PremiumPada movie review: Kamal KM prioritises core issue over thrills in Kunchacko Boban’s no-frills hostage drama
The filmmaker, much like his debut venture I.D. which centred on identity and displacement, ably showcases the issues that led to the hostage incident in 1996 with the Ayyankali Pada, while also highlighting its aftermath in this film starring Kunchacko, Joju George, Dileesh Pothan and Vinayakan.
Last Updated: 08.12 AM, Mar 11, 2022
Story: Under the guise of submitting petitions to the Palakkad collector, four men, who identify themselves as members of the Ayyankali Pada, enter the district panchayat office and hold the bureaucrat hostage. Their intent is to challenge the Kerala government’s amendment of the Adivasi Land Act, which deprived the tribal communities of their land. How the members went about the act, their demands and the aftermath of the real-life incident that happened in 1996 form the plot of director Kamal KM’s film.
Review: In a scene from Pada, Palakkad district collector Ajay Shripad Dange, who is bound to his chair, tries to reason with the four men from Ayyankali Pada who are holding him hostage in his chamber, saying that there are provisions in law that can help them meet their demands. But the obdurate members, who seemingly have had enough of the law, tells him that the real people who are captives right now are those from the tribal communities, who are deprived of their land and have become refugees.
Director Kamal KM’s Pada shines light on the incident of 1996, where members who called themselves Ayyankali Pada had held the then Palakkad collector WR Reddy for over nine hours, in protest of the Kerala government’s amendment of the Adivasi Land Act. But that’s not all. Through the movie, which extensively plays out like a hostage drama, the filmmaker analyses how the Act that came into being in 1975 to help the marginalised community, had mostly benefited the politicians and also how even after the event that caught national attention, their plight still remains unaddressed 25 years later.
The filmmaker, much like his debut venture I.D. which centred on identity and displacement, ably showcases these issues while exploring the aftermath of the hostage incident. Through its myriad characters – from the Ayyankali Pada members to the government officials and mediators, he presents a holistic picture of the intent of all the people involved while also serving up a stark reminder that the issue is yet to find a solution.
As a hostage drama though, the movie isn’t as gripping as it could have been. While Pada starts off well, it doesn’t sustain this pace once the collector is held hostage. The no-frills, realistic approach doesn’t quite work in its favour as it dissuades the maker from using the riveting elements of the genre. Even at a runtime of just above two hours, one does wish it was trimmed further.
There’s also an imbalance between the situations evolving at the collector’s chamber as well as a rather placid crisis management team headed by a restrained chief secretary, essayed by Prakash Raj. You do get to see that police chief every now and then pushing for NSG commandos to up the stakes, but this doesn’t have the intended impact. Also, a viewer who is aware of what had happened in 1996 might not find a lot of new perspectives in Pada and that could be a turn off.
Kunchacko Boban, Joju George, Dileesh Pothan and Vinayakan, who play the Ayyankali Pada members, do their bits well. But this isn’t a film where any one of them gets to stand out as the intensity of their characters wanes after the first half. Vinayakan as Kallar Balu gets to show two different sides of his personality – as an endearing father and a tough leader. Prakash Raj as the chief secretary brings a calm to the proceedings but he also makes you feel detached; this doesn’t work especially when he is the person trying to end the crisis without any bloodshed. Arjun Radhakrishnan, who is on a roll lately with plum roles in Jhund and Rocket Boys, continues that with his role as the collector, lending gravitas to the character. The movie also has a slew of cameos from Kani Kusruti and Unnimaya to TG Ravi, Salim Kumar and Indrans – each of them playing their roles well.
Cinematographer Sameer Thahir hasn’t resorted to any gimmicks here and rather gives the audience a fly-on-the-wall perspective, by keeping it simple. Vishnu Vijay’s background score aids this. If Kamal’s intent was to highlight the aftermath of the hostage incident, he has succeeded, even though it has come at the cost of entertainment.
Verdict: Kamal KM’s Pada works as a stark and relevant reminder of the hostage drama in 1996 and how the issue has still not been addressed 25 years later. However, those who are aware of the incident and how it went down, wouldn’t be too engrossed as the cinematic elements are toned down.