Kadal - A Philosophical Ride

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.