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Release
date:
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February 28, 2020
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Director:
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Dr Biju
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Cast:
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Saritha Kukku, Indrans, Govardhan, Krishnan
Balakrishnan
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Language:
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Malayalam
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It is astonishing
how a film with so much movement can achieve the appearance of such stillness
and quiet. Dr Biju’s Veyilmarangal (Trees
Under The Sun) is a story of Dalits, displacement and degradation of both the
social and ecological kind. Its leads are a woman, man and child whose
island house in Kerala is inundated, leaving them
homeless.
The nameless family
– Mother (played by Saritha Kukku), Father (Indrans) and Son
(Govardhan) – are poor Dalits who eke out a living from hard manual labour and
the running of a peanut cart. The land where they live has been abandoned by
most of its inhabitants as water levels have risen over time and threaten to
submerge it. As Nature wreaks her wrath on them at one end of the spectrum, at
the other, they must deal with constant reminders of their deemed
insignificance by fellow humans.
There is no
screaming, shouting or voluble, overly busy background score accompanying the
narrative. That is not how Dr Biju tells his stories. But in the climactic scene,
when the lead trio explode with anger, as in an earlier scene when the Father
can barely let the words out of his mouth after he is subjected to a
humiliating, unjust incarceration, we are left in no doubt that even in their
silences there is resentment and a boiling, bottled-up fury. They fight then
only in self-defence but the energy for that momentary outburst comes not just
from the episode at hand but from years of pent-up indignation that has not and should not be forgotten. This
scene perfectly paraphrases the title of Indian poet Aamir Aziz’s Hindi verse Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega (Everything Will
Be Remembered) that recently gained global attention when Pink Floyd’s Roger
Waters read it out at a public function in London: “You write injustice on
the earth, we will write revolution in the sky.” Because “everything will be
remembered”.
Veyilmarangal is unlike Dr Biju’s Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (Birds With Large Wings), a
well-intentioned, informative but tedious, somewhat indulgent chronicling
of Endosulfan poisoning in Kasargod. Like the director’s 2017
film, Kaadu Pookkunna Neram starring
Rima Kallingal, Indrajith Sukumaran and Indrans, this one too extends its
economy with dialogues to its use of time. It is a minimalist work,
and despite its conciseness, it is packed with activity and commentary.
There is no overt
sermon about caste and gender politics yet both are ever-present entities
whether in Communist Kerala where there is an appearance of social equity or
Himachal Pradesh where a landlord openly calls his employee a
"ch****r" and a lower-caste man is physically attacked for touching
an upper-caste man. In my favourite scene in the film, a group of Dalits in a
meeting with a government official all stand to attention when the national anthem
is heard being sung by some young voices nearby. Right before and when they
seat themselves right after, the poor gathering is informed by the sarkar’s rep
that there is little he can do about the fact that the government’s
rehabilitation work for them will be hampered by their lack of Aadhaar
cards. Can there
be a more telling statement on symbols of nationhood getting greater respect
and consideration than humans who make up the nation?
Some of Mollywood’s
finest talents have participated in this project. The subtle background
music is by commercial cinema’s darling, Bijibal, and the absolutely stunning
cinematography is by M.J. Radhakrishnan. As in all Dr Biju’s works, the
environment is a character unto itself in this film. Kerala is no doubt gorgeous,
as is Himachal, but Radhakrishnan’s camerawork goes beyond merely capturing the
natural beauty of both states – it is designed to have a calming effect on the
viewer.
And then of course
there is the cast, each one a naturalistic actor. Kukku, Indrans and
Govardhan are so good that they actually come across as a real family living in
harmony with each other and with nature. The charismatic
Krishnan Balakrishnan, who plays their Malayali friend in Himachal, is
memorable in a smaller role.
Veyilmarangal does
not feature any of the elements that conventional wisdom tells us give a film
commercial appeal, but forget conventional wisdom if you are in the mood
for a sublime cinematic experience. It is a sedate, realistic slice of life, or
rather slice-of-two-years-in-the-life-of-the-sweetest-family-you-can-imagine,
and completely worth a visit to theatres.
Rating (out
of 5 stars): 3.5
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CBFC Rating (India):
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U
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Running time:
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134 minutes
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This review has also been published on Firstpost:
Posters courtesy: IMDB
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