Mandela

2021, Tamil, Netflix, 8.5IMDB, Directed by Madonne Ashwin

A satire that doesn’t just stop at mocking the infamous tryst of cash-for-votes in the state, but also comes a full circle in chalking out a plan to outsmart the politicians, thwacking some sensitive issues on the go, from rural toilets to caste discrimination.

The debut director teaming up with the co-producer Balaji Mohan, reminds the viewers of the latter’s style of non-preachy political satire. It does seem a paradox when we are in the middle of the pandemic, as the movie ‘Vaayai Moodi Pesavum’ was about a fast spreading virus that mutes people.

The strength of ‘Mandela’ lies in its casting and a ‘novel-like’ narration. The director’s fortitude in addressing heart wrenching discrimination, through a simple narrative, is laudable. The film captures casteism being embedded in the lives of villagers and none of them sees it as an offense. The movie ‘Article 15’ approached the same issue through a serious plot in contrast to a satire here.

For instance, the lead male, played by the amazing Yogi Babu, is so very used to being asked to come through the back door of houses that he ends up searching for a back door in the postoffice too. Either the lead character’s self esteem is portrayed to be insignificant or the character is developed in such a way that he doesn’t realize that he is being abused at. The character seems plainly ignorant. It does seem rhetoric, but the director makes it evident that the remote villagers hold on to these discriminations even if technology is an inevitable part of their lives. He cleverly picturizes this flaws in the system in the scene, where people are seen defecating in the open, behind trees yet merrily meddling their mobile phones.

The film is also a compilation of many poetic scenes- the touchy scene where the female lead played by Sheela Rajkumar, deciding on a name for Yogi babu to help him apply for an Aadhar card, the casual scene where she identifies the drawing skills in a young boy and motivates him to start practicing alphabets, the cute scene in the photo studio when Yogi Babu sees Sheela involuntarily tucking her strand of gray hair- the list is long.

Yogi Babu is unbelievably convincing as he plays this innocent barber under a banyan tree with an ambition of building a saloon. He brings to life the ‘Malgudi Days’ kind of character. The subtle innocence of the character in the first half, is a perfect set up which is promptly paid off through the controlled performance by the actor in the later part. Thankfully the director did not make the character go overboard by transforming him in to a super saviour. Yogi Babu’s responsible choice of being a part of a venture like this, is admirable and he does complete justice to the choice he made.

The common man character that travels throughout the film, is a representative of the viewer. The solution that the films draws its curtain with, to do away with the cash-for-vote tryst in the state, is worthy of attention and even seems persuasive. Once the ‘common man’ adheres to saying their votes are ‘not for sale’, the politicians will be left with no other choice, other than pulling their act together.

Good watch.