An Ocean of Disappointment
There are two possible
perspectives to the movie.
Perspective 1
Kadal opens with a surreal shot
of the Holy Cross against a rising sun which sets the tone for the rest of the
movie. We see a young Sam (Arvind Swamy) who is about to enrol himself as a
Pastor, despite belonging to a rich family, which raises many eyebrows. We also see Berchmans (Arjun), very popular
among the young chaps belonging to the church. Berchmans comes from a poor
background, and never allows us to forget that throughout the movie. Some
unsavoury incidents cause a deep rift between Sam and Berchmans and eventually the
latter drops his entire plan to become a priest, thus leaving the church. The
movie essentially deals with the feud between the “Son of God” Sam and the “Son
of Satan” Berchmans and how Thomas (Gowtham Karthik) or Thomman, as Sam calls
him, and Beatrice / Bea (Thulasi Nair) unwittingly become a part of this.
Perspective 2
Mother of a young Thomas, Mary, who sells her body for livelihood, is found dead one night, by Chetty
(Ponvannan). Chetty, who has been a regular at Mary’s home, takes the
initiative to bury her. After witnessing his mother being buried in a “themmadi kuzhi” in a very vile manner,
Thomas goes to Chetty’s home, where he is shooed away by him and his wife. The
motherless boy with father-issues grows up to be a big time brat, or, to be
more accurate a “lumpen element” as our journalists would label, and becomes a
menace to the residents of the beach. This is when Father Sam comes to the town
and a mentor-student relationship blossoms between the Priest and the Brat. The
movie deals with how Thomas comes to terms with his troubled childhood, through
various confrontations with good (Father Sam/ Beatrice) and evil (Berchmans).
May whatever be the perspective
you choose, the movie leaves you underwhelmed. Kadal has its own moments which
remind us what this man called Mani Ratnam is capable of. Be it the foetal
position of the small boy, trying to listen to his mother Mary’s heartbeat by lying
on her dead body or the burial of Mary, which makes everyone squirm in their
seats, the scenes are a class apart. We see moles on the charming face of Swamy, reminding us of a similar alteration on Mammooty in Nayagan. May be the director wanted
to make the handsome man more human. There are comic touches here and there, in
an otherwise serious movie, where we come to know that it takes only `50 for
a Confession session as told by a local. The theme is very
Christian what with the director invoking the crucifixion of Christ during the mob-attack against Sam. We see him spreading his hands, not unlike Jesus on the
cross, unable to handle the violence directed at him. But these moments remain
just that, not carrying on the potential charisma they can lend to the rest of
the movie.
Only
when it is revealed to the audience that Beatrice is having some psychological
issues, that we understand – It is not Thulasi trying to be cute; it is Thulasi
sucking big time at acting. The audience are left
to themselves the question, as to why she is not given any treatment. We just
see regular admonishment from her class mates and a “Mother Superior”, that she
is a very gifted but child-like "angel". We also do not understand why Thomas shifts
alliance in a jiffy and goes over to the dark side. As we surf towards the climax, we stop caring what
happens to these characters. The only incentive for the audience, to stay till
the end, is the curiosity as to how Anbin Vasaley is picturised - (again disappointing).
Though Gowtham
has the starting trouble of being a newcomer, unlike his co-star, he is not
totally lost. He delivers the angst of the disowned child perfectly. I hope
with some more movies, he will improve his dialogue delivery. Arvind Swamy
leaves us wanting more. Take a look at the scene where he reacts to the
fisherwoman who tricks him into buying fish – masterly! Arjun tries to be Lord
Voldemort and leaves a good yet slightly caricature-d performance.
The songs are one
of the major attractions of any Mani Ratnam movie and they remain so here too.
There are two Magudis, which audience may find perfect or not depending on
their views on cinema. Adiye, though aptly timed, is shot in a bizarre way. It is
like Snehithane Snehithane in a sunny beach. Yes, you read that right. I
loved it, but not many may. Similarly Nenjukkuley and Moongil Thottam are also
wonderfully timed. Especially the scene during which Beatrice innocently brushes
Tom’s hands and tells him “thirumba
pannatha” after he had just finished telling her the details of his dark life. Beautiful. The cinematography is a treat to the eyes, particularly the night
time scenes. Rajiv Menon has brilliantly captured the sea, sea shore, and its
inherent innocence. The climax shot in the turbulent sea is breath taking, that
you almost curse Mani Ratnam and try to talk to him through telepathy asking
him why the hell had he not made the story better. Let us hope the Midas gets
his golden touch back.
Favourite Scene – Thomas assists
Bea in giving birth to a child and realises blood not only means death, but
also means birth.
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