Kuttram Kadithal Movie Review

September 23, 2015

4 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Screenplay and Direction

Technical Aspects and BGM

A once-in-a-lifetime cinematic experience!

Kuttram Kadithal is a once-in-a-lifetime, haunting cinematic experience that very few films like Aaranya Kaandam and Paruthiveeran offered movie-goers. With thin-skinned topics like sex education, corporal punishment, communism and religion scattered both evidently and subtly throughout the film, what debutant director Bramma has done with Kuttram Kadithal is a remarkable accomplishment of auteurist film-making of the highest order.

Cast: Master Ajay, Radhika Prasidhha, Pavel Navageethan, Durga Venugopal, Sai Rajkumar, Nikhila Kesavan & others

Cinematography: Manikandan S

Music: Shankar Rangarajan

Editing: CS Prem

PRO: Suresh Chandra

Written & Directed by: Bramma G

Produced by: Christy Siluvappan, J Sathish Kumar

Banner: Chris Pictures, JSK Film Corporation

Release Date: 24-09-2015

Run Time: 02:15:00

Very few films ably manage to capture the classic dichotomy between unsettling questions and unfazed answers sanely. Very few film-makers simplify the narrative complexity of their multi-layered writing with powerful visual imagery. Nine out of ten Tamil films set against the backdrop of socially-conscious themes with earnest intentions have witnessed the enthusiasm of film-makers falter midway mainly because of two factors. One: a generous dose of sanctimonious yak that besets viewers. Two: the holier-than-thou modus operandi they bring into play to put forth their views. But the one film that stands unique from the rest and detaches itself from the herd comes once in a blue moon. Kuttram Kadithal is one such once-in-a-lifetime, haunting cinematic experience that very few films like Aaranya Kaandam and Paruthiveeran offered movie-goers.

With thin-skinned topics like sex education, corporal punishment, communism and religion scattered both evidently and subtly throughout the film, what debutant director Bramma has done with Kuttram Kadithal is a remarkable accomplishment of auteurist film-making of the highest order.

Kuttram Kadithal neither resorts to hollow preachifying nor reinforces stereotypes with its characters. It sublimely confronts all the bold questions and its bizarre consequences with consummate ease and without passing judgmental remarks.

Merlin (Radhika Prasiddha), a newly-married primary school teacher, slaps a naughty boy named Chezhiyan (Master Ajay) in her class for his mischievous reply to a serious question. The boy faints. The plausible repercussions the incident sparks off are portrayed over a span of 24 hours with the right balance of compassion and sympathy by Bramma’s excellent directorial acumen. One cannot simply write off Kuttram Kadithal as ‘a festival film suited only for avid movie-watchers’. The artistic brilliance and literary sensitivity Bramma has showcased in the film makes it a must-watch for both discerning film-buffs and the masses.

Kuttram Kadithal is replete with rich, comprehensible subtexts that will certainly offer rewarding experiences during its multiple viewings. The most distinctive triumph of Kuttram Kadithal is the stand-out scenes each and every character in the film engages the audiences with. Even the most trivial character like the guy who plays a lorry driver has an exceptional moment to boast. The beauty of Bramma’s directorial effort is that he doesn’t take sides in a film which is easily vulnerable to sermons based on the author’s personal influences. His idea to steer clear from being predetermined shows his placid disposition towards the subject.

The searing intensity with which the entire first half moves and the poetic pre-climax portions make Kuttram Kadithal the most consistently involving social thriller to emerge out of Tamil cinema in a long time. The script is an intriguing case-study of how simplistic story-telling aided with sterling performances and spiffing execution can produce a flawless masterpiece. It’s amazing to see debutants – Manikandan (Kaakka Muttai), AG Amid (Rajathandiram), Ravi Kumar (Indru Netru Naalai –make merry with content-oriented films this year in K’town.

When was the last time you watched a Tamil film that packed seven songs in the narrative without any faintest shades of boredom? Kuttram Kadithal does it effortlessly with songs playing an eminent role in pushing the story forward. Boy, the striking placement of Chinnanchiru Kiliye song which demystifies the most pivotal character just before the movie comes to an end has to be one of the best montages ever shot.

When Merlin’s mind is filled with the utmost guilt, she walks along the road and runs into a black plastic cover that sticks to the footwear without her knowledge. She keeps walking for a while with the black cover staying intact before her husband discards it. What better way to explain the emotional turmoil the character undergoes!

Merlin’s character graph is poignantly summarized with the song Naagangal Rendu which is written by the director himself.

நாகங்கள் ரெண்டு கால்களின் ஊடே நெளிந்து ஊற.. தீண்டியதென்றே எண்ணிய பதுமை திக்கென மிரள.. அச்சத்தின் உச்சம் தேகத்தில் முழுதும் நஞ்சாக ஏற.. நாளங்கள் யாவும் நாகங்கள் ஆகி தேகத்தில் நெளிய.. (When two snakes crept between her legs.. she was panic-stricken thinking that the snake bit her.. Her frightfulness injects through the entire body as venom.. Her blood vessels get adulterated with the snakes that crept over her body)

In the best scene of the film where Chezhiyan’s mother and Merlin confront each other, you are bound to be moved by the profound one-liner the former utters to console the latter. The guilt-ridden Merlin kneels down before Chezhiyan’s distressed mother and begs for forgiveness with the passage ‘பிழைகள் யாதோ குற்றங்கள் யாதோ நாகங்கள் யாதோ.. தீதும் யாதோ நன்றும் யாதோ அறிந்ததாரோ’ (What are the mistakes, What are the blunders, What are the causes?.. Who knows what is good or what is evil? ) from Naagangal Rendu song playing in the background. The role-reversal established by Bramma in this particular scene forms an outstanding sample of his first-rate script.

The moral complexity of the story is beautifully portrayed with several layers – guilt, morality, conscience, religion, self-righteousness, media sensationalism – intertwined inextricably and peeled deftly by Bramma. I’m slightly disappointed that a lion’s share of Kuttram Kadithal is secured behind spoiler gates. This is a film that deserves dissection and post-movie analyses. But to make our readers discover the film at firsthand, I have resisted the temptation to lay bare the scenes.

The supporting cast is just too good. Paval Navageethan, who plays Chezhiyan’s uncle, Kulothungan and Durga, who play the headmaster couple, have lived in their roles. And not to forget the scene-stealing moments of Sathya (Cheziyan’s mother), who lets her eyes speak with minimal dialogues. Radhika Prasiddha is a glorious find by Bramma and she is here to stay.

Shankar Rangarajan’s background score resonates brilliantly with the film’s content and Manikandan’s cinematography showcases a lovely portrait of Bramma’s vision on screen with gorgeous frames and optimum use of aesthetics. Prem’s editing work, especially the long pause in the scene inside the auto, is commendable and maintains the coherence factor impactfully.

Bramma’s gift for finely layered cinema places him on the map of truly emerging crop of undeterred new-gen talents in Tamil cinema. The entire supporting cast, especially the headmaster couple, deserves mention. Even at two hours of running time, the film may look a tad too long, but the emotional impact it leaves and the resultant experience the invested time and effort offers will completely sweep you over.