Chanthupottu (2005) : A Controversy

                            Chanthupottu is a Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and released in 2005 . It tells the story of Radhakrishn...

May 21, 2016

Kammatipaadam Review

As a director, Rajeev Ravi adopted a realistic approach in portraying the stories in his first two films Annayum Rasoolum and also Steve Lopez. With a different content but using the same realistic way that he used for his first two directorial projects, he brings his next one titled Kammatipadam.
This film has a dark subject with lot of blood and violence occupying the bulk of the story. Rajeev Ravi infact do not go down in terms of the standard he has set and has only gone up the hill with another successful film through Kammatipadam. The excess dose of crime, bloodshed and violence has landed it with an adult certificate from the Censor board but that doesn't deter the film to claim its status to be a well directed one.
In terms of story, the plot unravels in a place that has a curious and attractive name called Kammatipadam. Krishnan, Ganga and Balettan are all part of this place and Kammatipadam the film tells their story with a multi-layered story telling approach that has the flash back scenes and present situations going hand in hand.
The place is famous for crimes and the story is narrated from the viewpoint of Krishnan given life by Dulquer Salman. The background and lifestyle of the people lands the youth into earning money through taking quotations and engaing in crimes.
The film as I said is no different from Rajeev Ravi's previous two films on the making and treatment side. Of course the story is poles apart and is a pretty decent one that has been visually conceived quite well by the director with his screenplay written by P.Balachandran.
Character visualisation and casting is one of the major highlight of Kammatipadam. Each and every character has been solidly sketched in the script and that has helped a lot for the film's overall quality. Natural way of talking helped by realistic dialogues and their rendition made the viewing experience a bright one.
The way in which the life of Kammatipadam has been captured makes one take notice of the making style of the director that has stood out from the very first scene. One can complain that at close to three hours, the film is a lengthy one but for me there was never a dull or boring scene and it was more of a refreshing experience with this movie.
All credits to Rajeev and his team in casting apt actors very much suited for each and every character. The character of Krishnan had dual shades in it and Dulquer Salman had the required maturity as an actor for portraying them with utmost conviction.
Kammatipadam is an incomplete film without Vinayakan and Manikandan, the two actors who were literally the best among the lot. The body language, the mannerisms, the dialogue delivery and behaviour of Vinayan has transformed perfectly into an arrogant Gangan and it was a spellbound act from this actor.
Balan was a very rough and tough character and Manikandan.R.Achari who is a theatre artist has played that role with such perfection that we cannot imagine another actor in that role. Shaun Romy is the heroine who was entrusted with the role of Anitha. The actress appearing without a make up with Srinda's voice was an ideal casting.
Alencier Lay, Suraj Venjaramudu, Shine Tom Chacko, P.Balachandran, Vinay Fort and Muthumani also support the film with bigger or less prominent roles. It was a surprise seeing Soubin Shahir in those action sequences and for a welcome change they looked nice on screen.
Technically, the film is one step ahead with beautiful frames captured through the camera angle of Madhu Neelakantan. Though the length was on the higher side, editing was flawless and sharp. Background score was highly impressive and suited for the theme of the movie.
Kammatipadam is one film that may not go well with every class of audience but the treatment, making and visualisation along with top notch performance and excellent support from the technical department made me impressed. You can definitely try it if you had liked the director's previous two films. I am going with three and a half out of five for Kammatipadam.
Rating - 3.5 / 5

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