Revelations (Tamil, 2016)

Debutant filmmaker Vijay Jayapal uses a very relevant concept of loneliness in an alien city to move his tale that moves at its own pace revealing bits and pieces of the pasts of the characters. The way the film seamlessly cuts across both the tracks without stumbling anywhere is testament to the screenplay work put in by the writer-director Vijay and his team. His dialogues in the film are rooted and realistic. The moments where Ilaiyaraaja, Ashokamitran & Jayakanthan are mentioned bring a smile.

Chetan Kadambi who plays Manohar, has long been labeled as a supporting artist doing minor roles which certainly do not do justice to the talent with which he announced himself on Television. Having finally landed a complex role, Chetan is in blistering form reminding us of his ‘Vidathu Karuppu’ (a Tamil Television Series) days. The emotions that he displays do not have much reference and too much underplay would also have taken away the impact of the role. He finds the right meter across emotions such as lust, guilt, agony and helplessness and performs admirably.

Lakshmi who plays Shobha scores with her underplay & suppressed reactions. Her confusion about her crumbling marriage and inner cravings have been brought out wonderfully on screen. She is allowed just one minor outburst & she makes it count stunning the audience with her ferocity. Anantharaman Karthik as Lakshmi’s husband is effective in portraying the diffidence within his persona without being overly dramatic about it. Arpita Banerjee plays the role of Divya, a buzzing & vivacious Bengali youngster, with élan. The multiple layers of her role have been written and enacted well.

The film’s cinematographer, Jayanth Mathavan deserves a lot of praise. His shot division within the house is exemplary with the scene of the protagonists staring each other in the mirror remaining fresh in our minds. He delights us especially when his camera captures Shobha riding happily with her husband on the bridge with an array of colors forming the background. The saxophone background score to this scene by Shamanth is blissful. The sound design by Rajesh Saseendran and the overall music brings out the flavor of modern Kolkata really well.

Certain areas in the film’s plot are left grey (such as who knows what information); whether intentionally or unintentionally we will never know. If it is intentional, then fair play to the makers.