There are films that might bore you, make you laugh, cry, and offer a good or bad cinematic experience. But then, there are films that would shake you from inside and leave you stunned. Karnan belong to that category. Director Mari Selvaraj, the man who made the entire state of TamilNadu take a break from their busy lives a couple of years ago and made them talk about his master piece Pariyerum Perumal, is back with yet another magnum opus in the likes of Karnan. The acclamations for actor Dhanush’s critical work Asuran has not stopped yet, but the actor delivers yet another flick that is worthy enough to keep people talking about it. So will Karnan fetch yet another national award for the star actor? To know that let us get in to the movie review.
Karnan opens with a young girl lying on a main road suffering from epilepsy attack. The traffic continues to be active and people pass by her but no one stops to aid her. The camera pans out to the god’s eye view but she still has none to offer her help. And the girl dies. She becomes a divine power for the people of Podiyamkulam, a village in Madurai where people of so called low community are allowed to reside. They are abused, discriminated, and deprived of all their rights for generations. The scene shifts to the village, where the people are waiting for their brave warrior who stood against the face of oppression to pull his people out of the blatant injustice that’s unleashed on them. We have an apt song to depict the emotions of the people – plays ‘Kanda Vara Sollunga,’ establishing a powerful mystic image for Karnan (Dhanush). But we see him head covered with a black cloth, handcuffed and being thrashed by the policemen.
Then we are taken to a flashback portion to know the emergence of Karnan. As people of Podiyamkulam belong to the unprivileged community they are refused of even basic needs. They do not even have a bus stop and find it hard to use the public transport even in case of emergency. Their neighboring village Melur is for upper caste people and they do everything in their power to keep the people of Podiyamkulam under their control. The elders in Podiyamkulam endure things to make a living but Karnan and his friends revolt to have their rights. Things go out of hand when government officials take the side of influential men in Melur and refuse to heed to their request to set up a bus stop in Podiyamkulam. Enraged Karnan and his friends vandalize a private bus to send a message to the officials in the government to fulfill their needs. But the police department headed by Kannabiran (Natarajan Subramaniam) takes an elderly person of Podiyamkulam under custody and subject him to custodial violence. What will Karnan do? Will he retaliate harder or compromise, is what makes the rest of the flick.
Though movies are for entertainment purposes some film makers take their jobs seriously and use the medium to either educate people or shed light on the injustice that happened or is happening around us. Mari Selvaraj is one such director. A man who is angry about the way the people of the world are. He lets out all that soaring rage within him through his pen and they make up the script of his films. Perhaps, that’s why his films are so emphatic and sends down a quiver in oppressors. Just like a burning rage within him, there is a serene poet in him helping him to become one of the best craftsmen in the industry. It is that poet in him that makes an allegory out of everything that appear in a scene from an animal to a wall painting. If you observer closely everything keeps telling you of the dominance that it endures and how it affects it.
Apart from the messaging and all, there is a different narrative the flick attempts to set. Mari Selvaraj picks the names of significant characters from the epic tale Mahabharatha and names his characters and gives a reverse narrative to them. As the story teller believes, he has ensured every character that appears in his film has a purpose. The only dull side of the flick is the romance portions. It seem a little irrelevant to the plot. But the way Mari Selvaraj writes his characters easily facilitates us to oversee that element.
Actor Dhanush’s performance need no annotations anymore as we are simply exhausted talking about his acting prowess. Film after film he seems to exhibit what level of mastery he has reached. Actor Lal Paul is fabulous and cake walks his role. Actress Rajisha Vijayan’s character is beautifully written and she is solid in her performance. Actress Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli is impressive as Padmini Karnan’s sister. Actor Natarajan Subramaniam is fitting in the role of an egotistical & castiest police man. Actors Yogi Babu, Gouri G. Kishan, Poo Ramasamy, and G. M. Kumar all have delivered a brilliant performance.
On the technical front, everything has either fallen or put in the right place for Karnan. Music director Santhosh Narayanan beats life in to the entertainer with his soulful music. Cinematographer Theni Eswar has covered the film in all best ways possible, his angles speak. Editor Selva R. K has complimented the work of his colleague with his refined cuts.
On the whole, to put it lyrically ‘Kanda Vara Sollunga – Karnan audience uh theater ku thana kutivarunga.’
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