PAAVA KADHAIGAL (2020)

Critic - No.186

Director: Sudha Kongara, Vignesh Shivan, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vetrimaaran

Produced by: RSVP Movies, Flying Unicorn Entertainment

Casts: Kalidas Jayaram, Shanthanu Bhahyaraj, Bhavani Sre, Anjali, Kalki Koechlin, Padam Kumar, Simran, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Adithya Bhaskar, Prakash Raj, Sai Pallavi, Hari Krishnan

Language: Tamil

Music: Justin Prabhakaran, Anirudh, Karthik, R Sivatmikha

Genre: Drama

 

SYNOPSIS: 

At times dark, at times disturbing, four short films explore 4 stories of those who dare to dream and desire - and those determined to stand in their way.

 

REVIEW:

Paava Kadhaigal, directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vignesh Shivan, and Vetri Maaran is an anthology of four stories that delve into the various facets of honour killing that is still quite prevalent in some parts of India. Shot before the Covid-19 pandemic, Paava Kadhaigal is the 2^nd Tamil anthology that is released this year that looks more confident, intense and fulfilling on the whole. The theme of patriarchy binds the four films together. Paava Kadhaigal is also inevitably about caste and gender is beautifully established by the opening credits (they flow on an animation segment that shows a girl from birth all the way to the stage in her life when a boy offers her a rose as a token of his love.

 

Anthology films are always tough to put together, given the thematic flow the film has to possess with consistency in engagement level as well. Paava Kadhaigal hits the right note with four intriguing tales which has solid characters to drive them. Let’s take a dive into each story looking into the thematic and cinematic succession of each.

 

Thangam (dir. Sudha Kongara)

 

Synopsis: Facing long time bullying and ostracization, a trans-villager risks everything to support the dream of a beloved childhood friend.

 

Sudha Kongara continues her solid form this year by giving us yet another film that will be etched in our memories for a very long time. Following the bond between two friends, the film gets everything right from the word go. Be it the detailed visual aesthetics to depict the 1980s, juxtaposition of T.Rajendar films to highlight the love failure mood of the film or the strong social ostracism against Satthar character, Sudha stamps her filmmaking voice strongly. The film strongly gives a deserving slap to those who are adamantly holding on to their blind pride and going anti-LGBT just because it is a minority.

 

Despite the predictability, with good pace and high emotional graph, Thangam finds two gems through Shantanu and Kalidas who have given their career-best performances. Justin Prabhakaran’s haunting theme song ‘Thangame’ stabs your heart, embedding the pain of the narrative even deeper.

 

Love Panna Uttranum (dir. Vignesh Shivan)

 

Synopsis: Fearing their father’s staunch views on marriage, two sisters take separate approaches to tell him who they love, with wildly different outcomes.

 

Vignesh Shivan is known for dealing with complex situations and tragedies with a tint of black comedy and ‘Love Panna Uttranum’ is no different. To stack the positives first, the film oozes with technical finesse from chic production design, vibrant costume designs and soothing music by Anirudh. It is definitely an interesting concept to see a village based, caste hungry politician facing a LGBT situation but what makes the film engaging are the intriguing characters and situation Vignesh Shivan drives the concept with. Anjali, Padam Kumar and Jaffar are impressive in their roles with Kalki Koechin sizzling the screen with her exuberant performance (watch out for her delivering a punchy proverb at the intro scene!)

 

However, compared to the other stories, the film doesn’t prick you in the heart and the main characters are retained at a surface level that doesn’t really connect with us till the end. And the real spoiler for me was the ending twist that rips away the progressive thought under this concept, quite abruptly, almost leaving you cheated. That said, Vignesh Shivan’s sharp comedy leaves us with a smile most of the time, something that we don’t get in the other 3 films.

 

 

Vaanmagal (dir. Gautham Vasudev Menon)

 

Synopsis: A family grapples with guilt, anger and social stigma after their spirited young daughter suffers a traumatic incident.

 

Gautham Vasudev Menon (GVM) is the most experienced filmmaker on the list and the concept he has taken flexes that experience. He has always been good with his side family plots in his feature and this time he focuses fully on a middle-class family’s (based in a village, probably first time for GVM) tribulations after a horrific incident that happens to the youngest daughter. The film talks about how families struggle in deciding whether to choose justice over their family honour, something very prevalent in Indian middle-class communities.

 

Simran holds the film on her shoulder by arresting performance. The most disturbing scene for me was Mathi (Simran) bathing her daughter after a tragic incident. The camera holds on to her for long, highlighting her embarrassment, disgust, and pain, all expressed in her powerful eyes.

 

As usual GVM scores in his sharp dialogues and clean shots but the same can’t be said for his performance. While his subtleness works at parts, during a significant scene in the film, he goes all expressionless that might even irksome audiences.

 

Oor Iravu (dir. Vetrimaaran)

 

Synopsis: Estranged from her family after eloping, a now-pregnant young woman is brought home by her father, who says he wishes to hold a baby shower for her.

 

The darkest and disturbing film of the anthology is served the last (according to Netflix playlist sequence). ‘Oor Iravu’ is a film about a caste hungry father, Janakiraman (Prakash Raj) visiting his eloped, pregnant daughter Sumathi (Sai Pallavi) to bring her back to his village to hold a baby shower for her. Even though the film is quite predictable, the intensity in the final conversation between the father and daughter is painstakingly brilliant.

 

Unlike the other 3 films, Oor Iravu is silent most of the time without a score and it works well to create the somber mood throughout the film. The lead actors do a top-notch work in making us cry even after the final credits. I loved how Vetrimaran takes a brief concept and amplifies it with a strong final moment. However, the only qualms I have is the abrupt transition to the animated sequences pushes us further away from the intense world Vetrimaran has built. That said, the film gave me shivers to even know how animalistic and narrow-minded the people in India still are.

 

My Ranking of the 4 films based on the overall cinematic experience -  Thangam, Oor Iravu, Vanamagal, Love Panna Uttranum

 

VERDICT:

Raw, intense and dark, Paava Kadahigal is a brilliant anthology that boldly touches on the toxic grip of pride, sin and honour that still prevails in the patriarchal society in India.

 

 

CELLULOID METER- 4/5: