The Gulf Experience

Kerala’s economy, landscape and cinema has been shaped by migration to the Gulf. The enchantment with West Asia began in the late 1970s, and peaked in the 1990s. Malayalam cinema, too, took the migratory route, capturing the struggling images of migrant life with all its complexities. Here’s a sample:

Ee Naadu (1982)

Set in the political milieu of the 80s, Salim (Mammooty) works in the Gulf and comes home once in two years. Treated like royalty he finds his family and friends desert him when he loses his job.

Nadodi Kattu (1987)

Two friends Ramdas (Mohanlal) and Vijayan (Sreenivasan) sell everything to pay an agent for jobs in Dubai. They take a fishing boat to Dubai and find they have been scammed off their life savings when they discover that they have landed on the shores of Chennai.

Garshome (1998)

Nazar (Murali) returns home fed up with working 12 years in the Gulf only to discover his family finds his presence intrusive. The only thing that everyone talks about at home is return to the Gulf. A peaceful life is illusory, as the demands of his family become painful.

Aarabi Katha (2007)

The fate of Mukundan Sreenivasan who tries to escape the political designs of his fellow comrade, flies to the Gulf in search of a job to find the comrade has spread his tentacles there too. He is finally forced to seek the job of a camel keeper.

Khadhama (2011)

Is the woeful tale of domestic help Ashwathi (Kavvya Madhavan) in an Arab’s house in Saudi Arabia. Cruelty forces her to leave the slavish job and roam the streets. With no passport and no place to stay, she is on the run from the police.

Diamond Necklace (2012)

Arun Kumar, a young doctor, working in Dubai pushes his credit cards to fund his heady lifestyle. High on credit and low on morals Arun cannot help stealing a diamond necklace from a patient.

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