Not in many movies, the audience
of a Tamil cinema skips the applauses for the protagonist only to rise for the
Director and an even louder cheer for the Music Director. Kadal began, for many,
outside the theatre. It must be really good; it must be a love story that is
mixed with an interesting plot that revolves around characters from a sea-side
Tamil Christian community with a strong cast in the form of Arvind Swamy and
Arjun, they thought. The muse that was created was also because “coincidently”
son of actor Karthik and daughter of actor Radha, who were also cast opposite
to each other in their debut “Alaigal Oivathillai”, which was a love story
revolving around a sea-side village.
But, Mani Ratnam surprises us
with a completely different movie that should probably be accredited with its
bold attempt with the characterization, dialogues and screenplay. The natural
south Tamil slang that is also delivered in a natural fast phase leaves most city
audience biting nearby ears for missing out at them. But, what you get is a
rarity. Written by writer Jeyamohan, the dialogues thus give you that
normalness of life.
With some wonderful performances
from almost every character in the movie, except probably Thulasi, the cast is
a standout. Now, speaking of Thulasi,
she needs to work on her expressions; they need to be in a fashion that suit
her face more. She perfectly suits in the character, but with the whole screen
so beautiful, she should have done better. Most audience felt she didn’t look
that great, but I felt it was her novice expression that cost her. Arvind Swamy
and Arjun do excellently well without any doubt, and Lakshmi Manju chips in
with a small little role that is most important too. Ponvannan brings in his
experience to pull out a mature performance too. New-face Gautam is not all
that new-face at all with the acting part. He is a natural with acting and did
a good job too.
The cinematography is splendid
and eye-soothing. The sea is like the background to a drama that runs in front.
Scenes from the deep sea in the climax are shot breathtakingly. A 10 on 10 for the cinematographer Rajiv Menon.
What probably is the highlight of
the movie is the characterization of the 6 distinct elements I saw-the Good,
the Evil, the Human, the Angel, the Coin and the World. The Good played by
Arvind Swamy, is about a rich ‘Buddha’ like character who seeks peace in
devotion and prayer. He completely believes in the power of truth and the
Bible. Arjun on the other hand is the son of the Satan, as he claims often in
the movie. He like Lord Voldemort knows the laws (here the Bible), better than the
Good. With a little tiff that arises when the Good meets the Bad, Arjun goes
off to only come back to seek vendetta. He also promises Arvind that he is
about to teach him a lesson on who’s path in life is a better one.
In the little game they play, the
Human is introduced and he moves from one side to the other. From the hitches
of the World, the Human struggles and turns himself to Satan during his
childhood. The Good returns in the form of Arvind, who is now the newly
appointed priest to the local church. He meets the Human and introduces him to
goodness and God. After a series of slow paced developments, the Bad returns
only coincidently, but uses the opportunity to finish of the long pending
revenge. The World is deceived to punish the Good and the Human loses his hope
in goodness too. An Angel would then come to cast love on the Human and the
whole story further is for these elements to finally say that, ‘No human is
complete goodness or complete evil’.
I’m not sure if anyone actually
saw the movie in such a philosophical view. With an audience that can be really
entertainment seeking, this movie can be a tragedy. It’s one of those few
movies you might have to see again, without friends around, with an open mind,
to understand what it says. Credits to Mani Ratnam for his attitude and valor.
With all this said, what lacked
in the movie was that some small things were said in a subtle, quiet,
unconventional fashion. Most people easily miss out those details and end up
blaming the slowness and the complex story.
Kadal, to me, is an 8 on 10.
