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Two
films screened at IFFI 2005, Oridam and Kanne Madanguka,
do not live up to their promise. May be these two are not the best
examples of Malayalam cinema, reports Ervell
E. Menezes
If the two Malayalam films screened at IFFI 2005 so far—Oridam (An Abode) and Kanne Madanguka (Revert, Oh My Vision)—are any indication, it doesn’t augur too well for Malayalam cinema. Both of them flatter only to deceive. The establishing shots and the build- up is good but they are unable to sustain themselves and fall by the wayside. Pradeep Nair’s Oridam is about the world’s oldest profession and captures the trauma of two sex workers (they are no longer called prostitutes) who, much against their wishes, are roped into the profession. That they are in the business is well concealed for starters. In fact you wonder what line of work they have. It is a story of two women, one single and the other with a child. One comes into it because she lost both her parents in a landslide. The other’s reason is not so clear but all her hopes are pinned on bringing up her daughter to a better sort of life. Director Pradeep Nair does well to introduce the subject. It has a good deal of wit, too, like when one of the customers tells them "why do you want a job when you can’t have a better line of work." But one has only to see how the men exploit them to realise their plight. "When I desire something I get into another trap," says the heroine played so convincingly by Meera Jasmine. Urvashi plays the woman with a child. And the two of them forge a rare camaraderie because they are rejected by society and can only be consoled by each other. So far, so good. But director Nair tends to lose his way after the halfway mark. He runs out of ideas and the convenient ending is too much of a let down, detracting from what could have been a powerful social statement. In between, too, he goes overboard with some scenes like the one in which the single woman anticipates having a child. Albert’s Kanne Madanguka, too, begins impressively as it unfolds the plight of a quarry worker who breaks his leg and is forced to stay at home. His two daughters Karunya and Soumya are schoolgoing but the elder one is forced to give it up to become the breadwinner. Then she is offered a spinning job and later goes to the Gulf. The coffers of the family start filling up and they see good times. But, as in life, there is always a catch or fate or the law of perversity. Albert’s narrative is strong as he weaves his story around the old man played exceedingly well by Murali. The elder daughter, too, is a well etched out character but is the sudden twist in fortune believable? Besides, the story tends to get far too sentimental and though the climax is stunning, it doesn’t exactly fit into the scheme of things. Yet, director Albert wants to make a statement of child prostitution rackets and one cannot doubt his sincerity. We have come to realise that Malayalam and Bengali cinema are high up in the Indian scenario. May be these two were not the best examples of Malayalam cinema and we are looking forward to find better specimens in this festival. |
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