REVIEW 646: KAYAMKULAM KOCHUNNI

Release date:	Kerala: October 11, 2018. Delhi: October 12.
Director:	Rosshan Andrrews
Cast: Language:	Nivin Pauly, Priya Anand, Mohanlal, Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Sudheer Karamana, Manikandan R. Achari, Sidhartha Siva, Thesni Khan, Sudev Nair Malayalam

Kayamkulam Kochunni is a grand film. Its grandeur is not merely physical though, but a factor of its worldview, political sensibilities and sensitivity. An impoverished Muslim child who, in his adulthood, was brutalised by wily Brahmins and ultimately driven to crime, stealing from rich upper-caste Hindus and providing to poverty-stricken Dalits – at any given time in India, a film based on this story would be significant. The 19th century Malayali Robin Hood’s biopic is particularly relevant though in India of 2018, where Muslims are being marginalised, degraded and lynched by right-wing Hindutva forces while the Dalit community is on the boil.

This big-screen interpretation of his life is reportedly the most expensive Mollywood venture till date. Comparisons between Kayamkulam Kochunni and the Tollywood epic Bahubali are inevitable, so let me get this out of the way. Bahubali 1&2 are fantasy dramas, this one is based on a true story. The Bahubalis were ostentatious films about wealthy kings, Kayamkulam Kochunni is opulent in its own way but it gives more space on its massive canvas to the poor than to the rich, to the oppressed than to the oppressors. The Bahubalis were socially and politically conformist for the most part, Kayamkulam Kochunni is a celebration of non-conformism and social rebellion.

Moments after the film opens, young Kochunni of Kayamkulam town gets an early Les Miserables-style lesson in inequity and injustice when his father is beaten to a pulp for stealing grain to feed his starving family. On leaving home, the little Muslim boy encounters unexpected kindness from an upper-caste Hindu gentleman and, despite his bitter childhood memories, grows up to be a happy-go-lucky youth, popular among locals and generous to a fault. His schooling in caste tyranny among Hindus and British colonialism, his love for the Shudra woman Janaki, his encounter with the dreaded dacoit Ithikkara Pakki and his own journey to banditry are all chronicled in considerable detail in this film snappily edited by Sreekar Prasad.

Like Rajeev Ravi who directed the blockbuster Kammatipaadam and so many other wonderful Malayalam directors, Rosshan Andrrews too does not assume that films on marginalised communities must perforce be artsy, niche, small and underplayed. Kayamkulam Kochunni is, among other things, an imposing spectacle. The river that runs by the town and the natural splendour of the region are beautifully shot both by day and by night by DoP Binod Pradhan, as are the lushly lit Kalari scenes led by veteran actor Babu Antony. The most powerful image from the film to my mind though is of Kochunni getting married inside a giant pyramidical tower created by poor men standing one on top of the other’s shoulders. That evocative picture combined with the throbbing chants of those people forms one of the most impactful passages from Kayamkulam Kochunni.

Such carefully crafted imagery ensures that despite its visual scale, heart-stopping action, high-adrenaline chases and Gopi Sundar’s pulsating music, the dominant takeaway from Kayamkulam Kochunni is its politics and humanity.

That said, a film that represents the country’s lowest castes, the poor and a beleaguered religious minority with such sensitivity is surprisingly neglectful of women. The female characters are all present here either to be loved, protected or exploited by the men and not as individuals in their own right. The ultimate irony is that Kayamkulam Kochunni features an item song during which the camera remains fixated on Nora Fatehi’s bottom.  Only one woman gets significant screen time, prominence in the plot and any kind of agency. Even the crowd scenes and the musical choruses are dominated by men. This is not what one would expect from a film directed by Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay, considering that their most successful recent collaboration was Manju Warrier’s comeback film after a 14 year hiatus, How Old Are You. That film was woman-centric but did not erase men. In this one, it is as if the team could not envision crucial leadership or participatory roles for the so-called weaker/gentler sex in an action adventure. (On this front alone, Baahubali 2 scores over Kayamkulam Kochunni with Anushka Shetty’s atypical Devasena.)

The cast is packed with known names. Priya Anand does a decent job of playing the unpredictable Janaki, as does Sunny Wayne in a meaty role as Kochunni’s bete noir Keshava – neither of them is great, but they are fair enough. Mohanlal appears late in the film as that other legendary highway robber, Ithikkara Pakki, and lends an animalistic touch to his performance as a brigand with a heart of gold. The camera is careful not to pull out too far when his character is throwing punches, which is a good thing because it has been a long time since Lalettan has looked convincing in action scenes. However, his screen presence and star stature give his character the weight it deserves despite this being only an extended cameo.

Shine Tom Chacko stands out among the able supporting actors, playing a Brahmin with empathy for Dalits. (Possible spoilers ahead) The only off-key performance comes from Thesni Khan as a woman Kochunni considers family. At arguably the most important turning point in the leading man’s adult life, her ambiguous facial expressions leave a question mark over whether she is helpless and scared or intentionally traitorous.

In fact, the writing itself becomes thoroughly awkward around the final betrayal of Kochunni. The screenplay attributes what feel like contrived motivations to every single person who lets him down.

(Spoiler alert ends)

Nivin Pauly is an unusual choice for Kochunni since he does not have the body type conventionally associated with action heroes (read: Prabhas and Rana Daggubati). Yet, despite his increasing bulk, Pauly is surprisingly agile in the fight scenes. He also does a remarkable job sans gimmickry of capturing the protagonist’s transformation from innocence to seething, volcanic fury, from that simple young man called Kochunni to Kayamkulam Kochunni of folklore in whose name a shrine exists attached to a temple in Kerala. 

