“Kadhal”

 

In placing “Autograph” at the top of my “Best Movies” list, I wrote, “Right from the settings and costumes to the different dialects, ‘Autograph’ is the closest that Tamil Cinema got to a ‘slice of life’ in 2004.” At the beginning of 2005, I am proud to have seen another movie that fits the same description. Based on a real-life story, Balaji Sakthivel (“Samurai”) crafts “Kaadhal,” a finely written, realistic tale of adolescent love, the deeply realized lead characters carving a place for themselves in our memories.

 

Aishwarya (Sandhya, making her debut), a well-to-do school girl, falls in love with Murugan (Bharath), a mechanic, who requites her affection for him. Sandhya’s family with its insular, rural mentality (the story is set in Madurai) would never approve of the girl’s affection for a poor, “lower caste” guy and things begin to go out of control when her family decides to fix up an arranged marriage for her. The youngsters decide to elope to Chennai, where they enlist the help of Murugan’s friend Stephen (Sukumar). But Sandhya’s parents are too high-strung and conventional to let go of her and this is when fate takes its own course.

 

Looking at this simple description, it is easy for the reader to almost wonder what the hype surrounding this movie is all about. But the Director, like Parthiban in “Kudaikkull Mazhai,” takes this ‘one-line story’ and gives it such depth and meaning that we are transported to the characters’ universe. Parthiban’s abstract, surrealistic style was ignored by the masses but “Kadhal,” with its gritty feel, will definitely appeal to a larger portion of the audience. This film, from beginning to end, has its feet firmly planted in reality and this aspect lends it a certain degree of urgency. The tension is almost unbearable in the second half not because of any ‘thrilling’ sequences or hand-to-hand combats but because of the simple fact that the characters have really endeared themselves to us by this point in the movie. By the two-hour mark, I was at the edge of my seat and kept fidgeting around, tremulously rooting for two innocent souls who were grappling with the harsh realities of life.

 

The first half of “Kadhal” is a delectably sweet love story. Right from the scene where Bharath literally bumps into Sandhya (her imitation of Bharath is hilariously done), the characters ooze a certain degree of childlike innocence and earnestness and this is such a welcome relief from the recent “Tamil Cinema” kind of love stories where love is reduced to a vent for physical pleasures. Here, the interactions between Bharath and Sandhya are such a delight to behold. It also helps that the scenes are based on simple, everyday happenings. Sandhya, flaunting her new ‘Scooty,’ and then asking Bharath to ‘repair’ it is a fun sequence where we smile more out of acknowledgement than anything else! There is also a delightful little moment where he speeds towards her in his bike—watch the way Sandhya prepares to defend herself with…a foot-ruler of all things! There are several such scenes where we realize that these characters are so green that marriage should be the last thing on their minds but it is to the Director’s credit that he makes us identify with them and follow them in the journey.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the down-to-earth nature of this movie is one of its biggest assets. If the adolescent love story in the first half captivates us with its sweetness, the bitter realities of the second half haunt us with their sharpness. There is a simple but telling sequence that deserves special mention - the lovers having escaped to Chennai wait for their friend in a dirty corner of a desolate road- the rank smell bugs the little girl. Later the three of them are walking the streets of Chennai in the scorching heat, looking for a place to live, when the girl complains that she cannot endure it anymore because she is getting her period. This whole sequence is so well-written and shot with such restraint and dignity that the film manages to shed light on the unsavory details of real life that are conveniently forgotten in Tamil Cinema’s usual attempts to either trivialize or romanticize the lives of youngsters. Thinking in retrospect, it is amazing how “Kadhal” works just as well as a cautionary tale.

 

The movie culminates in a climax that will linger in one’s heart for quite awhile. The Director does an extraordinary job of increasing the tempo in the final portions that the devastating finale, when it finally arrives, leaves us shattered. It is so rare that films with such simple story lines pack such emotional power and “Kadhal” is such a rare gem.

 

The performances of the lead pair lift the film from a ‘very good’ one to a ‘great’ one. Both Bharath and Sandhya turn in performances that have to be seen to be believed— nuanced and authentic, these are the stuff of legends that deserve all the plaudits they have been receiving from the critics and the public alike. Sukumar (a look-alike of Vadivelu), Arunkumar (the boy at the mechanic shop) and the rest of the supporting cast all extend fine support, their Madurai dialects adding gloss to their portrayals.

 

On the whole, Two Thumbs Up for “Kaadhal!”