Kuttram Kadithal (The punishment) - Triumph of an authentic narrative!

I am urged to recall a point made by debutant director of Kuttram Kadithal (KK from now on), Bramma, in an interview a while back for a newspaper about the ease with which films are made in today’s profoundly competitive environment when compared to the challenging ethos that existed a decade back. Thanks to a slew of digital technologies which has taken the media industry by storm for the past decade or so by creating numerous possibilities for not only filmmakers but also for distributors. As a testament to this fact, a news piece this morning read that this movie would be officially released online on a website that has procured its digital rights. Barring all these technology hoopla, there are certain basic elements that needs to be worked out in a film in order to preserve and uphold its sanity. These elements are independent of all the sophisticated technologies that are employed in making a movie and these are the ones that determine the hit or miss criteria as well. KK for one has got these basics right with first timers in almost all the key departments including acting.

KK’s story happens within a span of 24 - 48 hours. It is the story of a newly married school teacher who gets into an unintentional tangle when she tries to tame a brat with a hard slap. She finds herself in an unholy mess and consequently she is subjugated to a guilt of mammoth proportions where she has to fight a battle between her head and her heart. This movie raises a lot of questions about the current state of our educational system and the way in which the pedagogy has been shaped and imparted with over the board rigidity and strictness by dictators camouflaged as teachers. Though the movie takes the form of a thriller to some extent, it never failed to strike the nail hard whenever needed on the social issue concerning the state of today's educational system. Result oriented educational institutions that are desperate to manufacture humanoids instead of students are given a tight slap on their cheeks. Though in this movie the institution in question is represented as a more considerate one where there is a room for a debate on whether sex education is needed or not, the implication of the theme was profound and point blank.

The cast was fresh and the presentation was fresher. The actors in the movie were hardly seen with any makeup. As the movie by itself was sans makeup, with a raw narrative, the actors too pitched in with their stellar performances. The three main characters, Merlin (Radhika Prasiddha), Manikandan (Sai Rajkumar) and Udayan (Pavel Navageethan) have given memorable performances. Radhika was an apt choice for the rigid teacher’s role. She is not the regular heroine who can run around trees. Yes, she can romance, but the sort of romance that was shown is more closer to life. Her natural chemistry with Sai Rajkumar who played her husband stands testimony to this fact. As the disturbed husband who is ready to risk anything for his better half, Sai has played a silent second fiddle that needed a lot of underplay. However, Pavel as the hot headed red activist, Udayan stole the show for me. His dialogs were limited and to the point. The catharsis that he manages to imbue in himself and a sort of helplessness was portrayed so convincingly. There are other supporting characters like the affable school principal, the principal’s strong willed wife, the victim’s mother who is portrayed as an auto woman and the evangelic lady who plays Radhika’s mother - they all contribute for a wholesomely noir experience that one is immersed into while watching this film. Chezhiyan, the school kid, played by Master Ajay begs for more praise. Again, he is not a regular cute brat. He is spoilt and that is conveyed with the sort of scampiness that he portrays in the little screen space that he is allotted. The casting and acting deserve an A+.

The other key area in which the movie scores is the narrative. A lot of metaphorical representations were used in order to convey the different moods in the movie. Periodical banters at religion and faith were put to great effect. Also there was some positive red canvassing through the character of Pavel Navageethan. A spot of bother was the pace of narration which could have been a tad quicker. In an attempt to intensify the mood, the narrative element sagged a bit during the latter half. But this movie, with its poise and perseverance has definitely struck a chord and earned its awards and recognition that it thoroughly deserves from all quarters. What is your next movie director Bramma?

Verdict: Very good!

Rating: 3.5 / 5