Pauly is currently one of the poster boys of middle-of-the-road Malayalam cinema. Kayamkulam Kochunni is a reminder that he is as adept at headlining a humongous, overtly massy project as the delicate little gems he is so closely associated with. This is a film that is large in every conceivable way – large to look at and large of heart. Its strength lies in the fact that its soul overshadows the spectacle at each turn, and the lasting memory from it is of a poor Muslim man who soldiered past his hellish beginnings to become a messiah for the most downtrodden of India’s people.

Rating (out of five stars): ***1/2

CBFC Rating (India):	U
Running time:	143 minutes

A version of this review has also been published on Firstpost:

https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/kayamkulam-kochunni-movie-review-nivin-pauly-excels-in-a-period-epic-that-outshines-bahubalis-scale-with-its-sensitivity-5376361.html

Posters courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/kayamkulamkochunniofficial/

REVIEW 551: FUKREY RETURNS

Release date:	December 8, 2017
Director:	Mrighdeep Singh Lamba
Cast: Language:	Varun Sharma, Pulkit Samrat, Richa Chadda, Ali Fazal, Manjot Singh, Priya Anand, Vishakha Singh, Pankaj Tripathi  Hindi

 

Hunnny, Chuchcha, Zafar, Laali and Bholi Punjaban are back. They are as nutty as they were the first time we met them in 2013’s sleeper hit Fukrey produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. Back then, however, the refreshing naturalness with which Mrighdeep Singh Lamba portrayed them and the director’s own evident understanding of middle-class Delhi were good enough reasons to forgive that thoroughly enjoyable film its slightness. In retrospect though, Fukrey feels profound in comparison with Fukrey Returns. The novelty has worn off by now, and Lamba is so busy sitting on his laurels that he does not bother to come up with a semblance of a credible plot for the sequel. Since his sense of humour remains intact, what we get is a hollow film that feels like a series of hilarious jokes strung together.

Life has somewhat settled down since the boys were introduced to audiences. Hunnny (Pulkit Samrat) now runs a business and is in a comfortably happy relationship with his girlfriend Priya (Priya Anand). Zafar (Ali Fazal) is a successful singer and is moving in with Neetu (Vishakha Singh). Laali (Manjot Singh) still longs to free himself of his mithai-shop-owning father and still yearns for a woman to fall in love with. And Chuchcha (Varun Sharma) is dreaming dreams.

When the gangsta Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadda) gets out of jail and confronts them over the financial losses they have caused her, the four get stuck in a scheme to make a few crores overnight. Of course things go awry. Of course they run around in circles, giving them time for scene after comic scene. And of course everything is sorted out in the end.

The story – if it can be called that – revolves around the premonitions encased in Chuchcha’s dreams. Add a powerful politician (Rajiv Gupta) to that mix, a zoo, a tiger and a tiger cub, and the result is a motley assortment of ingredients that do not at any point come together as a smooth blend.

For one, Zafar and Laali are completely irrelevant and nothing would change without them. They have so little to do in Fukrey Returns that they look like hangers-on who were retained simply because they happened to be in the first one. This is the film’s loss because Ali Fazal and Manjot Singh are both capable actors.

Priya and Neetu, who were largely responsible for giving Fukrey whatever little depth it had, are even more marginal than these two gentlemen. They disappear through most of the film and resurface for one madcap ride towards the end, for no particular reason other than that Lamba perhaps wanted to assemble the entire cast, Priyadarshan-style, for the climactic moments. This too is the film’s loss because Priya Anand and Vishakha Singh have both proved their mettle as artists in their brief filmographies.

It speaks poorly of the screenplay that four characters could be entirely dispensed with and it would make nary a difference to the storyline or the narrative.

Chadda as Bholi Punjaban fares a little better, not a lot. The problem with her has more to do with the somewhat zestless acting than the writing though. Gupta, who has been lovely in other films, is given little to chew on here but pulls through. Pankaj Tripathi deserves applause for his value additions to the ordinary writing – with a look here, a gesture there, an amusing posture elsewhere, he manages to make a mark with a barely defined character.

Fukrey Returns’ screenplay has invested itself in one role and one role alone, and that role ends up being the only reason for its survival: Chuchcha remains laugh-out-loud, hold-your-stomach-or-it-will-hurt funny and Varun Sharma is hysterical. The actor’s flawless comic timing makes every moment with his character a fun ride. Even when the humour gets more slapstick in tone than Fukrey and becomes physical, it steers clear of being crass for the most part. I confess to feeling uneasy with a scene in which a firecracker pierces a man’s bottom, but that requires a separate and very long discussion that we have not even begun to have in our country as of now.

(Note: The story, screenplay and dialogues of Fukrey Returns are by Vipul Vig. Lamba has been credited for “additional dialogue and screenplay”.)

Sharma’s killer comic talent and the lines he has been given are the driving force of Fukrey Returns. Pretty much everything else about it is listless. Even the presence of a tiger and a cub on screen have not been sufficiently mined for effect. 

Make a film around Sharma/Chuchcha, if you wish, Mr Lamba. If you do intend to bring back the rest of Team Fukrey in a third venture though, please remember not to neglect them as you have done in this one. The consequence of that neglect is that Fukrey Returns is funny but its gnawing hollowness is impossible to ignore. It may as well have been a stand-up comedy show headlined by Varun Sharma instead of a film.

  

Rating (out of five stars): *1/2

CBFC Rating (India):	UA
Running time:	131 minutes

This review was also published on Firstpost:

http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/fukrey-returns-movie-review-this-richa-chadha-varun-sharma-starrer-is-funny-but-hollow-4248339.html

Poster courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukrey_Returns