Kari

 If you are a person who understands dark humour and caste just as equally, you can feel the sting of the slap that 'Kari' has offered the society. This highly praised film by the late Shanavas Naranipuzha (may his soul rest in peace) is packed with sarcasm and gets into the heads of the audience. It teases the complexes that live deep rooted even in our so-called progressive society.

It is the story of Gopu Keshav Menon who, accompanied by Bilal, is going to meet the parents of a man working under him and is from a lower cast. Upon reaching the place, they see that the house is being prepared for the 'Karinkaali' pooja. In an unfortunate turn of events their Kaali gets into an accident and Gopu and Bilal arrange another Kaali for the family. These and the events thus following are the basic contents of the movie.

When I said that the movie is packed with sarcasm, I actually meant it. One of the opening scenes begin with a man putting up a poster of nutmeg seeds. Nutmeg is called 'Jaathi' in Malayalam which also means cast. When they say 'Jaathi Vithukal Vilpanayk' (nutmeg seeds for sale) in an opening scene, we know then and there what to be expected furthermore into the movie. Naranipuzha has injected the theme into the veins of the movie and has not even spared a simple scene of a hotel room. We see Bilal asking the room boy about his status and also the tv playing with Vellapally Nadeshan talking about caste related matters.

The drawback to this marvellously ideological film is that it poses criteria; one major thing that can lead any movie away from success as long as the criteria can't suit everyone. You have to know caste is the first and foremost criteria. Me, being a person who knows not much about the Hindu castes, had an absolutely tough time figuring out the reasons for the clashes in the movie. This still, is just a slight technicality which may or may not have been possible to eradicate.

Another thing is that the movie is packed with long shots just as it is packed with sarcasm. Almost 90% of the running time is made up of wide shots which are also very long. There are many scenes where the camera is just placed at a corner of the room and an entire scene is taken in just one shot. While this can be quite a tough task it also seemed quite lazy and boring. Now, don’t take these words in a harsh tone; there are people who enjoyed this cinematography. While it is a relief from the usual exaggeration of commercial films, it also fails to keep its audience in range. We get the feeling of watching a staged drama, more than that of a movie.

 In the era that has got to the habit of enjoying commercial movies (reluctantly), this movie failed. It failed not because it was a movie that had to fail but because it had an audience that has been forced to keep their standards low and to take only senseless commercial movies into account. So, before watching this movie, make sure that you have a little knowledge on castes and that you don't expect the normal physics-defying stunts, drama and camera exaggerations. Bear this in mind, watch the movie and you shall see a piece of art unfold itself.

- Fathima Naushad