Falimy

Last night I saw a Malayalam movie, Falimy, released in OTT recently (HULU). I did not make a spelling mistake. Yes, it is named Falimy (instead of Family). The movie comes with English close caption. 

This is not a review about the direction, cinematography, songs, etc. This is what my opinion of the movie. 

This movie was directed by Nithish Sahadev, a debutant director. The hero is Basil Joseph.

There is a family living in Trivandrum. Chandran, his wife Rema, their two sons Anoop and Abhi and Chandran’s dad Janardanan. They are kind of dysfunctional family. Anoop who is working as dubbing artist does not have good relationship with his dad Chandran. The second son Abhi who is a student wants to immigrate to London, UK. (I don’t know why he is wearing T-shirt with the name showing Los Angeles.) 

The grandpa Janardanan wants to go to Kaashi (Benares) and no one is helping him. He decides to go by himself without telling anyone in the house. He was caught in the railway station by Abhi and he brings the grandpa home. 

Anoop decides to take the grandpa to Kaashi. And finally, the whole family decided to go. Their travel from Trivandrum to Kaashi is the most hilarious comedy. I loved every minute of it. I will see the movie 2 more times just for their travel experience. They reach Kaashi and stay in a hotel. Next morning grandpa is missing. The other 4 get in the business of trying to find the grandpa.  Some people are advising them that old people come to Kaashi to die.

Did they find their grandpa? That is the rest of the story. It is worth watching the movie. Please don’t read Wikipedia. It tells the whole story and will spoil your interest. 

During the movie I thought I could guess the ending because I have seen lot of Tamil and Malayalam movies. But the Director of the movie (who is also the writer) gave an unexpected twist at the end. 

Many dialogues are hilarious. One of them I liked very much. Here is the situation. While searching for grandpa, the 4 family members end up in a police station. There is a lady police inspector. These 4 are not able to answer her simple questions. She says: I know the people in the Kerala State are 98% educated and intelligent. Are you four from the other 2% category?

The End.

(American) Football vs Cricket

Since I follow both sports religiously, I thought of writing about the differences in these two sports. I’m not going to explain how these two sports are played but instead just some basic differences. (Wait until the last paragraph. I found out an important rule only last Sunday night.)

Game vs Match 

The competitive event in Football is called a game. The competitive event in Cricket is called a match. 

Officials 

In Football, they are generally referred to as referees (which is technically incorrect). The people in the officiating crew actually have different titles. In Cricket, they are referred to as umpires. 

Number of Officials 

In Football, there are seven officials on the field. Referee, Umpire, Head Linesman, Line Judge, Back Judge, Field Judge, and Side Judge. The lead official is the Referee (who wears a white cap). The other six officials wear black caps. In Cricket there are two officials on the field. Both are called Umpires 

Duration of a Game/Match 

In Football, the game is split into four quarters, 15 “game minutes” of playing time for each quarter. The total game time is usually around 3 hours. 

In Cricket, the match is dependent upon the type of game that is played, i.e. Test, ODI, or T20. Test is five days with time off for lunch, tea, drinks, etc. ODI is 50 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts 7 hours. T20 is 20 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts around 3 hours. 

Captain 

In Football, a captain is only an honorary title. The captain comes in only for the coin toss before the game begins. In Cricket, a captain has many more responsibilities. He decides whether to bat or field (if he wins the coin toss), the batting order, adjusting the field placements, which player should bowl, and declaring the innings among many others. 

Weather 

In Football, the game will proceed regardless of what type weather is present. The game will continue even through heavy rain or heavy snowfall. In Cricket, the match will be stopped if there is rain. 

Penalties (just a sample)

In Football, there is a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes, among others, excessive celebration and/or excessive taunting of the opponent. I’m not aware of any penalties in cricket for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

And finally, I learned this last Sunday night. I was watching a Football game between San Francisco 49ers vs the Philadelphia Eagles. There was an alteration on the sideline between 2 opposing team players. The Chief of Security who was standing there went over and put his hands on the San Francisco 49er player (presumably trying to difuse the situation). The 49er player then gave the Chief of Security a boxing style left hook on his face. 

The Referee ejected both the 49er player and the Chief of Security from the stadium. 49er player was ejected for making a contact with a non-player. The Chief of Security was ejected because if there is an altercation between players on the ground, it is the sole responsibility of the referee to intervene.  Per referee, the Chief of Security's responsibility is crowd control and not interfere in players disputes.

Looks like in Football, referees have the right to eject anyone from the stadium. I never knew this until last Sunday.

Justice Sandra Day O’Conner

Retired U.S Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O’Conner passed away today at the age of 93. She was the first woman judge in the US Supreme Court. She was appointed by President Ronald Regan. Justice O’Conner was an independent defender of rule of law. 

I want to write this blog about a funny incident. 

In 1985, there was a “Salute to Congress” event. Many VIPs were invited for dinner. Justice Sandra Day O’Conner happened to sit next to the famous (American) Football Player John Riggins. O’Conner did not know who Riggins was. And, Riggins did not know who O’Conner was. Just their names only from the name tag. 

John Riggins had too much alcohol to drink. He was drunk. They both did not engage in any conversation. At one time during dinner, Riggins told the quiet O’Conner – Hey Sandy Baby, Loosen up. You are too tight”. Justice O’Conner just smiled and did not say anything. 

Next day it was all over the news and much talked about in sports and legal circle. 

It was reported that Justice O’Conner got a kick out of that meeting with John Riggins. After a few weeks, when she was giving a speech at Pepperdine University Law School, she mentioned this incident and got a big ovation. 

After John Riggins retired from football, he took up acting. When he made a debut in a play, Justice O’Conner showed up and presented him with a dozen roses. 

May she Rest in Peace.