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Paava Kadhaigal (2020) review
GENRE- Social, Drama, Short Films
Streaming On- Netflix
Language- Tamil
CAST- Shantanu Bhagyaraj, Kalidas Jayaram, Bhavani Shre (THANGAM), Kalki Koechlin, Anjali, Padam Kumar ( Love Panna Uttranum), Gautam Menon, Simran, Aadithya Bhaskar ( Vaanmangal), Sai Pallavi, Prakash Raj, Hari Krishnan (Oor Iravu)
Directed by- Sudha Kongara (Thangam), Vignesh Shivan (Love Panna Uttranum), Gautam Menon (Vaanmangal), Vetrimaan (Oor Iravu)
No. Of Episodes- 4
Plot- The series is a 2020 Indian Tamil anthology web series directed by Sudha Kongra, Vignesh Shivan, Gautam Menon and Vetrimaan. The series explores how pride, honour and sin influence complex relation of love.
Review- In the latest Netflix anthology film centred around a theme, a trans woman sacrifices her love for her sister, twin sisters tackle their hypocritical father, parents deal with the rape of their teenaged daughter, and a pregnant woman sees her father in a new light. Each of the mini-films, lasting roughly 34 minutes, has been directed by and stars some of Tamil cinema’s most noteworthy talent.
Indeed, the first of the four films, Sudha Kongara's Thangam (My Precious), is set in the last millennium. It forays into a village in Covai district of four decades ago, where a transgender man dreams of starting a new life, away from the indignities continually heaped upon him. The only person he shares his innermost feelings with is a childhood friend he hopes to marry after the gender reassignment surgery that he is saving up for. The village treats her as a freak and the macho populace as fair game. Sathaar is in love with Saravanan (Shanthnu Bhagyaraj), but valiantly steps aside when she learns that Saravanan loves her sister Sahira (Bhavani Sre). Mixing stark realism with high-note melodrama, the screenplay, by Kongara, Shan Karuppusamy and Ganeshaa, sensitively brings out Sathaar’s tragedy. Kalidas Jayaram’s moving performance reveals his character’s dilemma: treated as an outcast by most and embraced only by a few, Sathaar must erase her own desires in order to treated as an equal.
In Vignesh Shivan’s Love Panna Uttranum (Let Them Love), a seemingly progressive politician finds a challenge to his public persona right in his home. His twin daughters Aathilakshmi and the city-dwelling Jothilakshmi (both played by Anjali) have dared to choose their own partners. The patriarch’s followers are led by a diminutive man who strongly believes that oranges and apples can never mix. Jothilakshmi finds out the hard way when she visits her father along with her Tamil-speaking friend Penelope (Kalki Koechlin). The risible notes of comedy and the escapist ending fall flat, given the horrors that are being explored.
The most moving film for me was Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vaanmagal, partly because it is a different kind of ‘sin’ in the context of Paava Kadhaigal, partly because of how it treats every individual in the story.
In the din of a night, Ponnuthaayi, a 12-year-old with a dream to fly into the outer space, is raped. The film captures how her family navigates the trauma. Bharath, the brother cries for revenge. Vaidehi, the elder sister, is kept in the dark. Sathya, the father, played by Gautham Menon, avoids eye contact, and refuses to talk to her — “go sleep,” he says, almost dismissing her from the room. He feels guilty on behalf of mankind, and helpless as a father.
Madhi, the mother, embodies anger, shame, regret, and even momentary cruelty. There is a scene where Madhi abruptly forces Ponnuthaayi into the bathroom, pours cold water on her head, and tries to violently scrub away the scars on the child’s body. She wishes it would go away. When it does not, she sits down hopelessly, with her head in her hand, as Ponnuthaayi watches confused.
And finally, the fourth and the most hideous sin that is shown. In Vetri Maaran’s Oor Iravu (That Night), Prakash Raj and Sai Pallavi are magnificent as a father-daughter pair whose relationship has been frayed by her decision to marry a lower-caste man. Janakiraman lands up at the heavily pregnant Sumathi’s doorstep to make amends and invite her home for a baby shower. The fate of Sumathi’s journey has already been revealed in the previous film in the series, but there are enough harrowing scenes lying in wait even for alert viewers.
Vetri Maaran judiciously stretches out the agony, refusing to let his characters – and viewers – off the hook. A visual and aural experience, filled with meaningful looks, sinister gestures and strangled cries, Oor Iravu, despite unconvincing closing moments, is hard to watch and even more hard to forget.
PROs-
Extraordinary Acting by all the casts in the quartet.
Screenplay top notch.
Background score and soundtracks mesmerizing.
Direction Beautiful.
FINAL RATING- 9.5/10
.
VERDICT- Overall, this quartet will keep you glued to your phone and without realizing you might get tears in your eyes, specially while watching Thangam, Vaanmagal and Oor Iravu. A definite watch.
