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The czar of direction in contemporary Indian cinescape, director Mani Ratnam has joined hands with ace Tamil writer and author of many heart throbbing novels, writer Jayamohan and his favorite A-list of technicians to come up with ‘Kadal’. Over the past three decades Ratnam has brought in so many radical changes in the field of film making by sticking to his agenda without compromising on the commercial elements and content and delivering stuff with a unique style that defies the traditional film making protocols more often than not. Has the man carried his charm all the way or has he bent his knee to the contemporary commercial compromises?
Kadal’s story in a nutshell, centers around the ever popular ‘Good Vs. Evil’ theme. Father Burgman (Arjun) and Father Sam (Aravind Samy) are at opposite poles due to circumstantial compulsions. Father Sam arrives at a Christian fishing village with a mission to reform the people over there. Also he reforms and mentors Thomas (Gautham Karthik), a neglected youngster. His intentions are shattered when Burgman shows up once again in the village out of the blue. Meanwhile Burgman takes Thomas by his side to help him with his malicious activities. The story drifts its way when Thomas falls in love with Beatrice (Thulasi), daughter of Burgman and finally ends with good winning over evil in a torrential climax.
The plot of the movie is an intricately woven one that underpinned human emotions within each frame. The sea apart from acting as a motif for the storyline, personified a parallel world by being a host to so many creatures that are good and bad, weak and strong, calm and interesting within it and that was depicted by the kind of characters that was portrayed on screen.
There were so many in the supporting role led by Aravind Samy as Father Sam. He has definitely made a memorable comeback and this would do him a world of good as he played the role with an element of aggression and equal poise. He looked as smart and handsome as he was in the early 90s while he was introduced. Also Ponvannan in another supporting role was equally effective, Lakshmi Manchu in a cameo was good and Kalairani was apt for the role of a Christian nurse.
Arjun as a baddie was sort of a master stroke as he coughs and gushes vendetta with his eyes and guffaws away his way through.
The most expected lead roles from the star kids - Gautham Karthik and Thulasi Nair were not disappointing. Their chemistry did workout, though one cannot feel the sort of chemistry that used to be there in Ratnam’s romantic flicks. I found Gautham to be more enterprising of the two and Thulasi was playfully funny and had a genuine reason for that kind of an act as the script demanded it.
Music of AR Rehman, like in most other Mani Ratnam movies was the soul of the narrative and paved the way forward in unwinding intricate scenes that were made to cut short and simple. Especially watch out for the initial ‘Chithirai Nila’ song that was panned in a very touching way where a kid loses his mother and the innocence of the child was exploited to pull our heart strings.
The other songs including ‘Elay Keechan’, ‘Adiye’ and ‘Moongil Thottam’ were panned with a great taste which is a trademark of Mani Ratnam. However, ace cameraman Rajiv Menon who acted as an eye for these on-screen delicacies had captured the details with dexterity. The fight during the climax in the torrential downpour would have been challenging for any cinematographer and certainly needed a world class mastery of the art. But I was pleasantly disappointed to see that Mani Ratnam’s fetish for darkness has reduced considerably and almost all the scenes were shot in broad daylight with visible faces.
Dialogs by Jayamohan and Mani Ratnam were razor sharp and interesting. The colloquial southern dialect was however confusing at times. However, it added to the script’s authenticity.
Editing by Mani’s loyal man, Sreekar Prasad was the weakest link in the whole movie. The length of the movie, especially the second half has pulled the movie back from reaching the finishing line and the songs were placed so close to each other that there seemed to be an overdose of romance within a very little span of time.
Another big let down for the movie was the script’s critical turning point - I am still wondering what made Thomas (Gautham) join hands with Burgman (Arjun), especially after learning that he was the downfall of his mentor, Father Sam (Aravind Samy). Also the run down to the climax was sudden and the climax was cliched to say the least. Kadal can be watched with very low expectations and please forget to watch your time as the movie takes its own sweet time to find its course before coming to an end in a jiffy.
Verdict: Average
Rating: 2.5/5
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