On the occasion of Christ's resurrection, I wish my family & friends, a happy and peaceful Easter. Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a steady release of movies & with the Covid restrictions with regard to theatre occupancy still in place; how many of them manages to bring a smile to the producers remains to be seen. Last week, Rohit V S's "Kala" had hit the screens which made heads turn as it was given a 'A' certificate. The trailer gave us a glimpse of the reason as it was a no holds barred action extravaganza (Tovino reminded me of some scenes from "The Passion of Christ"), but none of us would have expected the lengths to which both the cast & crew invested into it.
Shaji (Tovino Thomas) was a bold and egoistic individual who looked down upon people that he considered was lower in the social strata. As far as his means of livelihood was considered, he supported his family from the produce of the agarian fields that his father, Raveendran (Lal) possessed. The latter wasn't particularly fond of his son, as he had lost significant amount of money through his various failed business plans. Things move along uneventfully, until some labourers are brought in to do some work in their land. But the demeanor of some of them, didnt go down well with Shaji.
This is the third venture of Rohit & it didnt quite surprise me the manner in which this movie was executed. After all, his earlier two projects were "The Adventures of Omanakuttan" & "Iblis" which were quite quirky and distinct. He has penned the script along with Yadhu Pushpakaran and it is essentially about the clash between an egoistic and arrogant individual and another who wanted revenge for the loss of his dear pet. So in effect like John Wick's fury & to put it frankly, there is nothing else in terms of the story. But the outburst of the raw emotions eventually leading to an extended action sequence (hard to believe that it could last for so long) was just exhilarating. The technical elements deserves praise be it Akhil George's visuals, Chamman Chacko's impressive edits and Dawn Vincent's music.
Hats off to Tovino Thomas for his conviction in choosing the role & brilliance in portrayal different versions of Shaji across the course of the movie. Equally fantastic or maybe even a shade better was Sumesh Moor as the unnamed who was savage & virtually beast like. The rest of the cast such as Lal, Divya Pillai have done their parts aptly as well.
Verdict: As mentioned earlier, there is hardly any story as such & could be slotted as a normal revenge drama. But the manner in which Rohit crafted the characters of Tovino & Sumesh is what makes it an interesting watch. The efforts of both the artists as well as the crew for some elaboratively executed raw action sequence definitely deserve an applause & hence give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
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