Written by: Siddhartha Krishnan | 5 Min Read
Jeo Baby’s filmography, thus far, makes it amply clear that his films are issue-based. However, they are also characterized by a delicate balance between storytelling and visual aesthetics with a keen eye for detail. For instance, in ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ the camera was not just a visual accompaniment but a storyteller in itself. A fly on the wall in the kitchen of a middle-class Malayali household, capturing the horror, and angst that only a neutral onlooker can see. In ‘Kaathal’, he chooses a different kind of visual grammar to suit the film’s tonality. Here, there is a certain calmness about things; the pace is unhurried with considerable use of slow-motion and long takes, to give the scenes a somber, poetic touch.
Although the director and his writers, continue to navigate the complexities of societal norms, throwing light on the human state against social constructs, ‘Kaathal’, is more accepting in its narrative, compared to ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’. While there is conflict, it does not ever get to a point where the conversations turn toxic. This is true for all of the characters. Thus, one can ask if realism was sacrificed, that too, in a socio-political film at the altar of empathy. If yes, why?
Was it because a superstar was playing the lead? Maybe.
The counterargument can be that a superstar is a more appropriate vehicle to get the film’s message across to a wider audience. This film does have an urgent message that it conveys with clarity, that too with minimal dialogues, in the classic Jeo Baby style of more show than tell.
‘Kaathal’ benefits greatly from its layered storytelling and well-etched-out characters. For example, all facets of the lead character, Mathew, as a father, husband, son, a candidate standing for local body elections, and a gay man fearful to confront his truth, have been explored. So, is the case with Omana, Mathew’s wife. She quietly goes about fulfilling all her responsibilities, as a mother, and a daughter-in-law, without letting the strain of her relationship with her husband come in the way of them. But she is strong enough to not accept the way her husband has treated her, and files for divorce. She does so also to rid Mathew of his misery.
The scenes of ‘Kaathal’ have been written with care. Despite, the absence of a clear backstory we can visualize what might have led to the circumstances the characters find themselves in. The courtroom sequences for a change are not loud. They have been written to give the audiences a background of such cases in the past, the complexities of the issue at hand, and with a clear intent to not give ready answers. The confrontation scenes between Mathew and his father, Mathew and his daughter, and Mathew and Omana are highlights of the film unraveling the poignant truths of these characters.
None of the actors are there in the film without having contributed to the story. The performances are the film’s strongest point. Restrained, subtle, and still powerful. What the film lacks in realism, it makes up with convincing performances. Even the side actors have done a fabulous job. Malayalam cinema is blessed to have such actors to choose from. They always have; a fact alluded to by director S.S. Rajamouli in a recent interview.
Kaathal, however, rests firmly on the shoulders of its lead characters. Mathew, played by an excellent Mammootty, and Omana, played by an assured Jyothika. Even their silences speak volumes. While Jyothika’s eyes convey the bottled-up frustration of 18 years; when she finally speaks up, her speech is measured and mature. She doesn’t want to destroy; she wants to liberate.
Mammootty plays the gay man who has suddenly been forced to face his truth. Stifled, he has no choice but to be a silent, helpless spectator to the cocky insults and pointless advice of his friends, relatives, and colleagues. Without much dialogue just through his eyes and subtle expressions, he conveys so much.
At 72, Mamootty, the actor, Malayalam superstar, three-time national award winner, and father of heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan seems to have abandoned all fear. Just look at his choice of films over the last two years. They seem to be a testament to his state of mind. In the neo-noir film, ‘Rorschach’ he plays the wicked NRI businessman, Luke, who lands one fine day in the forests of Chalakudy in search of his wife, who goes missing after an accident. In LJP’s, ‘Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam’, he plays James, who wakes up from a siesta on a bus believing that he is Sundaram, walking nonchalantly into a tiny village in Tamil Nadu, where he thinks he belongs. In the psychological drama, ‘Puzhu’, he plays Kuttan, a high-ranking IPS officer and widower, a bigot, who cannot stomach the fact that his sister has married a man from the lower caste. In ‘Kaathal – The Core’, he plays Mathew, a gay man contesting local village body elections, when he is confronted by his wife, who has filed for divorce, thereby forcing him to accept his reality.
It’s not that Mammootty’s filmography did not have diversity earlier. But his choices of late have been bold, which his contemporaries across industries, have not shown enough. That he is a great actor, is known to all, but now there is a languid elegance about his performances. A trait that Malayalis, have associated with his contemporary, Mohanlal, whom many consider the more gifted of the two. While Mohanlal’s choices in recent times have not done justice to the actor in him, barring a ‘Dhrishyam’, Mammootty’s choices have been stellar. ‘Kaathal – The Core’, is a risky choice for a superstar, for there is so much to lose. But he delivers one the finest performances of his career. He also ensures that a film with an important message reaches a larger audience. In many ways, in the era of new-age experimental cinema, ‘Kaathal’ has invoked the golden era of Malayalam films (80s and 90s) when it was simple, thought-provoking, and enjoyable.
IMDb rating – 7.8/10
My rating – 4/5
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About the author –
Siddhartha Krishnan is the author of ‘Two and a Half Rainbows – A Collection of Short Stories’. He is also an enthusiastic blogger, and on his blog (www.whatsonsidsmind.com), he puts out his articles, essays, travelogues, book recommendations, and film reviews.