The movies are set around a railway restaurant named Kerala Cafe. The films move along the ‘long journey’ theme and explore various aspects of the Malayali psyche.

Nostalgia, directed by M. Padmakumar is the first one in the sequence. Johnykutty (Dileep) is millionaire who works in Dubai. His penchant for good old Malayalam melodies is too well known. He dreams of returning to Kerala. But he lands up in the State and is in utter dejection for many reasons. His real intention is to dispose of his ancestral property against the wishes of his parents. And after that he is back in the Gulf. The director tries to expose the lack of sincerity in our nostalgia.

Debutant Sankar Ramakrishnan’s Island Express has a flamboyant Prithviraj, a writer, talking about his favourite heroes in life. They include Jesus, Frankenstein and Mangalassery Neelakantan. He is all excited about his new book to be out soon. He goes to Kerala with his editor-publisher girlfriend. An aged Narayani (Sukumari) waits at a bus station, while a tired army officer (Jayasurya) sleeps sitting nearby. A man in his fifties (Manian Pilla Raju), somewhere afar, talks of an incident, a tragedy, that took place 21 years ago. And a youngster (Rahman), now greyed, thinks of his lost love. Island Express ‘moves towards’ the Peruman train accident and incorporates some beautiful shots by cameraman S. Kumar.

Shaji Kailas’ Lalitham Hiranmayam is about infidelity. Ramesh (Suresh Gopi) is married and has a kid. But he is attracted to a woman and is in a dilemma. Suresh Gopi tries to emote the trauma of a disturbed mind.

In Uday Ananthan’s Mruthyunjay, a young journalist tries to unravel the mystery surrounding a ‘mana’ owned by Thilakan.

Anjali Menon’s Happy Journey is a hilarious take on the modern man’s pretensions. Jagathy Sreekumar plays the role of a middle-aged man who falls too often for women. He deliberately occupies a seat next to a young girl (Nithya) on a journey to Kozhikode. He begins to flirt with her in no time and engages in loose talk.

The story takes a turn and the viewer is in for a surprise. The director gives the story an unexpected and brilliant ending.

B. Unikrishnan’s Aviramam portrays, in a touching manner, the difficulty of pulling on in the face of adversities.

Shyamaprasad’s Off Season stands out for the photography.

Anwar Rasheed’s Bridge sees a combination of two movies. The director uses rich and varied imagery to portray the pattern of human behaviour.

Revathy’s Makal deals with child trafficking. Lal Jose’ Puramkazhchakal is based on a story by C.V. Sriraman. Technicians like Shamdat, Vijay Ullaganathan, M.J. Radhakrishnan, Azhagappan, Madhu Ambat, Anil Nair, Hari Nair, Suresh Rajan, and Sujith have cranked the camera. It has a song penned by Rafeeq Ahamed, tuned by Bijibal and rendered by P. Jayachandran.

It is conceived and produced by Ranjith.

G. Jayakumar

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