Jiyen Krishnakumar is one of the three contemporary Malayalam filmmakers who proved himself adept at handling a big canvas — aside from Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arun Kumar Aravind, and Rathish Ambat. There's a reason why Murali's scripts were adapted for the screen more than once by these filmmakers. Only they are capable of executing his vision, even when not every idea translates well on the screen.
It's been nine years since his debut feature "Tiyaan", a film I have a particular fondness for; it had the potential to be something much bigger, but seemingly struggled to combine all its ideas cohesively. But I'll never accuse it of being incoherent — or boring, even. If anything, it established the fact that Jiyen has a good sense when it comes to capturing wide expanses, colours, geography, composition... Among the many vivid frames is one of Prithviraj sitting on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking a land peppered with homes that, from a high vantage point, resemble matchboxes. Or what about that night scene of Murali Gopy's red robe starkly contrasting with the greys of the rocks into which he tries to flee? It evoked a graphic novel.
But enough about "Tiyaan". The point I'm driving at is that Jiyen demonstrates, yet again, that he is comfortable handling a giant canvas with his second film. You see the graphic novel touches in this one, too. Beginning with the way he stages a night hour massacre on Sri Lankan soil in a bygone era, to the way he stages a bloody home invasion while a colourful festive event is in progress, to a college fight, Jiyen's work recalls the early films of I.V. Sasi, Joshiy, Thampy Kannanthanam, and Shaji Kailas. Some of these stretches show admirable inventiveness and impressive use of colours and space. There are some memorable images here.
And for a larger chunk of this nearly three-hour film, Murali's script shows promise of something big and different. An LTTE man joining hands with local gangsters in Thiruvananthapuram? A Kerala Chief Minister (fictional, of course) who has a sordid history with a South Indian movie actress? A saffron-tinted thug whose boss was once a Communist revolutionary?
In short, the usual Murali Gopy trademarks are on full display. His films have always batted for humanity, irrespective of religion, caste, or economic status. It might seem unrealistic to some, but what's wrong with ASPIRING for something through the films you write? The idea of a Hindu sadhu using a Muslim man as a medium for transferring 'superpowers' to an oppressed Hindu pandit in "Tiyaan", for instance. I've always felt Murali's scripts were straightforward, except for "Theerpu", which was too experimental for its own good. Generally, I found it quite ridiculous that people tend to read too much into his scripts — how they try to assume his political ideology just because he added a little visual detail that's part of a city's fabric.
However, after a point, "Ananthan Kaadu" begins to look like a film that had something interesting and complicated to say, but was concerned about the accessibility factor, and later dumbed everything down to appeal to a wider demographic. It presents characters who, on first glance, seem resilient and powerful, but succumb to their own misery. This is not just the case with women, but also the men.
There is nothing wrong with A-rated violence, and I’m glad "Ananthan Kaadu" has a fair amount of satisfying fights where every punch and kick, and bloodshed, makes its impact felt. But whatever ingenuity that Jiyen and his team displayed in the early segments is nowhere to be seen in the third act. The violence later begins to look needlessly overstretched. The same goes for Murali's writing, which seemed to have lost its potency after the intermission point. Yes, we get some terrific performances from actors like Indrans (who gets the film's best lines), but everyone else is underwritten. The role that Murali chose to play in "Anantha Kaadu", for instance, felt like a different version of the characters he wrote for Indrajith Sukumaran in "Left Right Left" (one of Murali's better scripts) and "Ee Adutha Kaalathu".
But be it this character or the ones given to the rest, especially Arya's hero, who is devoid of any striking personality trait other than exceptional combat skills, they're all characterised by a strong sense of half-bakedness and familiarity — the deja vu that comes to anyone who has seen way too many Indian gangster movies. And I must applaud Telugu actor Sunil for playing the same bad guy in every movie without getting tired, even though we are.
All this contributes to a strong sense of predictability, especially given the film's present-day opening scene, which hints at the climactic developments. By the time the film neared its end, I found myself quite worn out because it began to resemble a 1990s product that travelled forward in time. In comparison, "Tiyaan" had more interesting things to offer. That one may not have worked with many, but at least it didn't play it safe.
Film: Ananthan Kaadu
Director: Jiyen Krishnakumar
Cast: Arya, Murali Gopy, Dev Mohan, Indrans, Vijayaraghavan, Appani Sarath, Sunil, Achyuth Kumar, Santhy Balachandran
Rating: 2.5/5
