Ennu ninde Moideen

A small village. A muslim boy. A Hindu girl. Both from prestigious families and of course the usual happens. They fall in love.

Families are naturally outraged and defiantly object. And with equal defiance the pair choose to remain committed to each other.. Sounds stereotyped already right? Well now picture that scenario in the mid-fifties, where caste and religion played the one major role in everyday living.

Turn to look at the boy and see a confident, active communist, sportsman, actor and an over all hero. Look further and you'll see the girl, a smart intelligent medical student who stood her ground against racialism in her class at a time when higher professional education for girls was a rare luxury. Be with her as the love of a man she admires for his ideals is revealed to her, through innocuous brilliant efforts. And thus allow yourself to drown in their story. The story of Moideen and Kanchana.

A tale that weaves through over two decades of heartache and so much love.

A tale where two youngsters choose patience over passion, and decide to wait till the incessant storms pass over.

A tale that narrates the faith the couple had in each other and their relentless need for each other despite fears and threats of social discord.

A tale that tells of a man who respected the wishes of the woman he loved and waited for years, only because that was what she desired.

Witness the depths of love of a woman who allowed her family to imprison her in the confines of her home for years on end.

Perceive the lives of a desperate couple that tried and tried again to attempt at a life together and never gave up despite each thwarted effort.

Too mushy? Too filmy maybe?

Well, what if this really happened?

What if, way back in the fifties there were indeed two young people whose only fault was that they fell in love at a time and an age when it was unheard and almost criminal to wed across castes and definitely impossible to even imagine from another faith.

Isn't it then a story worth telling? And this story has indeed been sensitively told ensuring that the young lovers steal a bit of your heart along the way.

What perhaps is amazing about this tale is how they never chose to give up. Despite all odds.

Their only reiteration to their love were the letters that were smuggled to and fro with the help of the few that supported them.

Brilliant was the language they created to prevent the letters being read if caught.

But again, mostly touching was the fact that they stayed faithfully and deeply in love and apart for over twenty years.

Only to not be united at all.

Believe me, if you have a touch of romance in your heart this story will not fail to move you.


R S Vimal's attempt to bring immortality to this beautiful love story is definitely a great work of art.


Natural and captivating are the performances of Prithviraj in the role of Moideen and Parvathi as the pretty Kanchana.

Rain, as in most Indian romances these days, plays a vital role here as well.

Beautifully balancing the pain is the humor that is seamlessly added to the movie.

The songs and the background score have done absolute justice to the movie, dedicated to one of the greatest love stories that Kerala can claim as her own.

Every character has done justice to their roles but eventually our attention and our hearts remain with Moideen and Kanchana.

Especially when you know that the real-life Kanchana still lives in Moideen's home as his unwed widow and he still lives in her heart as her eternal lover.

Definitely worth watching. And knowing that all of it, every bit of it, actually took place all those years ago, does indeed light a small spark of hope within oneself. That there still may be hope for us after all. That we too may find that one true love who not just loves but respects and accepts you for who you are, and who promises to be yours until the end of time, come what may.

As Moideen says of his beloved, 'She does indeed have a beautiful face, but she has a far more beautiful heart.'

And she in turn says of him, 'I love him a thousand and hundred thousand times more than you can possibly imagine and I know he loves me a million fold more than that.'

It's so easy to utter such words, but this couple proved to the world that their promise to each other to be the other's was the greatest thing in the world for them and that they would do, and actually did do everything to live by that.

The script captures the essence of their love, while depicting the social instability and inequality of those long ago days. This movie is a definite must see and the director, R S Vimal deserves a round of applause. So too do the lead pair.

What better way could such a story of love be made immortal than dedicating it to all generations as a movie?

Ennu Ninde Moideen

The people within me

I've come to the conclusion that two individuals are residing within me and have been for a while. How they manage to coexist though is beyond my understanding. Because despite being special and unique they are poles apart in nature.

They are both extremely strong willed and possess separate well-defined beliefs and ideals yet they are unbelievably inseparable. Maybe that's because they don't have much of a choice, because their very existence demands that they remain intertwined forever.

