KASADA THAPRA (2021)

Critic No. 234

Director: Chimbu Devan

Written by: Chimbu Devan

Produced by: Black Ticket Company, Trident Arts

Casts: Premji Amaran, Regina Cassandra, Venkat Prabhu, Santhanu Bhagyaraj, Sampath, Sendrayan, Sundeep Kishan, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Subbu Panchu, Harish Kalyan, Vijayalakshmi, Vidya Pradeep, Arvind Akash, Sija Rose

Language: Tamil

Genre: Drama

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja, Premji Amaran, Sam C.S, Sean Roldan, Santosh Narayanan, Ghibran

SYNOPSIS: 

The lives of a few individuals get impacted, both in good and bad ways, by the actions of others who are hardly connected to them.

REVIEW:

Right at the beginning of Kasada Thapara, in a voiceover, director Chimbudeven gives us what the film is all about — a demonstration of two theories: the butterfly effect and the vantage point theory. The film involves six stories that are interlinked and each one has an overriding theme with principal characters appearing in other stories and influencing the conflicts in one way or another. After a 6 year of hiatus after the disappointing Puli (2015), Chimbu Devan strikes back with a bunch of talented actors and technicians, aiming to prove himself again as an effective storyteller. 

Kavasam

Synopsis: A forgotten file leads to a romance between the woman (Regina Cassandra) who has left it at the office she had gone to for an interview and the man (Premgi Amaren) who returns it to her. 

Review: With an interesting casting choice, this story was the most feel-good of the lot to me but also the thinnest in terms of ideas. I liked the mood of the film, the cheeky angle of Krishnan as the friend of the protagonist (revealed as schizophrenic in the other stories), and the philosophical banter between the couple that happens at the rooftop that follows with Yuvan’s sweet soundtrack. 

However, the acting feels inconsistent (especially Premji’s Bhramin slang) and we are unable to feel for the characters due to the weak development of the characters. The motivation for the lead pair falling in love looks very flat and therefore when the twist kicks in, the impact is not as strong as intended. That said, I liked how the story develops and is the main anchor for the other stories and how it comes in again as the end frame to wrap up and end on a happy note.

Sadhiyadal

Synopsis: Upon overhearing his son’s (Shantanu Bhagyaraj) disappointment with his activities, a ruthless don (Sampath) decides to give up his life of crime which kick-starts whole new revelations and consequences.

Review: This was the feeling which I got detached the most due to the hurried screenplay and motivations that were changing so quickly without any logic. For example, Sampath decides to change in just one overhearing of his son’s conversation with his girlfriend on how he hates his dad’s profession as it stands in the way to get her. Sampath looks loud as usual while Shantanu retains his artificial acting in this as well. 

On the brighter side, the ending twist looks interesting and it slowly gets another shape through the other stories that better helps the characters to develop. 

Thappattam

Synopsis: Police officer Kanda (Sundeep Kishan) is totally against encounters as he sees that as a barbaric method to deal with criminals. But, his superior (Subbu Panchu), hates Kanda as he considers him as a guy from a low community. He keeps sending Kanda on encounter assignments to avenge him for standing equal to him in society which creates a rift with his wife (Priya Bhavani Shankar). Kanda meanwhile finds out a dark secret about his sister (Vidya Pradeep) as well.

Review: Finally, we see a story that has well-written characters, motivations, acting, and technicalities. Sundeep Kishan is impressive as a pressured police officer. The angle of caste issues in the civil service is an interesting angle and the action scenes are very well choreographed. 

Priya’s character looks one dimensional as a distraught wife who is disappointed with her husband who is involved in encounters that clash with her morals of not hurting any lives regardless of their sins. Subbu’s acting though looks theatrical at times, the final showdown between him and Sundeep is interestingly crafted. The dark twist about Kanda’s sister looks too flat to even care. 

Pandhayam,

Synopsis: Kish (Harish Kalyan), spins a clever web against his new rich friend to gradually take over him as a millionaire. 

Review: Story-wise, this was the most complete one for me with clear structure and resolution. If only Harish’s character had a stronger backstory, his motivations would have been meatier. It is nice to see Arvind Akash acting after some time and is apt as the naive spoiled brat. 

The way Harish engineers towards the throne is nice. I just felt that the content needed more time to effectively establish, and due to the format, it had no choice but to be brief. Premji’s music sounds loud at times and his theme track is a heavily lifted work from older Rajini films. 

Arampattra

Synopsis: Sundari’s (Vijayalakshmi) son comes down with a mysterious fever, and she leaves no stones unturned to snatch him back from the jaws of death. 

Review: Hard-hitting and realistic, this story was the most substantial one for me and worked well in the format of the short story. It was refreshing to see Vijayalakshmi in a rural role and she does extremely well at many physically demanding scenes.  The scene where she takes on the gang of chain snatchers single-handedly and gets back her ‘thaali’ is the highlight of the entire film. It is only the last piece of gold with her and she wants to pawn it, to feed her son and buy him life-saving medicines that engage her to fight to the death. Prithviraj Pandiarajan fits well in a brief but important role that somehow becomes the savior of many characters in the film.

The only downer in this is how it develops and ends off in an anti-climatic manner through the other story which sadly rips off the experience of the story. 

Akkarai

Synopsis: Samyuthan takes the blame for smuggling fake medicines on behalf of his boss (Amma Siva) that kills many children.

Review: Venkat Prabhu’s episode though feels the most melodramatic, it was the most emotional of the lot for me. Venkat Prabhu pricks our heart as the naive, loyal worker who is stuck in a situation that puts in a path of no return. He reminds us of his previous memorable performance in his earlier days in Unnai Charanadainthen (2003) that had similar innocent roles.

Santosh Narayanan’s haunting music elevates the dark story and Siju Rose is impressive as the distraught wife. If only the short had more time, the impact it would have created would be much more. This is my favourite story of all that also sums up all the other stories nicely.

OVERALL THOUGHT:

Chimbu Devan succeeds in presenting the hyperlink cinema and connects the dots very well to keep the flow organic. On the performance front, Sendrayan, Harish Kalyan, Arvind Akash, Sundeep Kishan, Vijayalakshmi, Venkat Prabhu, and Siju Rose excel with their genuine performances. Yuvan, Sean Roldan, and Santosh Narayanan’s score elevate the mood of the film as well. I just felt that some of the castings could have been better and not just taken mostly from Venkat Prabhu’s film universe (since he is the producer).

I just felt that given the connecting characters/stories, the technicians used could have been lesser to keep the tone consistent. This would have resulted in a more organic hyperlink cinema like Super Deluxe (2019). Tagged as ‘The Tale of South Madras’, I didn’t feel the purpose or the unique aspect of the landscape coming out of the stories at all. I also couldn’t figure out the reason for the different aspect ratios used for some stories. Did Chimbu Devan want some tales to look claustrophobic? If yes, that didn’t come out clearly as most of the film was shot in various locations. 

That said, Chimbu Devan should be commended for giving us an interesting film with a few memorable characters and moments that I felt were quite impactful. The biggest strength of the film is the pacing as well which keeps us engaged from start to finish.

VERDICT:

Though the ideas stagger to conform into the short format, ‘Kasada Thapara’ is a collection of 6 simple yet effective stories that gel well to provide a rousing experience, reiterating that Chimbu Devan is an underrated gem who always dares to do something different.

CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5: