Karnan

2021, Tamil, 9/10 IMDB, Directed by Mari Selvaraj

A rumination of the forgotten people’s war of a 90’s village, captured artistically, turning the table for the oppressed. Albeit the disclaimer trying to cover up the anxiety of seeking justification and safely calls their work a fictional one, the makers succeed in reiterating and voicing out their aggression through bona fide characterizations.

Going by the golden rule of, ‘Show, Don’t Tell’, Director Mari selvaraj, does extensive sensory detailing. The introduction of the protagonist Karnan, played by actor Dhanush reminds the Werner Herzog’s documentary ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’. The actor’s face is seen drawn using a torch fire on a confined ceiling of a cave like space. This is a metaphor for the tribal state of living of the villagers and their burning issues. The film attempts to document, the toil of the suppressed. All they are toiling for is a near normal human life with due honour.

The similarities in the names of the village and the police station, rhymingly aligns your brain. It points to the most evident communal violence in two of the southern Tamil Nadu villages in the 90’s. The genesis of the violence is an altercation between a bus driver and a youngster of the village. It affirms its corelation to the month-long clash of the real- life incidents that happened in Thirunelveli in 1995.

The director’s debut outing, preps for the kind of movie his second venture Karnan. Both his films premises are set in Tirunelveli, the director’s native. The stories his narration unveils are earthy and pregnant with untold sorrows. His unpretentious making, allows the viewers sample the pain that embodies the ‘discourteous world’ of the suppressed.

‘A bus doesn’t stop in a village’ – sounds trivial to the urban ears. All we associate with it is, is the usual commuting obstacles of the villagers. We pity them not having access to the medical facilities during an emergency. But Mari selvaraj gives a bigger arc to the issue that is deserves. It opens up a pandora box of never imagined long list of logical curbs which needs to be addressed. ‘Under development of the youth workforce’ is the pivotal issue that the director is narrowing down. This is a result of the youth being deprived of their basic rights to education. The development and upliftment of the entire village rides on educating their next generation. The director convincingly portrays that people are forced to grab the attention of the state, to warn of its inadequacies. And they do it by enforcing law themselves, as they are left with no choice.

Dhanush is a mere tool in the hands of the director. Nevertheless, his contribution to the title role is noteworthy. And none other than him could have brought the exasperated youngster’s role to life. Except, it almost had become too repetitive to see him play versions of the suppressed in his recent collaborations. In director Vettrimaran’s 2019 Asuran, Dhanush played the father role of Sivasamy in his national award-winning performance. His son velmurugan’s role was played by Teejay. It’s a consolation, for people who wished Dhanush had played his eldest son’s role as well in Asuran. The role of Dhanush in Karnan seems an extension of it.

Police official exercises his vendetta by inflicting pain on the helpless old villagers at the police station. It’s just because he wasn’t offered a chair during the enquiry at the village. The director turns a real hero, when he dedicates a long shot, almost a tunnel vision kind. All this amidst the wary conflicts between the villagers and the police force. The camera follows the boy who was sent to fetch a chair for the police official. He is seen nobly delayed, as he had to carry his bed ridden granny to pee.

The camera captures the revolt in its full glory. Santhosh Narayanan’s music sets the appropriate mood. But the director fails to comply with his genuine attempt of ‘show, don’t tell’. Instead, he succumbs to add verbal expressions. He seems doubtful if his symbols would fail to connect with the audience. This defeats the purpose of whole bunch of semiotics that was detailed meticulously right from the first frame. He got desperate to get the message across to the masses who can’t decode the subtly.

The Yaman character travels along with Dhanush as his mentor and friend. Lal Paul, plays the character that’s at par with the protagonist. Lal nails his performance but it still left me yearning. I would have been content to see an actor with roots in the southern dialect to have played the character.

Yogi babu’s horizon keeps widening with every versatile film that he features off late. It is a treat to watch him playing this rounded character of Vadamalaiyan in Karnan. Gouri Kishan playing the friend, outshines Rajisha Vijayan, the female lead. Her character seems to damper the narrative and very much doubt it if it was the mutilation that caused it.

The antagonist character of the policeman who excesses brutality on the villagers, played by Natarajaj isn’t very convincing. Whereas, Laskhmipriya playing Dhanush’s elder sister, pushes the narrative forward poetically. She glistens, especially in the last scene when she sees her brother being lauded by the villagers.

Good watch.