Kishkinda Kaandam movie review: Asif Ali’s effective slow-burn thriller is equally clever and moving

3.5/5

Kishkinda Kaandam story: Two years after his wife passes away and his son goes missing, Ajayan gets married to Aparna. On the day he brings her home, they are welcomed by police personnel who are at their residence, questioning his father Appunni about a missing revolver. As days go by, Aparna begins to learn about the father-son duo and about her new home situated near a reserve forest, with monkeys being frequent visitors. But as she digs deeper, she also unearths secrets that connect all the missing pieces.

Kishkinda Kaandam review: In a scene in director Dinjith Ayyathan’s Kishkinda Kaandam, Asif Ali’s character Ajayan along with his second wife Aparna (Aparna Balamurali) and his former brother-in-law are on a train to Karnataka to identify if the body that the cops have found belongs to his missing son. In a candid conversation, Ajayan, who seems to be lost in thoughts almost in a happy way, tries to remember the name of his son’s favorite game. But then gives up, saying that amid the busy treatment schedules of his wife, who passed away a few years ago, he never got the time to look after his son, much less remember the name of a game that he was always excited about.

In that scene and one with a never-ending stairwell featuring three generations of a family, the film’s writer Bahul Ramesh, and director Dinjith Ayyathan hide and reveal, at the same time, a lot about Ajayan’s character and also the world that he and his father Appunni are living in. It’s a world where they have chosen the bits of reality they are comfortable with, one that they don’t mind replaying or reenacting in their heads and real life.

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Kishkinda Kaandam revolves around three characters and their realities. While Ajayan lives in a world where he has lost his wife and son and now has to take care of his father, the latter is indifferent towards this concern; all this while Aparna tries to make sense of the new world she has become part of. Her entry itself comes as a rude shock with the cops questioning Appunni over a missing revolver. As she tries to construct her place in this world, she puts these pieces together which also reveals to the audience more about Ajayan, Appunni, and their equation. Her quest also lets us know how the missing revolver, Ajayan’s son and the monkeys in the neighborhood are all connected.

The film starts off as a slow-burn thriller, with the first half revealing a lot of fragmented information. Considering how Appunni’s character is fleshed out, this almost seems a beautiful way, by the makers, to take the audience into his mind. Every now and then, we also get glimpses of Ajayan’s predicament – how he has locked himself into this loop, which both serves as a punishment and a relief. At times, you would feel it’s irrational, but the writing addresses this every now and then, and more than provides a satisfying answer at the end.

The film’s strength is its smart screenplay, connecting a case of a missing gun in a forest filled with monkeys along with the pieces that both Appunni and Aparna are trying to fit together to solve, in their separate ways, to fully understand what happened on the day Ajayan’s son went missing. There are elements of mistrust, dignity, understanding, empathy, love, and concern, all thrown in, in equal measures as the film progresses, which makes us fully understand what each character goes through in this brilliant slow-burn thriller, edited by Sooraj ES. Mujeeb Majeed’s score elevates the emotional moments and also succeeds in keeping the film pacy even as the narrative deliberately goes on a loop.

Asif Ali, who is going through a reinvention phase, once again aces his role. It’s his most challenging this year, considering he has already been part of Thalavan, Level Cross, and Adios Amigo. As Ajayan, he needed to be vulnerable, someone who supports his father’s arrogance and understands where it’s coming from, and yet someone sensitive to the world around him. Vijayaraghavan as Appunni, has to show multiple sides of the person, sometimes in a single scene. And he pulls it off like a pro. Aparna too does her bit to take the story forward, and brings in the right level of inquisitiveness without being overbearing, as her character isn’t trying to frame anybody but make a space for herself in this mysterious world.

Dinjith also showcases the final act of the film in a way, where each character gets their due of empathy, and that’s what makes Kishkinda Kaandam moving.

Kishkinda Kaandam verdict: This Asif Ali-starrer might be a dark horse during the Onam season, but it’s a film made with a lot of heart and it shows too. The performances and writing will surely keep you engaged, and if you are a fan of slow-burn thrillers, then it’s a greatly rewarding experience.