2020, Malayalam, 7/10 IMDB, Netflix, Directed by Khalid Rahman
The disagreements, the resentments and the inner turmoil, that swirl around unfaithful relationship, resulting in regrettable deeds- beautifully woven in a black comedy premise, speaks the bitter reality. It leaves the viewers spellbound in ‘pity’ for the wrong choices made in life in the name of ‘Love’. The finesse, suspense and the crisp narration, makes this venture an engaging and thought provoking one.
Is ‘Love’ is subjective? Of course it is. When narrowed down to romantic ‘Love’ with a partner, is it subjective still? It again is highly subjective, as it is about ‘two conscious people’ with individual ‘point of views’. But, isn’t it the ‘objective love’ that binds a couple a given relationship-married or in courtship? That’s the crux of the movie, written in a satirical tone- the very ‘absence’ of the ‘so called’, ‘spontaneous and unconscious love’, among the Millennials and Gen Z.
In any strained relationship, the ‘unborn’ is often the litmus test. The director Khalid Rahman, chooses to spin the story from that point in the lives of the lead pair. The maker also attempts to explore the scopes of a simple linear narration of this twisted tale, giving it a newer shade, by surprising the audience with an unexpected element, that topples the entire screenplay in its pen-ultimate sequence.
Spoliers ahead!
A marriage that is falling apart, is the ‘start’ of the premise. The ‘middle’, relates to the millennial’s personal and professional lives and the ‘end’ houses a twist, a sheer revelation, of the intention of the maker. It speaks, rather ‘warns’, the confused generation, irrespective of gender, about their volatile relationships. There were ample trails in the introduction sequences, that might have given away the surprise that is thrust upon the viewers towards the end. But the makers cleverly uses them to intrigue the viewers to stay hooked to the narration.
The composition of the initial ‘Physical Abuse’ sequence of the couple, Anoop and Deepthi, played by Shine Tom Chacko and Rajisha Vijayan, was ironical, for the background was fascinatingly scored with a harmonious symphony. The symphony seemed a subliminal reminder to the audience that, ‘life is a symphony’, whereas the contradicting visuals of their physical abuses on each other, silently screamed- Life might have been a symphony, had they stayed ‘adjusted and stable’.
There might have been instances in our lives, where we would have witnessed people swearing to kill each other in a ‘fit of anger’. The key here is, the swearing comes from both the participants, meaning that they are ‘equal’ in their power, rage and of course in ‘crime’. That is the synopsis of the maker’s thoughts- In simple words it takes ‘two to tango’.
Just as the symphony ends, the wife Deepthi, ‘sits’ dead peacefully, with her eyes opened and the background goes, ‘silent as a grave’. She looks so alive, that you are hoping if she would choke and come back to life anytime soon. Anoop tries to kill himself, for the chaos that he had entangled himself in. Soon it dawns that, it’s a decision made by him in ‘reflex’ and not in ‘regret’ to the murder that he had committed. When the door bell rings, Anoop shifts Deepthi to the bathroom and finds his ‘friend’ at the door – a ‘friend’ who doubts his wife of having an affair with his business partner ‘Shellby’ and thier sinking business is also taking along with it, his apartment to pay off the debts.
Anoop counsels his friend, to resolve his differences with his wife. At this point the viewers are made to believe that its the ‘gyan’ post-murder. But, when the story takes a U-turn towards the end, the counseling seem to have a whole new meaning. So is the advice to his another friend who has brought someone else’s wife with him, to Anoop’s house, requesting to use the bedroom for a while. As audience, we are in a chaos, as the story extends to weird extremes and the murderer Anoop doesn’t seem to be assertive enough to ask both the friends leave, so he could decide whether to involve the police or escape or try to dispose Deepthi’s body. Instead the three friends argue, whether killing ‘troublesome’ wives, is a wise decision. Anoop warns the other two friends that ‘women’s thought processes are different from that of men’s’ and ‘never to mess with women folks’. We clearly could attribute it to his guilt, but after the major twist, these dialogues, translates differently.
Major spoliers ahead. If you are planning to watch the movie, revisit the review after you finish watching it.
Just when the viewers give up the thought that deepthi might wake up from dead, the door bell rings and to our surprise, it is Deepthi. The story in reality unfolds and we realize that both the ‘friends’ are the inner voices of Anoop himself. Anoop had supposedly had a dream that he ‘killed his wife’. The director, cleverly visualizes the conscience of Anoop, by giving two different characterization to the two shades within him- interestingly, one is an uncivilized brute, who wants to kill all wives who flaw and the other friend, an urban, ‘cheating’ husband. The inner selves of Anoop, fights with each other, arguing ‘for and against’ the murder Anoop has committed. Evil and the Nobel are the usual binaries in one’s inner self sage. But, we have dual ‘fraudster sides’ of varied intensity and the ‘rational self’ Anoop, as the third entity, who mellows down, apparently after he had spent ‘quality time’ with his ‘silent’ wife’s corpse, during the process of plotting, to escape murder charges.
The realization of the ‘consequences of murder’ in his drunken state of mind, makes him evade his wife Deepthi’s repetitive accusation and calms him to answer with caution. She comes home to reveal that she is pregnant, but starts to pick a fight bringing up Anoop’s affair with the married woman. The makers try to picturize two kinds of scenarios, with reversed roles for the couple in each version. The technically sound composition, proves educative, for the viewers could reflect to analyze the gender specific behavioral patterns in themselves, upon internalizing which, it could help them rectify their real life mistakes. This is the success of the film, I thought.
Yet another ‘super spoiler’ ahead. Read at your own discretion!
The minute long suspense in the end reveals that, in reality, Deepthi kills her abusive cheating husband and surrenders to the highway police, while she is trying to take his body in her car’s trunk to dispose. The irony is, Anoop actually had dreamt of killing Deepthi, but Deepthi ends up killing him for real. The final argument between the couple was effectively orchestrated. It showed how Anoop, restrictes an outburst of anger, as he had experienced the pain of being a murderer, but he does loose his patience because he was cornerd by his intriguingly pushy ‘detective’ wife. Deepthi on the other hand, could have easily walked out fo the abusive relationship, deciding either to keep or not to keep the baby. But she chooses to win the argument with Anoop by proving to him that he after all is a low life looser and the detective role’s upper hand seems to give her a ‘high’ of some sort.
There seems a pattern in both their behavior which the makers try to enlighten the viewers upon- Anoop’s excessive chauvinism and Deepthi’s unacceptability of reality. The black comedy elements enveloping the hallucination sequence, is an intentional realistic peek into the toxic masculine minds of a looser. On the other hand, Deepthi’s inquisitiveness and choosing not to ‘let go’, might be because, either she fears of being left alone or she wants to prove she is right in choosing Anoop, over her Dad’s caution over her marriage choice.
Either way, we realize, there never had been a true essence of the so called ‘unconscious love’ between the two. They were spontaneous in conducting themselves as ‘husband and wife’, but ‘love’ seemed to have faded away when the true personality traits of the individuals take over and make them what they end up as.
An interesting suspense thriller that leaves the viewers engrossed for its content, its making and inferences through its non-verbal channels. The conception of the crux and its clever narrative are commendable – a negative ending narration, leaving a collective thought to ponder. This was missing in the recent, ‘Ela Veezha Poonchira’, which ended negative and substabtiated by speaking ‘for’ the human behaviours that are influenced by the unconcious psyche and its wierd urges. The impact that both the movie leaves on society, are by far contrasts.
Easily one of my favorite movies in recent times.