Murali Rating: Minnal

The town gathered under his tin roof at 9 AM sharp. Everyone had seen the film the night before. Everyone had an opinion.

The reviewer was Sreedharan, the seventy-two-year-old owner of Sreedharan’s Tea and Chat. His rating system was famously brutal: one star meant “watch only if your enemy is awake,” three stars meant “good for one-time, like a borrowed umbrella,” and five stars was reserved for films that made you forget to sip your chai. minnal murali rating

Sreedharan picked up the chalk one last time. He walked to the space beside the four stars. The entire shop held its breath. Would he? Could he? The town gathered under his tin roof at 9 AM sharp

“That,” he said, “is an instant five stars. No sequel needed.” He walked to the space beside the four stars

The news spread through the town within an hour. Not the film’s rating, but the fact that Sreedharan had broken his own scale. People lined up to see what he had written. A young couple took a photo of the blackboard. The local paper sent a reporter.