lens of impotent fury and his young mistress (Yasmin
Ponappa) and underlings feel the brunt of it. Young
mistress needs to get off bad and since getting slapped
around isn’t doing it for her she does the next
best thing and decides to carry on with the simpleton
of the gang, aptly named Sappai (Ravikrishna). And
then we have the straight arrow underling (Sampath)
who is usually mandatory in such a dysfunctional bunch
and he is a man with a plan even if said plan is going
to get him into a world of trouble. Throw in a ridiculously
expensive designer drug like cocaine that winds up
in the wrong hands and a rival gang headed by a bona
fide sadistic, volatile, nut job plus sidekicks aplenty
and you have your cocktail that will punch you in
the gut and get you deliriously high.
The dialogue is simply brilliant in Aaranya Kaandam.
The first words are uttered by young mistress, after
a brutal beating and aborted forced sex which as she
truthfully says is not her fault especially since
she is not the one who can’t do it. Tom Cruise
had Renee Zellweger with a ‘Hello’ in
Jerry Maguire and Kumararaja has his audience with
those opening lines. The rest of it is also spectacular
and this coupled with touches of whimsy evident in
the narrative style remind you of Quentin Tarantino
at his most awesome.
In this vein, there are also flashes of Robert Rodriguez
in his Desperado days glimpsed in the action scenes
replete with blood and gore where somehow the violence
manages to have a lyrical quality to it. Yasmin Ponnappa
is a cheri Lady Macbeth, who is usually at the receiving
end of violent behavior, but frail though she is,
the lady manages to keep it all together even when
the world is going to hell around her. Speaking of
the bard, portions of the film remind you of Vishal
Bharadwaj’s take on Shakespeare and the criminal
underworld in films like Omkara and Kaminey.
Finally, we have a cockfight (Jackie Shroff is merely
an onlooker but he still feels the need to perform)
that is reminiscent of Aadukalam, Vetrimaran’s
Othello meets ‘namma local roadside Romeo’
betrayal drama. And comparisons are odious but the
cockfight in Aaranya Kaandam is bloody awesome. A
drunken, pathetic, believes – himself –
to – be – a – zamindar, prances
around as the cocks slug it out and in him the sheer
desperation of the human condition and its inexplicable
coexistence with a passion for life and the joy of
living is beautifully brought out, while his young
son watches on half – indulgently and half –
scoldingly.
Yet, despite the underlying influences from Hollywood,
Bollywood, and our very own Tamil cinema, this is
not a kitschy, tasteless film that offends the senses
by throwing every available ingredient into the pot.
It is unique and can hold its own among the best films
ever made. This speaks volumes about the scarily talented
Kumararaja.
The performances in AK are a treat to watch. Sampath
Raj as the straight arrow who can also cut deep is
as competent as ever. Jackie Shroff is simply astounding
as the old fart with plenty of wind still left in
him even if he could do with a truckload of Viagra.
Ravikrishna as Sappai is perfectly cast and is both
irritating and endearing, exactly as the character
should be. The supporting characters are perfectly
cast. There is a ‘Pulli Raja’ who is perfectly
qualified to write a thesis on nailing aunties. His
delightful monologue on the subject is one of the
many guilty pleasures the movie offers.
Amongst all these terrific thespians there unfortunately
lurks an imposter. Yasmin Ponnapa as young mistress
disappoints and was a sore point for this writer.
This size – zero former model (don’t our
men have a marked preference for curvier women?) simply
could not get under the skin of her wonderfully nuanced
character. Her lines are sparkling with wit and she
almost ruins it all when she says the words in her
nails – on – the – blackboard voice.
This character needed someone with oomph to play her
and someone like Anushka would have been perfect for
the part.
Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background score is right
up there with the best among the best. And by that,
it means this is on par with the best of Ilaiyaraja’s
work and as everybody knows, nobody and I mean nobody
can top him when it comes to background music. The
music sets the tone for the events unfolding on screen
and is like an enchanted companion who has the power
to make you fly.
As for the censors who gave this magnificent film
such a hard time, they deserve to do hard time for
their almost heinous crime against great art. Yes,
the film is sexually explicit but so what? The Kamasutra
was written in India and we have the second highest
population in the world. Both are clear indicators
that we are no strangers to sex or sexual content.
Perhaps it is time to stop pretending that only the
animals do it? As for the ripe language in Aaranya
Kaandam it is just ridiculous to expect gangsters
to speak the Queen’s English or Kalaignar’s
Tamil for that matter. And as for the violence, if
you have a sensitive stomach that can’t stand
it, you should stop watching movies and simply join
an old ladies’ knitting club.
On the other hand, perhaps censors will stop coming
down so hard on such films, if theatres would clamp
down and only allow people above the legally permissible
age to watch films with adult content. And it wouldn’t
kill parents either to exercise a little responsibility
and leave their kids home safe and sound in bed with
a trustworthy nanny/ayah/grandmommy/neighbor/aunty
etc. when they decide to treat themselves to a heady
cocktail of sex, violence, and expletive – ridden
filmmaking.
Getting back to Aaranya Kaandam, sometimes you go
in to watch a film with the highest expectations,
terrified that the director will let you down, but
then you go ahead and watch it and you are filled
with glorious awe, because you could not have asked
for more from a film. A true movie lover will tell
you there is nothing to match that feeling. Aaranya
Kaandam gave me that glorious feeling and I thank
Thiagarajan Kumararaja and SPB Charan for that. Gentlemen
take a bow! |
