BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

When I saw actors like Vishal, Arya, Amala Paul, Taapsee Pannu and Prakash Raj in the trailer of Kathai Thirakathai Vasanam Iyakkam (KTVI), I said “Wow, this is going to be interesting!” 

 

I expected to read the words “A film by Radhakrishnan Parthiban, ” just below the title design, but was surprised to see the tagline “A film without a story” instead. I was confused. What did this imply? Did that mean Parthiban replaced the words “by Radhakrishnan Parthiban” with “Without a story?” Was he trying to tell people that the movies directed by him would not have a story? (I had to try to think out of the way, because it was Parthiban that I was dealing with)

 

Or, was he just trying to underline the desperation of the group of creators in the movie, who had absolutely no story with them.

 

However, I really wanted to add a question mark (?) at the end of the tagline, obviously because I thought Parthiban wanted to leave it to us to answer that.

 

What do people generally expect from a commercial movie? Romance? Comedy? Suspense? Entertainment? Well, Parthiban’s Kathai Thirakathai Iyakkam Vasanam had all these elements in it and with it a cute story hidden in its abstract narrative pattern.  The movie clearly deals with the challenges a creator faces, and I could easily relate myself to the story having been one of those film aspirants, standing by the shore, longing to dive into the depth of this ocean.

 

Although the movie is based on cinema, the gist of the story lies in the relationship of Thamizh and Daksha and forthrightly I haven’t seen such intensity and detailing in romance scenes of late.  It holds you right there; it captivates you; it explains to you what passion is (Both Parthiban’s passion for cinema and the lead characters’ passion for each other). 

 

The movie teases you; it keeps you thinking and might make you want to shout out, “this man is crazy!” It deals with story discussion, it deals with how the everyday people consume cinema and Parthiban’s unanticipated entries at pivotal situations, keep reminding you of the fact that you are watching nothing else, but a movie.

 

People often complain of movies being too long, but after watching KTVI, I somehow felt it was a little too short as I just did not want to pull myself out of the chimera that the movie pushed me into. However, as Thamizh narrates his story to producer Dhananjayan, I predicted where the climax was heading and felt extremely intelligent when I saw exactly what I anticipated. Just as I prepared myself to give my ego a pat on the back, the scene that followed left me flabbergasted. That is when I actually shouted out, “This man is crazy!”

 

There was a time in the past, when unique attempts like this were either ridiculed or ignored. However, the audiences now are definitely a boon to such creators and every single clap for such movies is a motivation for them to come up with more such ideas.

 

Many movies have left me with tears because of the touching stories in them. Well, Kathai Thirakathai Vasanam Iyakkam did leave me with tears, not for the story, but for the sensational craft etched out by a bewildering craftsman.

 

Hats off Mr Radhakrishnan Parthiban. 

Abhishek Krishnan
Follow @abi_behindwoods