Kottukkaali Movie Review: PS Vinothraj’s second film is immersive, interactive, and masterfully crafted piece of cinema

4/5

Kottukkaali Movie Story

Meena (Anna Ben) is in love with a man, but it is not Pandi (Soori) who she is betrothed to. Meena refuses to speak and react to her surroundings, adding to the grouse of her family members. Her silence and motionless stature irk everyone, leading them to believe it is a work of black magic. They embark on a road trip to a shaman who can ward off the evil.

Kottukkaali Movie Review

“Neenga adika mattum seyala” (You have not only beaten me) is the only line Meena utters after an episode of abuse, through the course of 100 minutes runtime of Kottukkaali. The statement is heavier and more violent than one could imagine, if you can empathise with a woman who has retired to wield silence than explain and fight for her cause and freedom. The silence talks in volumes, and oh well, it is also a battle of sorts she puts up in front of her family and Pandi, single-handedly, valiantly and successfully.

Also read: Before Kottukkaali release, watch Koozhangal, PS Vinothraj’s debut and acclaimed film here 

Meena does not have time and strength anymore to communicate the trauma those around her inflicted upon her under the garb of affection. A sample would be Pandi’s act of atrocious public violence when he catches her lipsing to a love song, and in another instance mumbling her prayers. Pandi’s restlessness is not about Meena not wanting him, but her interests laying elsewhere. A man’s patriarchal-drawn ego is hurt, and Vinothraj rightly knows when and how much information to feed in at every moment. 

Meena chooses to retort with her crushing silence and adamancy that works in magnitude. When she refuses to get out of an auto that isn’t moving, the men have to fight gravity and lift the auto to make it turn. It is not the only natural phenomena helping Meena on the way to the temple. Her family may be able to tame her thick and curly tresses with oil and braiding, but there is a lot more director Vinothraj does to make these men feel less manly. A bull refuses to budge out of the path and give way. None of the men are able to confront it until a small girl from the nearby hut comes to take back her affectionate livestock. A housefly attacking Pandi’s eye, and a rooster pretending to be dead, thus delaying the group’s temple visit, give us ample cues where Vinothraj’s sympathies lie, in turn the nature’s too. The men are made to look small, and clearly Vinothraj knows how to shame the misogynists. He does not punish them outrightly by making them cry and get hurt, but makes the audience laugh at them. Hit their ego, and they crumble to the crushing sounds of laughter is what Vinothraj adopts to punish the men brandishing their patriarchal privilege.

In Koozhangal, Vinothraj makes a road trip of a father and his son under the scorching landscapes of Madurai, as a primary storytelling narrative. In Kottukkaali, the road trip is still there, but see how the filmmaker chooses to do it this time. A shot of a flowing river, and its soft gushing sound of ripples are prioritized over a scuffle that takes place. It is a way to tell that nature will go on to have its utmost power over any petty human evilness. A mammoth hill by the backdrop as these men ride motorcycles ahead of an auto rickshaw that houses women. The hill remains the same but these men keep travelling. Perhaps to say that nature is here to stay unlike you or me who come with an expiry date.

Kottukkaali has handheld and still frames for most of the time. It seems like a deliberate choice, for the filmmaker just does not want to feed the events of happenings, but talk about the aftermath of it and soak you with heaviness. Meena and Pandi might be at the centre of attention, but the group consisting of women relatives, male acquaintances, and a small boy, paints the picture of what it is likely for Meena to defend herself using the shield of silence. Interspersed with momentarily hilarious circumstances, you see how Vinothraj certainly knows what it is to make a film that will leave you with the right kind of emotions, despite taking a few turns here and there with his naturalistic execution.

Unsettling tension always lingers in the duration of 100 minutes. The group encounters various problems on their way to the shaman. And once they finally reach there, an elaborate sequence is not planned around the central family. Cinematographer B Sakthivel knows exactly the perspective he has to take to show someone else’s session with the seer, and eventually, what leads to one of the brilliant cinematic endings.

Also read: Kottukkaali – The Anna Ben-starrer wins big at Transilvania International Film Festival 

Kottukkaali leaves you at an abrupt point. But it all makes sense because you know how much that abruptic happening leaves you impacted for seconds or even minutes as the credits roll. The sense of urgency is not to know what will happen next, but the realization when the film has already invited you into the gamut of its world happenings. Koozhangal can be a slow, cathartic, and meditative piece of art, but Kottukkaali is valiant and meticulously rich as a detailed narrative. Anna Ben and Soori play their roles brilliantly, but it is the supporting characters’ realistic performances which is responsible for evoking the duo’s reactions in the most decadent way.

Kottukkaali Movie Verdict

Kottukkaali is nothing short of a brilliant masterpiece that effortlessly captures the wrenching reality of trauma, abuse, and power dynamics. Vinothraj and his team of actors and technicians know the right time to stop, react, and proceed, which makes this film an immersive experience. The film might not adhere to the commercial sensibilities and that is perfectly alright, because Kottukkaali is a film that is so deeply entrenched in reality, that rightly hits you hard rather than being a soft punch bag for your inert prejudices.