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May 31, 2018


Once in a while Prithviraj is taken hostage by the ghost of an affluent white guy. Kerala, which dips to a bone chilling 32 deg Celsius and 100% humidity in the cold depths of December is not really the most agreeable place to be wearing tailored woolen suits or slick leather jackets desired by such affluent Caucasian 'ethereals'. This leaves Prithvi no other option but to ask the director to shoot his next film in the Scottish glens or London town or in case these locales are not available, in some down and out US city like Detroit - where the weather is more chillax and these garments more appropriate

A few years ago, this ghostly possession culminated in the making of a movie called London Bridge. In 2017, it resulted in Adam Joan. Joan? Why Joan, which is traditionally a female name in most of the English speaking world? Why not John or at the most exotic - Jon? Joan reminds me of a crafts store frequented by old grandmas in search of knitting yarn. But no, someone had to add another candidate to the list of atrociously spelt ordinary names. (Naiphthan, Danyyl and Klowee say 'Hi')

Adam Joan is a heir-apparent to some major real estate fortune. We see Adam traipsing with his new bride (a Bengali export, an actress named Mishti) in verdant tea plantations and house-boat filled, church lined lagoons of Kerala. If laying claim to some of the most touristy Kerala real estate is not enough, we see that Adam seems to have inherited a few bed and breakfasts in Scotland as well, where he and his family are seen stationed when they are not singing songs or doing mega-weddings in Kerala.

Ezra, an earlier movie of Prithviraj's, presented Jewish mythology packaged with exorcism and ghosts to the Malayali audience. Here in Adam Joan we are introduced to satanic cults reigning over the quiet valleys of Scotland. Scots, you lucky buggers, you got chosen by Prithvi and his team to play host to satanic cults. Not fair. All the Caribbean shamans are going to be offended that Prithvi didn't chose Jamaica.

Through Prithvi's movies like Ezra, London Bridge, Adam Joan and upcoming Ranam/Detroit Crossing Malayalees are learning a lot about different world cultures and the horrors each of them harbors. Quite unlike the tolerant Kerala backwaters where Jewish girls sing in church choirs without the fear of their progeny abducted by Satan worshipers.

1 comments:

Yakob said...

John is pronounced 'Joan' by typical mallus (and Johnny is 'Joni') but this guy Jinu V. Abraham who directed the movie, being a Christian, should know better. Maybe he didn't read the Gospel of John. Or whoever was responsible for the title must have grown up in some obscure village, never stepped out of Kerala. I mean, even if they pronounce it that way, at least get the spelling right. A big budget movie like this should not have such an embarrassingly mis-spelt title. A regular guy like me, seeing the title would assume it is about a couple named Adam and Joan (like Jodhaa Akbar). Maybe they are unaware that Joan is a girl's name.

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