After the
climax scene of Kammattippaadam, I sat rooted to my seat, hands over my mouth.
That’s how hard it hit me. Rajeev Ravi has given us a slick movie, though it
stretches to three hours. Mushy scenes, dialogues and pretty dolls have no
place in Kammattippaadam. It’s life as you experience it, straight from Kochi
and its underbelly. But there are no
hi-fi gangster’s molls or gory scenes. Yes, it’s a movie about thugs, but told
from a very human angle, how circumstances make or mar people and about the
greed of some that spell doom for others. Real estate tactics are real, you realize
after seeing the movie and a silent chill goes down the spine. It’s still
there!
The highest marks
go to the casting director. Every single character, right to the character with the smallest role,
is picked painstakingly. For a minute I thought it was Dulqar Salman when I saw
the teenage version of the character.
Kammattippadam
is also the triumph of actors who can give of their best but are underutilized,
of mainstream actors who rise above their movie image (read Dulqar. Compare his
Second show with this and you see how he has grown as an actor or how much
Rajeev has worked on him).
Vinayakan
and Manikandan who play two brothers leave a lasting impression with the viewer.
But my most unforgettable character is
Manikandan (Balan chettan) who has never ever wavered from the character he
plays, thanks to the dialogues, make up, demeanour and even the gait. This goes for most of the characters. Make up or presumably the lack-of-it look
contributes in no small measure to the success of the movie. That a dark girl
is the lead’s love interest is a happy progress in cinematic history. The
subdued love scenes are touching, without the lovers ever touching each other
or mouthing cloying silly dialogues.
The intensity
with which each character mentally and
physically does his/her part as also the
pucca timing makes the viewer forget how long she/he has been watching the
movie (close to three hours).
The movie is
s a free lesson for people who use drones irritatingly to show they have
drones. Well orchestrated drone shots and shots that the situation demands, not
scenes to show the locales, or unnecessary close ups, make the camerawork a
technical joy. When you see the smoke of incense in one scene, I almost got the
smell of it! There are so many shots which seem so natural but you know are
magical, and come from an expert’s hands. Madhu Neelakandan is behind the
camera, I find, not Rajeev.
The flashbacks, though well interspersed, slightly
jar. The female presence, Amalda Liz and
Shaun Romy, including Muthumani’s in a cameo (one really cant say cameo because most characters have
small, good roles) is realistic. The rustic folk lines, which can be called a song,
during the funerals, is heartwrenching.
Dulqar
Salman, a chance of a lifetime for you. Manikandan, sporting dentures, looked
every inch Vinayakan’s brother. Josettan (?) who makes an entry with a bang,
simply stole the show. Shine Tom Chacko is also a fine actor. Vinay Fort, P
Balachandran (the story is his), Suraj
Venjarammoodu are some of the others. There are a few more who have done
brilliantly. The body language of all
the characters: That’s one aspect which makes Kammattipadam stand out.
I am struggling to find minuses. Maybe some of
the dialogues in the beginning could have been clearer! Thank you Rajeev Ravi!
