'Cinema Paradiso' is housefull

Kochi: Twenty-eight years after the release of the masterpiece movie Cinema Paradiso, a group of Malayalis - 77, 857 of them to be precise - are debating cinema in a Facebook group named after the movie. The collective, started by some friends who shared similar interests, gathered at Palarivattom here on Sunday to celebrate its 5th anniversary.
'Here unite the lovers of Morgan Freeman, Mohanlal, Roberto Benigni, Jagathy Sreekumar, Frank Darabont and Padmarajan' reads the welcome page of the group who 'met each other' on the comments section of the popular Malayalam blog Berlitharangal. "We used to have discussions in the comments section and eventually we started the group with the name Sree Rajarajeshwari Adholokam," said Ben Mathew, one of the administrators of the group.
Before long, the group was rechristened as Cinema Paradiso, after one of the group members suggested others to watch the Italian classic, which bowled them over.
The group which started with 20 members, now has more than 75, 000 people from all walks of life engaging in constructive discussions about films, both regional and international. One of the factors that made the group popular was witty posts - mostly reviews and spoofs. "There is one Kumaran Poonjaar and Phalgu Philadelphia who are popular among the group," says Arun Ashok, another administrator of the group.