And no, I do not have a split personality or a doppleganger syndrome.

I merely have a very soft mushy being in me that I call Heart and she has a lifelong reliable companion called Head. They can't do without each other but unfortunately, more times than not, they don't get along well with each other either.

Heart is exactly that. She's soft hearted, carefree and prone to love and to crave love. That's the only language she understands.

Head on the other hand, is sensible, realistic, cautious and has absolutely no time for sentimental nonsense. But don't get me wrong, he isn't a bad guy. In fact he's a great guy. He's kind and giving and caring with the urge to always do what is right. But he's still the guy. Should I say much more?

So Heart's the one who loves the fun while Head prefers to be suspicious of one and all, always on the lookout for danger, choosing to stay safe always. Troubleshooting and security management are his criteria while Heart loves romance, candlelit dinners, glorious sunsets and surprise gifts!

Heart's the impulsive of the two and is always rushing headlong into places Head cringes to even think of being in. He tries to hold her back, he tries reasoning, cautioning, scolding, counselling, he tries pretty much everything but there's only so much that he can do, because despite every advice Heart always turns the deaf ear to him. So all he can pretty much do is hope for the best, grab all his patience together and wait. Because he knows one thing for sure, she'll come back. At times happy and gleeful at her lucky escapades but many times disappointed and let down.

Head never lets Heart down though.

He celebrates with her when she's overjoyed. But he also holds her tight and gives her his shoulder to cry on when she wallows in pain. Head however has a problem, he has a temperament. He often loses control and gives in to terrible bouts of anger and frustration especially when he's overcome with helplessness at his inability to help Heart heal.

But again, Head is almost always the first to pull himself together and thankfully he never allows himself to drown in depression or anxiety for too long. So time and again he takes up the tedious task of coaching Heart, in an effort to pull her out of her misery. He repeatedly and patiently teaches her the lessons of life with presentations, explanations and proof, all in the desperate hope that she would finally learn, amend her ways and stick to life as it should be lived. He tries to show her where she'd gone wrong and where she needs to watch her step and for a short while she actually does pay attention.

But eventually Heart can't help herself and she gives in to the call of love, recklessly throwing all caution to the winds. Again.

Though Heart loves to love, Head is the possessive one. He hates it when Heart is misused or taken advantage of. It frustrates him that she doesn't see how naive she is and how others enjoy taking her for a ride. It hurts him that others don't value the beauty and innocence of all she's got to give. When Heart aches, Head hurts too. He wishes he could keep her all to himself. He wishes she'd be happy with just his company and nothing more. After all, who knew her better than him?

Heart on the other hand finds Head too serious and often tells him to lighten up, loosen up, relax and just enjoy each moment of each day.

She tries to explain to him that every time she fills herself up with hope and expectation, she's actually living. And though it hurts to be let down so often, she still has no regrets. Sure she'll cry and sob, but that's her way of getting over the pain because in a day or two she's ready to pick herself up, brush herself down and plunge right into the next ride. With the strong perpetual belief that this ride would be a glorious one.

She tries reasoning with him, as she tells him that that's the way she is, that's the way she has to be.

She needs to be full of love, expecting love, giving love. Birthing hope. All the time. That's the only way she can exist, the only way she can be happy.

Head always listens to her with patience. And since he believes he's the one with the intelligence, he actually feels he understands her. But he still can't help doing all he can to protect her. Because when Heart is hurt, Head feels the ache. So he is always planning and plotting. Working and reworking on how to secure every situation Heart finds herself in so that Heart would always be the beneficiary at the end. He's a sweet one, our Head. And Heart loves him dearly. Maybe it's because she knows she can always count on him that Heart knows she can spread her wings and fly, because she knows she has her sturdy dependable security net laid out beneath her wherever she may be. 

They're an amazing pair. So different yet so perfectly matched. So perfectly balanced.

When I ponder on them, my soul is struck with the realisation that Head and Heart are all I need for the perfect balanced existence. A happy peaceful existence.