Tag / Mammootty

by whatsonsidsmind

Bramayugam – Movie Review | Reinventing the Chamber Drama to Tell a Chilling Tale of Greed

Pic description – Bramayugam poster

Written by Siddhartha Krishnan | 5 Min Read

‘Bramayugam’ begins somewhere in 17th century Malabar, when a lower caste singer named Thevan (played by Arjun Ashokan) runs away from the King’s court in fear of slavery, only to lose his way in the forest and stumble upon a dilapidated mansion, that has only two residents. Its owner, Kodumon Potti (played by a menacing Mammootty), and his cook (played by Sidharth Bharathan). Potti has a towering presence and an ominous, booming voice. He is a deceptive fox who without hesitation accepts Thevan as a houseguest despite knowing that he comes from the Paanan community. It takes a while for Thevan to realize that the Lord of the Manor, is much more than what he thinks he is, and that the mansion is a labyrinth whose walls have been hiding a secret for many many years.

In a scene, Kodumon Potti explains Thevan’s predicament. He says that inside the Mana, Thevan is stuck in Bramayugam or the Age of Madness, the era within Kaliyugam where God does not exist. He is trapped in an endless loop where nights are longer than days. Where the rain will last days, sometimes months, and sometimes years. Once inside the hell, there is no escape.

Pic description – Bramayugam poster

In the words of John Carpenter, “It [horror genre] never dies. It just keeps getting re­invented and it always will. Horror is a universal language; we’re all afraid. We’re born afraid, we’re all afraid of things: death, disfigurement, loss of a loved one. Everything that I’m afraid of, you’re afraid of, and vice versa.” The legendary American filmmaker touches upon two key aspects of the genre here: the universality of it and the need to reinvent as filmmakers. Reinvention is important because, in terms of novelty, there is hardly anything left to do.

Quoting John Carpenter again, “There are just two basic stories in horror, two simple ones – evil is outside and evil is in here (pointing to his heart)”.

Director, Rahul Sadasivan’s previous film ‘Bhoothakaalam’ in my opinion was one of the finest Malayalam films of 2022. It was a horror/psychological thriller, wherein a mother and son find themselves trapped in a house that has a history of paranormal incidents. Nothing new? Well, the reinvention was that the demons were not just outside but also inside. The director crafts a horror film using mental health as a theme, backed by an excellent technical team and stellar performances.

Pic description – Bhoothakaalam Sony Liv poster

From the first scene of ‘Bramayugam’, the director’s motive is amply clear; he wants the audience to immerse themselves in the world he has created. Once Thevan crosses the river and enters the manor, the place becomes a character, much like the Overlook Hotel in ‘The Shining’. Production designer, Jothish Shankar, converts the vision of the script to reality, creating a sprawling mansion that has been reduced to a decrepit and secretive structure. It felt like the overgrown bushes of the unkempt courtyard, the dust-laden floors of the forgotten rooms, and their crumbling walls and roofs, all had stories to tell.

Another key feature of the storytelling is the sound design. I was particularly thrilled by the use of the elements, especially rain. The music by Christo Xavier is mellow when it has to be and packs a punch when needed. Again, much like other aspects of the making, the music too, is minimalistic and effective.

Pic description – A scene from Bramayugam

It’s best to call ‘Bramayugam’ a horror/chamber drama that uses elements of fantasy and folklore. Notably, the three central characters take up over 90% of the screen time. Thus, a lot is unraveled through dialogue, but much of it is implied rather than told. Hence, as an audience, it is important to pay attention despite the often slow pace of the film. It takes a while to understand that the pace is deliberate. Therefore, the film demands a lot from its actors to make the scenes engaging.

Arjun Ashokan as Thevan is a man who wants to escape the hellish nightmare but is too scared to commit a wrong in an attempt to do so. He wants to speak truth to power but the adversary is much bigger than he had imagined to be. Sidharth Bharathan as the nameless cook, who has been in the manor since time immemorial, is a man aware of the game. He is party to it, surrendered to his fate in many ways, yet harbors hope somewhere within.

It’s a delicate balance that both actors had to strike to make it look convincing. If either had faltered, this would have been a different film altogether. They were both superlative in their performances.

Mammootty as ‘Kodumon Potti’ is the stuff of legends. Every time he appears on screen, he sets it ablaze. Yes, the dialogues help. They are well-written, but they aren’t the massy whistle-worthy type. This was a nuanced performance from an actor who is at the top of his game. He is the evil Potti from start to finish. Despite, the actor’s filmography, I am going to garner the courage to say that this is one of his finest performances.

Pic description – Mammootty in Bramayugam

It’s not that Bramayugam is a flawless film. It falters where most films do: in its writing. In some scenes, the pace was too slow for my liking. But at each such moment, there was also the promise of something unexpected. The scariest horror films are those where the anticipation of evil is kept alive throughout. The screenplay written by the director and TD Ramakrishnan, excels in playing with the audience’s mind. Also, where the writing faltered the technical team made up.

Pic description – A scene from Bramayugam

This brings us to the cinematography by Shehnad Jalal. By now, a thousand theories of why the film was shot in black and white are afloat. What can we attribute it to? A quest to travel back in time, a need to tone down on colors to allow for fewer distractions, an ambition to make the frames more timeless: maybe? But, for me, the story felt like a journey back in time to when we were cuddled up in warm blankets, as toddlers or as teenagers, listening to dark fairytales told by our grandmothers. The color choice seemed to be a tribute to that era.

Apart from color the use of unusual camera angles to evoke tension and claustrophobia was noteworthy. It is interesting to note that some of the locations in the film have been seen in many other Malayalam films. However, production design and DOP teams have ensured they are unrecognizable.

To conclude:

‘Bramayugam’ is an inventive chamber drama that uses elements of fantasy and folklore to tell an allegorical, scary story about greed, discrimination and the lust for absolute power. The technical team has done a stellar job in realizing the vision of the script backed by excellent performances by the actors.

Go watch ‘Bramayugam’ in a theatre near you. This is a film made for the theatre experience.

IMDb rating – 8.6/10

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 publishes his travelogues, food stories, book recommendations, and film reviews.

 

by whatsonsidsmind

Kaathal – The Core | Movie Review | An Empathetic Film that Lacks Realism and Still Shines

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.