It was almost after 10 years i rediscovered Chechi in the wilderness of wayanad. One of her movies was playing in a theater and the tag line read "mole shakeele etadi padam "
Suddenly i was drawn back to the time when i was in high school in 8th grade when her movie posters had become a rage in kerala.The name shakeela had become synonymous to sex.People who shared the name felt ashamed and were humiliated. i still remember once in an overcrowded bus a man got down at his stop and was waiting for his wife but she dint come out she was somewhere inside the bus unaware of the place.People were urging him to call her name and tell her to come out but he stuck to just "di eragivaa"(hey come out).Then the conductor crawled out of the bus and asked for his wife's name , he hesitated and then said "shakeela".Then the bus went berserk people were gigglin and then some morons shouted "bussil shakeela undu avale erakki vidoo"(there is shakeela in the bus please let her go).Quickly a woman got up and dashed out of the bus, embarrassed and offended...
In my city there was a theater exclusively for her movies, it was her temple. Every evening it would be crowded with devotees.Honestly, i also wanted to watch one of those movies, especially one named "driving school", i was turned on by its poster that had shakeela sitting in the driver seat,caressing the steering,showing ample amount of cleavage and all geared up for a 'ride'.But i was scared to go and watch ; all i could do was drool over its poster.I never saw the movie maybe that is one of the reasons that i cannot still drive a car!!.Once one of her movies came on tv and i was alone at home.The movie called 'kinnarathumbikal' she was seducin a young boy in the movie just what the doctor ordered!
Boy:"chechi ithellam thettalle chechi"(chechi isnt this a sin?)
Chechi:"thettu cheyyathathu aarundu mone ee lokathu"(who hasnt sinned in this world my son)
These words from her lips made me realize that Chechi was not just about phallocentric eroticism,she was a teacher and moreover a philosopher.With these lines she blew away the guilty feeling i used to have when i watch erotic material.She laid strong foundations in me and helped me move into 'deeper waters' with ease.
After that i laid hands on exotic material and forgot about her completely until now when i saw this poster in wayanad, all the memories came gallopin back.Even years after her retirement her movies provide bread and butter to these senile single screen theaters in this multiplex era.It is because of her that the b grade movie industry in kerala much more viable that that of any other state.Her movies were dubbed to different languages.Her 'swargavaathil' came as 'jannat ka darwaza' and 'charasundari' as 'shitani aurat'.She was the most successful heroine of her time in kerala , her movies fought against the male dominated mainstream cinema in the state.When katrina and kareena are battlin for size zero shakeela achieved everything without even steppin on a treadmill.Yes, they wont name their kids after her and i dont think she cares about that coz she is enviably immortalized in the hearts of men, plunderin their dreams sometimes as a bucolic temptress and sometimes as an exotic spy....... LONG LIVE CHECHI....
