When the local body election was announced, Malayala Manorama released a special feature on 11 November 2025 with a striking visual.

At first glance, it seemed like a routine election-themed creative. But my youngest brother, Thomson—an ardent movie buff—looked at it and immediately said, “This is a collage of scenes from eleven Malayalam movies!”

That revelation changed the way I saw the image. Until then, I could identify barely three movie stills. As the saying goes, knowledge has two means: either you know it—or know from where to get it. With Thomson as my resource person, I decided to turn this creative into an opportunity: A QUIZ..

The title of the image was Election Mode. Inspired by the recent Onam viral hit ‘Mood’, I added a playful twist and named it “Election Mode to Quiz Mood.”

We launched the QUIZ in our family WhatsApp groups, alumni circles, retired teachers’ and principals’ networks.

The responses were mixed

Our family groups were quick to crack the quiz—correct answers began appearing within minutes. In one student alumni group, someone confidently posted the full set of answers. In another, four participants collaborated to complete the list. It was participatory, lively, and unexpectedly refreshing.

There were also groups with no response.

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What This Exercise Really Shows

Kudos to Manorama team

The Manorama creative team managed something remarkable: they connected two worlds that the average Malayali is deeply passionate about—politics and cinema.

This is creativity at its best: the kind that springs from human imagination, cultural memory, and shared experience. No AI could have produced this specific blend of nostalgia and political context with such intuitive insight.

Full credit to their team.

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What I Observed from the Participants

The quiz responses came from across the spectrum:

• MNC executives
• Working professionals
• Retired principals

One comment in particular stayed with me. A busy associate professor wrote:

“This was recreation—a relaxation therapy amidst my packed schedule. Like David Copperfield, I wish there was ‘something more.’”

That remark revealed something important: people still crave meaningful, interactive moments in a world drowning in passive scrolling.

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A Thought for the Digital Age

We increasingly hear that social media is becoming one-way traffic—and that Gen Z is quietly migrating away from it. Perhaps exercises like these—creative, communal, light-hearted—can bring them back to platforms that feel too noisy or too commercial.

Maybe they themselves will start creating interactive content that fosters participation rather than consumption.

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Hey Politicians, are you listening

At the same time, the movie dialogues used as trolls in the original creative are playful jabs at our politicians and parties. One wonders:
Will our leaders ever reflect on these popular sentiments and correct themselves?

After all, every vote is cast with the HOPE that the political class rises to higher standards with each election.

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And Yes—The Answers

I won’t keep you waiting any longer. I know this is what many of you were scrolling down for…