Ozhivudivasathe Kali (Malayalam, 2016)

It is difficult to make an engaging film, especially one based on casteism (even among supposed buddies), politics & misogyny. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan deserves all the plaudits coming his way for his adept handling of a complex subject that is not easy to narrate even as a solid script. The character arcs too come out very well in the overall scheme of things. His usage of symbolism to accentuate key moments within the film is splendid. I still am unable to come out of that haunting shot of the rooster hanging and the lead up to that moment.

It is difficult to appreciate the acting in silo as the long-shot nature of the film creates the necessity for spatial awareness for which the direction team also deserves equal credit. It is not just about mouthing dialogues but also about moving with reference to the other person without aural cues (film is made in sync sound). Tough to single out anyone for good performance as everyone has excelled but Abhija Sivakala, Baiju Netto and Nisthar Sait shine particularly bright in their respective roles.

There are moments in the film when the Cinematography as intended pleases the eye showing the Western Ghats in God’s Own Country in all its pristine glory. However, there are also occasions when the camera grimly follows the characters in a collection of long shots and also possesses the ability to shock as it calmly unravels few disturbing images.

There is some excellent work done on the sound design with even the lake splashes & the rainy setting captured vividly. Sync sound has really helped in conveying the right emotion as the characters move from one topic to another without any burden of having to recreate the same in a dubbing session. With a lot of verbal attacks and counter-attacks being made on a regular basis every murmur has been captured wonderfully.

Something very interesting about the film which piqued the interest was the fact that the director Sanal remarked in an interview that there was essentially no screenplay for the film. This certainly aroused curiosity prior to watching the film and is evident once you see the film in the fact that certain sections in the film cannot have pre-planned dialogues but have to be spoken by the actors who must be in character throughout.

While the folks behind the sync sound have done their job wonderfully, it looks like they left the subtitlists with too much to do, as we see subtitles being missed for quite a few dialogues. Of course, this might be done consciously as well given the inherent grammar in translating from one language to another.