An experience called Kammatipaadam
How do I write about a film whose dialogues I didn’t understand even a wee-bit?
I’ve been a Dulquer fan ever since I saw his Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi. Further his act in Bangalore Days cemented his role as a performer. I’d watched both these films with subtitles. I then went to watch Charlie, another Dulquer special. This time there were no subtitles. And I watched it all alone. I was worried as to how I’d interpret the film. Thankfully, the film was high on visual content, emotions and low on dialogues. With some very good songs too. I liked the experience.
Later Kali came but I somehow missed seeing it on the big screen. It played for a short while here in Hyderabad. And now, Kammatipaadam released here following a 2-week gap after it released in Kerala. I convinced my friend, Vikram to accompany me to the film. Being a Dulquer fan himself, he agreed without much persuasion.
So today morning, Vikram and I walked into Prasadz multiplex screen number 2 anticipating a good film "with subtitles". The titles rolled by with a good background score. And then the action followed with Dulquer waiting to catch a bus "98, 99, 100..." was what was shown as the first subtitles. And boy, I was happy that the subtitles showed up for the first time. What followed for the next 2 hours and 50 odd minutes of time were a series of dialogues and I had no idea of what was spoken about..
Vikram knew a little Malayalam but the diction in this film made it tougher for him too..I thought I should go and inform the theatre people about this and I walked out and complained to the staff on the floor. They told me that they were looking into it and the subtitles would appear in a bit (they were of the idea that the subtitles were only intermittent and the film didn’t have subtitles for the full length). I later walked in thinking that the subtitles would appear and that I’d understand the plot and the dialogues being rendered.
The film is a serious one - one that deals with the issue of urban real estate growth by constructing buildings and towers in the lands that were initially given to dalits and backward classes. The film traces the lives of people living in Kammatipaadam, a suburb of Ernakulam in Kerala. The film apparently refers to how the megacity of Kochi was built over the lands given to the poor and the downtrodden.
The lives of marginalized sections of the society are depicted in a seemingly natural manner. The story is narrated by Dulquer and the opening shot was a surprise..Dulquer 's character Krishnan narrates the story of his childhood and his friends from his neighborhood. His friend Ganga and his brother, Balan form an integral part of his childhood along with Anitha, their cousin. Their trio (Balan, Ganga and Krishnan) become small-time thugs and the film narrates the incidents and stories of their lives - from the illegal spirit brewing and distribution to engaging in local fights and killings. The film shows Dulquer’s transformation in a remarkable manner - from his childhood to adolescence to adulthood as he travels s from Kammatipaadam to Bombay and back.
Dulquer’s performance is one of the highlights of the film. And then the guy who played Balan is a scream. He brings in a lot of energy to the screen. The characters of Ganga and Balan are brought to lives by some super acting by Manikandan and Vinayakan respectively. Shaun Romy shines through in her debut film as Krishnan’s love interest Anitha who’s liked by Ganga as well..
The film’s visually very rich with some splendid cinematography. The lighting used in the film is impeccable. The way the rustic bylanes of the community are shown is quite good. There are some very good aerial shots.
Music and the background music are first rate. Special mention to the BGM that’s just brilliant in most of the scenes.
Editing is also one of the highlights of the film. It is primarily back and forth for most part of the film. The characters' journey from their childhood to the time they are old is shown well. However I thought that the contrast between the characters of Manikandan and Vinayakan should’ve been shown better as they got old..Dulquer arguably looks the best of the lot and he looks even better in his older avatar. Mind you, he reminds you of mammuka here..
The director Rajeev Ravi has chosen a tricky yet very relevant story to narrate. The screenplay is good and the editing adds to the depth of the film.
It’s good to see newer ideas being explored. I felt that the film had shades of "City of God" especially w.r.t the characters.
It’s a good watch; I’d like to watch the director’s cut with 240 minutes runtime. Hopefully with subtitles, the experience must be doubly good :-)
PS: I made an attempt to complain to the authorities about the lack of subtitles during half-time again but they put up their hands saying that they couldn’t do anything for this show. They however offered to give back the money which we didn’t claim, for we’d already watched half the film..
The authorities should take due care henceforth to ensure that subtitles are in place for all the films. These days, films are seen by everyone irrespective of the language and it is the duty of the distributors and the exhibitors to ensure that the viewers have a good experience.
Cinema, at the end of the day is to embrace, experience and immerse oneself in the director’s world and subtitles will only add to the overall viewer experience. If it ain’t for the subtitles, films like Sairat, U-turn, Baahubali et. al wouldn’t have found widespread acclaim and faster acceptance by cinegoers around the world.