#RevieWebWed #RWW #Saipallavi #tamilmovie
© TheUncoveredThoughts
Streaming On- Netflix
Language- Tamil
CAST- Shantanu Bhagyaraj, Kalidas Jayaram, Bhavani Shre (THANGAM), Kalki Koechlin, Anjali, Padam Kumar ( Love Panna Uttranum), Gautam Menon, Simran, Aadithya Bhaskar ( Vaanmangal), Sai Pallavi, Prakash Raj, Hari Krishnan (Oor Iravu)
Directed by- Sudha Kongara (Thangam), Vignesh Shivan (Love Panna Uttranum), Gautam Menon (Vaanmangal), Vetrimaan (Oor Iravu)
No. Of Episodes- 4
Plot- The series is a 2020 Indian Tamil anthology web series directed by Sudha Kongra, Vignesh Shivan, Gautam Menon and Vetrimaan. The series explores how pride, honour and sin influence complex relation of love.
Review- In the latest Netflix anthology film centred around a theme, a trans woman sacrifices her love for her sister, twin sisters tackle their hypocritical father, parents deal with the rape of their teenaged daughter, and a pregnant woman sees her father in a new light. Each of the mini-films, lasting roughly 34 minutes, has been directed by and stars some of Tamil cinema’s most noteworthy talent.
Indeed, the first of the four films, Sudha Kongara's Thangam (My Precious), is set in the last millennium. It forays into a village in Covai district of four decades ago, where a transgender man dreams of starting a new life, away from the indignities continually heaped upon him. The only person he shares his innermost feelings with is a childhood friend he hopes to marry after the gender reassignment surgery that he is saving up for. The village treats her as a freak and the macho populace as fair game. Sathaar is in love with Saravanan (Shanthnu Bhagyaraj), but valiantly steps aside when she learns that Saravanan loves her sister Sahira (Bhavani Sre). Mixing stark realism with high-note melodrama, the screenplay, by Kongara, Shan Karuppusamy and Ganeshaa, sensitively brings out Sathaar’s tragedy. Kalidas Jayaram’s moving performance reveals his character’s dilemma: treated as an outcast by most and embraced only by a few, Sathaar must erase her own desires in order to treated as an equal.
In Vignesh Shivan’s Love Panna Uttranum (Let Them Love), a seemingly progressive politician finds a challenge to his public persona right in his home. His twin daughters Aathilakshmi and the city-dwelling Jothilakshmi (both played by Anjali) have dared to choose their own partners. The patriarch’s followers are led by a diminutive man who strongly believes that oranges and apples can never mix. Jothilakshmi finds out the hard way when she visits her father along with her Tamil-speaking friend Penelope (Kalki Koechlin). The risible notes of comedy and the escapist ending fall flat, given the horrors that are being explored.
The most moving film for me was Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vaanmagal, partly because it is a different kind of ‘sin’ in the context of Paava Kadhaigal, partly because of how it treats every individual in the story.
In the din of a night, Ponnuthaayi, a 12-year-old with a dream to fly into the outer space, is raped. The film captures how her family navigates the trauma. Bharath, the brother cries for revenge. Vaidehi, the elder sister, is kept in the dark. Sathya, the father, played by Gautham Menon, avoids eye contact, and refuses to talk to her — “go sleep,” he says, almost dismissing her from the room. He feels guilty on behalf of mankind, and helpless as a father.
Madhi, the mother, embodies anger, shame, regret, and even momentary cruelty. There is a scene where Madhi abruptly forces Ponnuthaayi into the bathroom, pours cold water on her head, and tries to violently scrub away the scars on the child’s body. She wishes it would go away. When it does not, she sits down hopelessly, with her head in her hand, as Ponnuthaayi watches confused.
And finally, the fourth and the most hideous sin that is shown. In Vetri Maaran’s Oor Iravu (That Night), Prakash Raj and Sai Pallavi are magnificent as a father-daughter pair whose relationship has been frayed by her decision to marry a lower-caste man. Janakiraman lands up at the heavily pregnant Sumathi’s doorstep to make amends and invite her home for a baby shower. The fate of Sumathi’s journey has already been revealed in the previous film in the series, but there are enough harrowing scenes lying in wait even for alert viewers.
Vetri Maaran judiciously stretches out the agony, refusing to let his characters – and viewers – off the hook. A visual and aural experience, filled with meaningful looks, sinister gestures and strangled cries, Oor Iravu, despite unconvincing closing moments, is hard to watch and even more hard to forget.
PROs-
Extraordinary Acting by all the casts in the quartet.
Screenplay top notch.
Background score and soundtracks mesmerizing.
Direction Beautiful.
FINAL RATING- 9.5/10
.
VERDICT- Overall, this quartet will keep you glued to your phone and without realizing you might get tears in your eyes, specially while watching Thangam, Vaanmagal and Oor Iravu. A definite watch.
#RevieWebWed #RWW #Saipallavi #tamilmovie
© TheUncoveredThoughts
