Frames of Super Deluxe.
I went in with so much hype and came out of the theatre even more hyped. Partly because I loved the movie, and partly because I couldn’t wait to watch it for a second time. And when the right opportunity presented itself, I grabbed it without hesitation. But this time, I made sure I observed as many moments as possible. So, like every other social media freak with an Instagram handle, I took a photo of all the frames I liked and tried noticing how the makers had played with each frame, and as expected, I was not disappointed.
SPOILER AHEAD. STOP RIGHT HERE IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE FILM YET.
What follows are a set of bad-quality photos (copyright of the makers of this movie and whomsoever it may belong to) and my interpretation of what has become one of my most favorite movie of all time.
The Walk to School.
This scene where Shilpa takes Raasu kutty to school is a major visual spoiler to what’s about to happen later in the movie. The prominent posters that you see on the wall behind are from two movies, Aliens and Vaazhvin Ragasiyam, and we see both these againtowards the end of the movie.
Gaaji’s cat.
Right from his introduction in front of the mirror, Gaaji’s character is built up towards the final scene involving the alien. He’s seen wearing a cat t-shirt for most of the movie and you may not notice why. The constant ‘meow’ sound when they meet the gangster, or the cat sitting on a chair might be passable. But, when the Alien clones him in the final sequence and both Gaajis hug each other, that’s when you realize you were being told upfront about this whole reveal. Zoom into the above photo and you’ll find the entire design of the cat being completed.
There’s another visual poetry here: Every time the boys enter the Sait’s house, the framing is done in such a way that you see 2 doors, or 2 windows, or 2 chairs that look identical.
The light flickers.
Shilpa has lost her child in a market and she’s looking for him all over the area. Tired of searching him, she sits in a subway and starts weeping. That’s when she sees a guy entering the subway and blessing a small child on his way in. That’s Arpudham, the Godman. Note that when he’s blessing the child, he is still at the entrance of the subway which is lit. As he enters the subway, Shilpa runs to him and asks him to absolve her of her sins. The whole subway is dark except for a flickering light next to these two characters and that’s how the drama builds.
He says he’s not really a Christian and that he doesn’t believe in confessions. Then comes the whole drama where Shilpa confesses about not saving 2 children back in Bombay and Arpudham tells her she has no right to live. Shilpa then says she tried committing suicide but was saved by a stone during Tsunami. Arpudham is now shocked and asks her which stone she clung to, as he was saved by the statue of Jesus, during the same tsunami. Shilpa replies “Adhu verum kallu than Saami” and leaves the subway and into the surface light. You see Arpudham standing there in the subway alone, with just a flickering light as his company. That’s his belief in God, which was bright when he entered the subway, now being questioned.
Everything is and isn’t Karma.
The film in its unique way establishes the concept of Karma quite strongly in the beginning only to finally shy it away as nonsense. All the central characters are amoral and they face extreme situations because of their actions: Vaembu cheats on her husband and suffers in that process. Arpudham starts questioning his belief and that’s when his son meets with an accident. His son decides to kill his own mother and gets injured by the very weapon he takes to kill her. Shilpa leaves her family, sells kids in Bombay for money, and that’s why she is being treated very badly by the police officer. But all of these conflicts are easily solved in the end without much fuss, telling us Karma is just a made up word and doesn’t even apply in the larger picture. It questions the very ideology most religions are built upon.
The concept of duality.
There’s a constant question of duality in the movie. Aambala-Pombala, Chaste-Unchaste, Kadavul-Kal, Baasha-Antony, right-wrong, Nambikkai-Madham, Saami padam-Bittu padam. All the central characters try to define each other, or themselves, into one of these characteristics, but ends up accepting the way they are. The whole narration about universe, atom, and singularity, funnily brought in through an alien’s perspective and the doctor’s, reveals how subjective our views on these characters are.
What’s wrong with your belief?
This is quite unmissable. The movie constantly questions the sentiments of different beliefs. Moments like when Vaembu asks Mughil “Unaku venumbodhu naa paththiniya irukanum, illaati sodaaganuma?”, or when Mughil tells Vaembu “Iva periya paththini, sonna odane current varradhuku” and the power comes back, or when Shilpa’s curse to the police officer becoming true, or Arpudham and Leela talking about Arpudham converting to Christianity because he was saved by a Jesus statue, all of these try to question the very basic idea of belief. Should you believe in something because that’s what you’ve been taught your entire life, or because something saves you, or because of what you believe to be right. This is quickly addressed at the end. Belief is subjective: if you believe it’s a day, you’re right for just half of the world, and what people believed 10000 years ago, or what people might believe 100 years from now is still subjective. The visuals were as convincing as the message itself.
There are multiple references to Aaranya Kaandam too and multiple pop culture references. These are just some of my observations from the movie. Again, I might be overthinking here, but, what the hell! Not all movies make you think beyond the story. Let’s discuss more on this in the comments below!