Nan kadavul. Review on FilmFare

RACY SCREENPLAY: Naan Kadavul

Genre: Drama

Director: Bala

Cast: Aarya, Puja, Krishnamurthy, Rajendran

Storyline: Abandoned in Kasi, the boy grows up into an Aghori and enters his native village…

Bottomline: A rare offering for intrepid folks who plump for true-to-life depictions …

It’s hard-hitting, disturbing … and real! If the resilience of the underprivileged is a much-discussed aspect of ‘Slumdog Millionaire, ’ wait till you catch up with Vasan Visual Ventures’ ‘Naan Kadavul’(U/A!) . All the same, the strand of intelligent humour that runs through the entire film, the ‘aghori’ phenomenon, the positive attitude of the penniless and the camaraderie they share lend new perspectives.

Bala’s protagonists are a rare species. You’ll probably never come across a character of an ‘aghori’ like Rudran or Kaala Bhairavan in cinema, but he is the hero of ‘Naan Kadavul.’ Whether ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ is a pronouncement, belief or myth, is immaterial. But in taking it up as the theme, weaving a story around it and giving it a racy screenplay, Bala proves once again that he’s a director who thinks differently.

The promos

All the while the promos gave you to believe that Aarya is the pivot of the story. Puja’s equal or even weightier role had been kept under wraps. But she bowls you over with a stunning essay of a visually challenged beggar woman with a mesmerising voice! The grime, the faded attire, the old black thread with a soiled pendant around her neck … it takes a while to recognise Puja when she is first shown singing and begging on a train. And her agony is shockingly real! Quite a challenge, especially when her eyes are blinded by lens!

As for Aarya, giving three years to a film at a time when your career is beginning to take off is a risky proposition. Aarya dared and has turned up trumps! The hero’s eyes are an asset and Bala exploits their potential to the optimum. The voice modulation, ruthless and unfeeling as it is, adds to the impact. Astrologers’ predictions make a father(Azhagan Tamizhmani) take his young, ill-fated son Rudran to Varanasi and leave him in a math there. Fourteen years pass by. Smitten by guilt and nagged by a sickly wife who yearns to see the son, the father returns to Kasi looking for him. He finds him(Aarya) as a ganja smoking sanyasi, an ‘aghori.’ The father brings him to his home in Malaikovil, down South, where the caves house anti-social elements posing as god men to escape the Law, and beggary thrives as a lucrative industry around the temple atop the hill. Kaala Bhairavan believes he is God and he is bestowed with the power to differentiate between the good and the evil. Wrong doers cannot escape his wrath …

Murugan(Krishnamurthy) a soft-hearted, sympathetic ‘owner’ of a group of beggars does an excellent job of the role. He and his folks bring in the much-needed levity to an otherwise heavy subject. And if you find Thandavan, who heads the beggar mafia, menacing and loathsome, the credit goes to Rajendran who dons the part. New faces

The number of new faces is 175! And their spontaneity is amazing! Most of them are physically challenged and a few mentally too. Your heart goes out to their suffering but after a point it becomes too much to take. Yet, despite their condition they are able to pull each other’s legs and have as much fun as possible. Topping the list is the much-challenged Eli(Senthil) who is perceptive and intelligent and has others in splits with his witticisms! Dialogue(Jayamohan) is a great value-addition of ‘Naan Kadavul.’ The opening composition that accompanies the titles indicates that Ilaiyaraja is all set to score impressively on the enticing field that Bala has set for him! Re-recording is awesome — the scenes between the mother(Bharati) and Rudran, and the fight sequences are two of the many examples of Ilaiyaraja’s composing acumen. For the nth time Vaali proves that age and mental agility have nothing to do with each other! The words of ‘Om Shivoham’ are spell-binding.

Arthur A. Wilson’s career as cinematographer touches a new high here. Every moment of his three-year effort is worth it! Art(Krishnamurthy) gives a feeling of déjÀ vu at times because you have seen similar dens in Bala’s ‘Sethu, ’ but the realism of the hill and landscape is striking. ‘Super’ Subbarayan’s skill is to the fore — the fight sequences look so natural! Editing(Suresh Urs) is another highlight — relevantly placed close-ups and apt scissoring keep the narrative racy throughout.

Even those who boast of being bold enough to enjoy sordid crime thrillers and supernatural spine chillers on screen could find the starkness of ‘Naan Kadavul, ’ a little too much to stomach. Probably never before has the fate of the poverty stricken lot caught in the quagmire of beggary been so graphically portrayed in cinema. And that includes films such as ‘Salaam Bombay’ and the recent ‘Slumdog…’