2021, Malayalam, Amazon Prime, 6.9/10 IMDB, Directed by Rohith V. S
A brutal version of a simple tale, that urges you to avert the screen quite often, but the proficiency in making, glues you right back, as it is riveting to see ‘nature’ being a silent onlooker to the consequences of the genetically hard-wired human instincts – Revenge and Self Preservation.
Kala, meaning ‘unwanted’, is all about a wrath between two extreme characters, that turns in to an earth-shattering traumatic battle – the reason being the primal instinct in one and the frustration of failure in the other. The two pivotal characters, the landlord’s son Shaji, played by the stunning Tovino Thomas and the worker played by the striking Sumesh Moor, incidentally change their roles of protagonists and antagonist among them mid-way, making the film a compelling watch.
The story hints a revenge pattern to start with and the slow-paced sequences of series of mundane incidents, takes considerable time for the viewer to settle in to the story. But after a good half hour, the viewers are made to realize that the maker is trying to tell a tale through his lenses rather than his screenplay. The zooming-in on the finer details in the life of Shaji, his wife, his son and his father and zooming out to the larger picture, communicating with the nature that’s around them. At some point it dawns on us the viewers, that the film is man Vs nature shaking hands with the haves Vs have-nots. It is the contrast in the lives of the two humans that the maker is interested in capturing- their attitude towards another human, whose circumstance and perspective of life is different.
Tovino’s character, Shaji has been carefully etched with the traits of the landed aristocratic supremacy and Tovino brings it our elegantly, through the simplest form of gestures, say, the way he handles his pet- the control in leashing his dog and placing his feet on his mastiff breed pet dog’s head, to arrogantly stroke it, with his toes. His attacker who enters as a day wager in to his house among few others, has his own reasons for his revenge on Shaji.
What should have been a squabble, turns to a bloody fight, accentuating the animalistic behaviours of the two. The credit- ‘Based on true incidents’, stuns the viewers, making it an added strength to the 40 odd minutes remaining film. With the transformation of the two characters in reversed roles towards the climax, the intentions of the maker are pretty well-established.
The breezy shot just before the end credits roll, serves a metaphor for both the protagonist’s and the canine’s sense of freedom, the freedom that makes them one with ‘nature’. It is the same old nature, that stood witness for the way they both had been treated.
How can I wind up, without crediting the team with accolades, for incorporating subliminal cuts of ‘nature’ through full length of the film? It in fact, works as an effective mind control, that constantly reminds us of the ‘nature’, the third eye that bears witness for all our deeds. The film’s stunts, flow seamlessly, with the help of a jaw-dropping realistic choreography, emphasizing the vision of the maker and thrusting life in to the two characters.
A peek into two extreme souls- when the unwanted, wants, the wanted to know, what it is to be – an unwanted.
An interesting watch.