Full Spoiler Alert. Don't read this if you haven't seen the movie yet.
The frame opens. We witness Mahesh cleaning his slipper and soaping himself and jumping into the small water body. We as the audience dive into in the life of Mahesh, his life, daily routine, town, home, dad, photo studio, buddies etc. All of this is rendered in a sequence of montages with a beautiful opening song that sets comfortable as niche edited initial pages of the first draft in a pleasant novel which you luckily happen to chosen and flip on a warm Sunday evening. This is a surprise, fresh breeze of the wind for someone like me who come across so many mundane regional movies and every ‘award winning Tamil short film' ever with an opening sequence nauseatingly voiced mostly by the director or one of his film buddies that go like …. 'Alarm clock sound while suprabatham plays in another side. A fellow wakes up slowly and a disgusting voice-over begins… Idhu dhaanga Mahesh. Namba Hero. Idhu avanga appa and amma. Appa: Ne urupadave maata da. Tharudhala. Amma: Appa solra interview ku po pa. Voice over continues.. Idhu avanga udhavadha close friends. Idhu Mahesh oda girl friend Priya. Priya: Ne eppayumey late dhaan da Mahesh. A phone conversation montage followed by the voice over Parunglen namba hero Mahesh phone la epdi kadala podran. Mahesh love enna aachu. Mahesh enna aana nu namba paaklama.' Why don't you cut the audience throat already? We don't see any of this in Maheshinte Prathikaram or stumble upon an opening sequence with the hero sitting in a bike outside a tea shop mocking his dad and eyeing a girl in the opposite bus stand. Hence, this is indeed new to folks like me. You see where I'm going right. As Mahesh says to his customers in the studio, I adjusted my posture, chin up, shoulder down, eyes open and ready to be genuinely clicked and moved by the art itself over the next few hours.
After this brief sneak peak into Mahesh's life, we immediately go back to the current time. As a routine, he prepares a drink for him and his father in the night and finds his dad missing. We meet his 2-3 close buddies who help him out in this situation and take him to the police station to file a complaint about the missing father. From his buddies, he learns how odd his father's behavior changed off late. Something that Mahesh hasn't noticed being in the same house with his dad. Just like the fact we realize about our own family/ close one's change in character or behavior from someone else, though we live under the same roof. Disappointed Mahesh comes back home with his friends and finds his father in his own garden taking pictures in the night with a camera.
After the briefing of Mahesh's life in a song, we see this ‘Daddy is missing' sequence as a guest moved into Mahesh's home and we feel that we were indeed with Mahesh right at this home where all this happened that night. We moved little close to Mahesh now.
A character named Crispin comes in as a Photoshop assistant for a flex printing shop next to Mahesh's photo studio. Crispin was more like a meta reference to us, the audience. We move even further closer to Mahesh's life and his studio and this is a sign that we are going to meet Mahesh often and get to know him better along with his life circumstances, as the film progresses.
We then hear about a death of a farmer who Mahesh and his adjacent shop owner were just talking about over their lunch. Mahesh figures out that he is going to meet his childhood crush/ girlfriend at the death ceremony. We get to know more about Mahesh's interest on her, their long distance relationship and the cute romance they share between them. This actually reminded me of the over dramatic Emdan Magan sequence when Barath shouts in joy as if he is now free from his chastity and is all set ready to meet his girl after ages. Now we slowly start to realize how every character, event happenings, actions, and choices are well connected and how everything in the movie has a command and an impact in the film and Mahesh's life in general.
Mahesh's girlfriend gets a proposal from a financially well off guy. She makes rather a rational decision over an emotional choice and decides to marry that guy. We're left wondering how Mahesh is going to know about this and take it.
A scene opens on a comedy note, leading to a funny brawl between two folks and a middleman who finally takes the beating in the fight. This scene blows up in a grand way to a whole cause and effect scene leading to a big embarrassment for Mahesh and he ends up getting his arse kicked by a fellow named Jimson in front of everyone in the center of his town. He vows not to wear his slipper again until he beat the hell out his bully. Here, right here, I waited for the frame to freeze and fade to interview card but It didn't. Mahesh comes back home and a news awaits to get his heart kicked out cold now. He learns that his girlfriend has chosen someone else. He hears her breaking down in the phone and saying ‘I am a coward but this is good for both of us'. Mahesh understands her rational choice and situation and realizes she moved on already quick and quiet. He doesn't frown upon days and days and ends up drunk in his father's lap. We don't see his father bathing him clean from his own vomit and advising him to move on like Autograph Cheran's father. Mahesh does not sing ‘Ava enna enna thedi vandha anjala' over few beer with his friends. Mahesh definitely goes through pain. Of course, a huge traumatic one after a heartbreak from his childhood crush, but he handles it smooth, gentle and matured. Perhaps, he was always emotionally prepared for this unfair reality and knew that his heart would be crushed someday, maybe. He decides and prepares to move on. He tries to mend his emotional self and on the pursuit of mending his physical self too, by kicking the bully Jimson's arse. He gears up for a brawl but it's too late that Jimson moved to a foreign country. We all left puzzled now and the frame with Mahesh's barefoot fades to Intermission card.
