much from fate's cruelty. 

The Art of Creativity

What all you people notice when you see a movie?? Definitely the first priority goes to the actress, then the actor, songs and so on..and i am no different:)..It’s indeed true that our audience are really good at analyzing the technical side of the movie, especially about the visualization. In fact, India has got a bunch of exceptionally talented cinematographers and photographers. But for sometime, a new trend has been wavering across Kerala. Yes, I am talking about ‘Photography’, the new passion for our youngsters these days.

Hari Menon

It requires a lot of effort and dedication to convert this passion into a profession, especially this field being very competitive. Some of the best examples being people like Hari Menon, Jayesh Mohan, Ajay Menon etc. Infact, I was lucky enough to meet some of the eminent photographers in Kerala. Photography is a very interesting field to be in, but very competitive too. 

Jayesh Mohan

Ajay Menon

“You don't take a photograph, you make it”..a very famous quote by photographer Ansel Adams. This quote turns so meaningful when you see the photographs taken by these people. Hari Menon is a pure class when it comes to creativity. He has even produced some exceptional photographs from some situations which we never notice in life. Being a traveller, he has almost covered every part of India with his creative photography. Some of his photos leaves us spellbound for sure. In fact, I am a great fan of Hari as his photography continues to encourage more and more people into this field. Jayesh Mohan happens to be a close friend of mine. A very jovial person who came into the field of photography after studying animation(no relation between these two) and turned successful with his hardwork. He is a famous name among the Cochin photographers who specialises well in Fashion and Wildlife photography. He is a great fan of rock music and works as a vocalist in a Ernakulam based band. There is an album called ‘The Jayesh Mohan Way’ in his Facebook profile which clearly proves that all the photographs has got a typical 'Jayesh' touch:)..Ajay Menon also continues to amaze us with his photographs. He takes photography in another perspective, a bit different from the others. I love the way he photographs people, which has got unusual depth and meaning every time. The common factor among the three is that they reached these heights with their own effort and hard work. Their works are the best references for everyone who is new to this field. We can't forget the works of senior photographers like Rajan Paul Sir(truly splendid), Anil Kumar Sir etc. 

A recent snap from Jayesh Mohan..Simply outstanding!

As i said, many youngsters are now aspiring to become photographers. It will be ungrateful if i forget to mention about my friends Nidhin Radhakrishnan, Sunil Karthikeyan, Ashwin Koushan, Manu Manohar, Vishnu Raghav, Ananthu Ganesh etc, who are exceptionally talented. Not to forget people like Munz, Vishnu Prabhakar etc. Nidhin completed diploma in photography and is now moving around Kerala with his Nikon D50. His photos are very creative, some leaves us with a haunted impression, and is really blessed to have received comments from senior photographers like Rajan Paul Sir. I hope soon he will be among the top photographer's of Kerala. Manu and Ananthu are some of the budding photographers from Trivandrum, who are gaining popularity with their awesome clicks. Hope they will be soon among the top. The growth of social network has really helped everyone in promoting their works(all of them owns a fan page in Facebook). 

One of my favorites from Nidhin:)

As for me, i was too passionate about about photography from my childhood. My dad was a photographer, which really made me close to film cameras and lenses. After he quit this career my interest got lost too. But as the time came, the interest gradually came back to me. Now i am very much interested in this field as many are inspiring me to get creative. Some people thinks that owning a DSLR makes them a good photographer. As many are buying these DSLR and publishing photos as they like, the genuine essence of photography is lost at times. Please don't spoil the class of this great media.. Do creative and innovative works, and make photography as a language to communicate in the coming years! 

Palakkad..Photo by my friend Manu Manohar!

Night is always young at Kovalam..Ananthu Photography:)

"When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes.  But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls" ~ Ted Grant

(PS: This is my view on photography and the photographers of Kerala. There are many more talented photographers in Kerala and other parts of India. I wrote this with best of my knowledge. And i do remember and respect the senior photographers even though i haven't mentioned much about them. Do feel free to comment what you think of this writeup. Thanks:))