2021, Malayalam, Netflix, 8.2 IMDB, Directed by Martin Prakkat
An atypical backlash that interestingly represents the faceless bureaucrats, who are customarily tainted, both in films and the real lives. A genuine attempt to unveil the truth ‘on the other side of the story’ that, forever remains gray – a horrifying paradox of the impotent ‘protectors’ who are unable to fortify their own innocent selves.
When a few too many films, illustrate the unsung minorities of late, the Malayalam industry, divulges us, the inside story of the cops who are caught between the double-edged weapon, the menacing public and the merciless higher officials. I was fondly reminded of the righteous battalion from the film ‘Unda’, when i realised that the plot of ‘Nayattu’ revolves around the unapologetic system, that makes three cops of a station, ‘refugees on the run’ as the political system, shakes hands with their ill fate.
The characterization and the casting of the refugee trio is the first thing that catches your eyes- the ever so calm Kunchacko Boban, playing a civil police officer Praveen. He drives around the Assistant Sub Inspector of the station, Maniyan, played by the terrific Joseph and an interesting woman civil police officer at the station Sunitha played by the fantastic Nimisha Sajana.
The humaneness of the characters and their routine, bonds them to the viewers swiftly. The story picks ups momentum with the menacing youngster at the station. The way the maker exemplifies the ‘minority-blanketed youth’, gaining control over the stationed cops, sends a chill on the hassels of such seizing crowds. We are way too familiar with such crowds posing a threat to the service sector like a hospital and its staff being mobbed or a violence as a result of caste discrimination. But when the bureaucrats themselves are rattled by a handful of frenzy youngsters, the story is refreshing and it sets up an intrigue in the viewers. The ‘macho-self’ in Maniyan makes him grab a gun, to point it at the temporarily caged goons and when it is being silently recorded on a mobile, it leaves the viewers panic stricken. Another similar experience is when the trio’s car accidentally hits one of the released goons and the reflex reaction of the cops in the jeep and the goons who come on motor cycle and end up misreading the accident sequence as ‘revenge’. The eeriness of the night, kind of creeps you.
The finesse in the screenplay that pays attention to details are nothing less than impressive. The register rolls long, as I couldn’t prioritize just a handful, for there are far too many scenes that are competing. The scene where Maniyan takes his cousin to drive the lot back from the wedding party as he was planning to get drunk and didn’t want to drive back drunk, Joseph visiting his house to check on his family’s safety and ends up showing off his child’s acting skills to Praveen, like all proud parents do, the way the acquaintance of Maniyan in Munnar where they seek asylum, gives his dothi to Sunitha, himself assuming the reason for her headache, the attraction towards the lead characters as their eyes beautifully meet and part in perfect synchronisation, Praveen’s subtlety in handling restless Maniyan, Sunitha’s anger that makes her walk on the road, all confused and almost getting hit by a vehicle and so on. The acting instructions and scene constructions are spot on throughout the film, except for the lag in the Munnar squad chase sequences.
The chief minister character that boldly emulates the sitting minister, played by Jaffar Idduki strikes such a contrast to his drunkard fraud role in ‘2019’s Ishq. He shows no agitation even in the most climacteric situation. The mimicking body language amplifies the realness to the situation and when they try to fake the capture of the ‘trio on the run’ after getting a positive affirmation from the squad that they are captured, it makes you retrospectively wonder how many of those monkey capped, towel wrapped accused, whom we see being brought in to custody, amidst the harrowing crowd, are really the ones that the authorities claim to be.
The shamble that the squad find themselves at the end of the chase of Praveen and Sunitha, when each one involved trying to save their own back is pragmatic. The way the officials cook up stories that taint the innocent beings for life, in the name of the political number game, leaves the viewers deeply scarred.
I was sub consciously visualising many of the hand-cuffed and head-covered accused on the media and found my heart reach to a few of them, as they suddenly seemed ‘look-alikes’ of Praveen and Sunitha. I was guilty of having judged them, even before the trial had begun. I was guilty for not giving them ‘the benefit of doubt’ before taking sides with the media mania. I was guilty as I was blinded from knowing the other side, God forbid, if it might be the real side after all.
Must watch.