This whole sequence, the core of the film, reminded me of Ship of Theseus fame Anand Gandhi's decade old short film Right Here, Right now based on the whole paradigm synchronization of our life choices, the cause-effect of our moods and behavior, and the impact it has on others elements around us. More like a Chaos theory butterfly effect ideology. It would sound funny but I highly advise you to watch it, if not. It's totally magical, how it unfolds, just like life itself.
The first half alone is so alluring. A lot of events occurred organically in Mahesh's life and you are cliff hanged in the present situation without any reason or answer and you just stand there barefooted, physically and emotionally, with your spirit and existence shocked and staring a plain wall right in front of you. You can choose to end this and leave right here if you are a Nihilist. If you aren't, please continue.
Just hold on there, still.
The spiritual connection with different characters and factors continues. We get to know that Mahesh has now joined in a Kungfu class to train and beat his bully. He is still in his routine but without a slipper now, a loyal oath keeper. He meets Jimson's sister Jimsy. Jimsy is undoubtedly a special one in Mahesh's life. We realize this not after a complete character focus on her in the story but by the way she emerges in Mahesh's environment. They fall in love eventually. This is not a typical love at first sight, followed by a rain and ‘Engeyo paartha mayakkam' song sequence. It happened after a cause and effect sequence again but not after a casual meet and greet at Jimson's home. They don't even get to see each other at Jimson's home during Mahesh's visit.
Her question and remark on Mahesh's profession and his knowledge of the craft shakes his ego deeply. Why did he not just pass her comment as a casual claim on his stereotypic profession and shake it off but takes seriously? Of course, he would've encountered this scenario earlier. But why Jimsy's question is so personal to him.? A result of a cosmic connection he has with her, maybe.
He learns more about his profession and himself in the next few days. It doesn't happen like a sudden spark of an idea or a brain freeze. He naturally liberates his traditional perspective and gets a better understanding of his craft's potential and senses an artistic awakening. All of this unwraps beautifully in a soulful sequence where his dog, who was always chained in the first half of the film, breaks free and runs in front of him, turns and gives him a stare. We understand how important the dog is to Mahesh, even though we aren't spoon fed in any scene about Mahesh's affection for his dog by hugging him or playing Frisbee with him or practice a romantic proposal or poem in front of him like our actors from other regional films does. Remember, every character and object in the movie has a significance and purpose.
He then encounters a Mayakam Enna esque realization in the woods. He tries to create a similar magic with his craft on Jimsy and it works. He gets her picture published in the cover of a local magazine. He finds a small, sweet victory and a pat on the back. A little win that we all expect and necessarily want in the dire times of our lives. Jimsy understands his life situation from her friend and sorts out a big conviction between them over a phone and suggests to talk to her on the face if he is okay with her hard truth of being Jimson's sister. All of this quickly over a phone, you see, and not in a dramatic scene built up with tight close-ups and emotional bursts and vigilante promises in a rain backdrop. Mahesh ultimately chose love. The angst to avenge Jimsy's brother still lies within and in a dramatic fight he wins Jimson and wears his favorite slipper back. He goes to hospital meets Jimson and asks for his sister's hand and wins her. All of this happens and we feel nothing here as clichéd. Just like Mahesh we and walk away but we realize and understand that all of this is part of a grand design. Everything happens here for a reason solely based on an outcome of an event or a previous choice by another entity in one's ecosystem.
Every one of us is Mahesh in our town, own comfort zone, with our little happiness, joy, anger, limitations and worst fears. Even a slight disturbance in this ecology has an impact, creates a story and it changes us for the better or worse. We see the movie not just from Mahesh's axis but also from the other dimensions too. We laugh, feel sad, left puzzled and finally share a win along with Mahesh. For someone who is obsessed with catching up details in every frame of a movie and embrace every character in a film, Maheshinte Prathikaaram is a treat and a visual delight to watch. The blend of realism in a mainstream commercial film is nothing new to some exceptional Indian films especially the Malayalam ones. Even Fahad Fazil's earlier films like North 24 Kaatham and Annayum Rasoolum are a testimony for the same. We need more films like this in Tamil and a Kaaka Muttai and Visaaranai alone cannot satisfy our immense appetite for the art.
No comments:
Post a Comment