Kammatipaadam

There were a lot of talks before the release of Kammatipaadam regarding its similarity in feel towards movie like Gangs of Wasseypur. After watching the movie I would say that the ultimate feel this movie creates is somewhere similar to GOV. With a screenplay that gives enough focus on each and every character important to the story, Kammatipaadam with its making stays in your mind and much like the other two movies; Rajeev Ravi succeeds in creating that disturbance.

The movie is narrated through the eyes of Krishnan. He is a guy from Kammatipaadam (located in Ernakulam). The place was well known for the notorious criminals and the life there obviously made Krishnan a gangster. All his close friends had the similar background. The movie basically tells us the story of Krishnan and his friends. How life evolved for them over a period time is what Kammatipaadam narrating in its 3 hour long runtime.

In comparison with the other two movies Rajeev Ravi did, Kammatipaadam is more on the commercially viable side. I am not saying it is a typical mass entertainer, but the story sort of creates an inclination toward the usual entertainer cinema at some areas. There is impressive character detailing in the script and the realness Rajeev Ravi maintains to the theme is simply superb. The way Krishnan’s friend tells him to drop the idea of marrying the girl he loved is one example that shows the maker’s demand for realness in what we see on screen. The humor that comes naturally was also a positive.  To be honest this is not exactly a Dulquer Salmaan movie. The perspective is from his character’s side and that sort of makes him the central protagonist. Much like GOV you have this abundance of characters like Gangan, Balan etc. The edits and screenplay have been so smart that even the smaller characters stays in your mind. The raw gangster life was also visualized impressively and I feel that Kammatipaadam has set a new benchmark in that manner.

Rajeev Ravi yet again explores the world of middle class and lower middle class. Their bonding, irreverence towards certain aspects, their organic transformation from one role to another role as life progresses etc. were depicted skillfully by the director. P Balachandran has managed to create a story of place through the story of a few gangsters. How characters transformed over a period of time is also shown in a catchy and smart way in this movie. And the conflict here is between the one who gained and the ones who got used for all that gain. One jump by Vinayakan, certain visual effects shots etc. are certain technical jitters which disturbed the intensity the film created. Frames and visualization from Madhu Neelakandan were impressive.  The background score was terrific. Songs were nice and the editor has done a really good job in keeping it engaging even after being real. Fights looked raw and rough and special appreciation for some really cool chase scenes. The makeup department wasn’t that great.

Dulquer Salmaan has performed nicely as Krishnan. You could see a change in body language and attitude at different phases of Krishnan.  As Dulquer posted in Facebook couple of days back, the real stars in my opinion was Vinayakan and Manikandan who were absolutely spectacular in being Gangan and Balan. Both characters have extreme rudeness, slightly orthodox mindsets and a different shade of innocence. Vinayakan and Manikandan did complete justice to these characters. Shaun Romy in the deglamourized look was perfect for the role of Anitha and Srinda’s voice suited her. There is an elaborate supporting cast for this movie comprising of Anil Nair, Alencier Ley, Vinay Forrt, Soubin Shahir (that was one hell of a kick dude!), Shine Tom Chacko, Suraj Venjaramood along with many more not so familiar faces and they all looked really apt for the characters offered to them.

Kammatipaadam has used its length to establish a world that cinema needed. I won’t say that it is Rajeev Ravi’s best work among the three as certain technical factors and slight amount of cheesiness peeked out here and there (which wasn’t there in his first two films). For those of you who liked his previous films, this one also has the cinematic quality you expect in a Rajeev Ravi movie. Its thumbs up from my side.

Rating : 3.5/5