Whenever I go for a movie with great expectations, even if
it turns out to be reasonably good, I won’t usually be satisfied. But Kaaka Muttai is no such movie. Go in
with great expectations and it will deliver a lot more. (Well I should warn it’s no
typical mass pot boiler as well.) it has a simple plot of two young brothers
from a Chennai slum and their desire to eat pizza. But it’s actually an
allegory of the disparity between the affluent and the poor in our society.
The film is all light hearted and feel - good and witty on
the surface but it pivots around the serious issue of class divide. The rich
throwing their influence and money around for further advancements of their
interests, wily politicians and their cunningness to exploit both the rich and
the poor according to how the situation suits them, the poor and their
hardships with no chance of any advancement, the media with its penchant for sensationalizing
any news, it’s all very well depicted.
There is a scene where the brothers, who unassuming to them
are in the middle of a media/social storm, walk by a TV reporter covering about
them, are shooed away from getting in the ‘frame’ of the shoot. The message is
not emphasized upon. But it gets through clearly.
Vignesh and Ramesh who play the lead characters.. how can
they act so well? Iyshwarya who plays the kids mother, have given a performance
that could shame any established star. And what a directorial debut by
Manikandan! He is a name to look forward to.
It was heartening to see subtitles being played in a theater
in Kottayam. The film having had a run in the festival circuit before its
mainstream release might have had something to do with it. Subtitles would only
bring in more crowd to theaters and I don’t understand why regional movies
don’t use them.
Beautifully shot, very well written, Kaaka Muttai is definitely worth a visit to the theater.
Comments
Post a Comment