Mani Ratnam's "Kadal" [Sea] is a long [2:44 hours] walk on a
beautiful beach infested with the good, the bad and the ugly people. But
unfortunately it never ventures into the deeper oceans of the mind and
stays superficial till the end.
The story credited to Jeyamohan and Mani is about the triumph of good over evil. It takes the beaten and rocky path and lets both the youngsters [Gautham Karthik and Thulasi Nair] down. Only good thing is a strong come back by Aravind Swamy as Fr. Sam.
Arjun's role is extremely poorly written and the reason for his claims to be the Satan remains unsubstantiated. Why does he foster so much of hatred remains a mystery. But he still manages to pack power into his performance.
Gautham Karthik is intense, gawky and suits the role to the tee. Thulasi Nair is supposed to be an angelic figure. Somehow the charm is missing in spite of an earnest performance by the little girl.
As a generation, our taste in cinema was redefined by Mani Ratnam with movies like "Geethanjali", "Anjali", "Nayagan" "Thalapathi" and "Roja". The usual Mani ingredients like the shadow and lights play, the black and white backgrounds and the omnipresent rain grace "Kadal" too. But somehow, the soul is missing. Even "Ravan" had more soul than this movie.
For me, Mani playing safe is Mani having lost the confidence. Why should he resort to a theme any new-comer Director would have handled beats me. Was it to launch two star-kids ? But given their pedigree, they too deserved better.
With all this rant, I must add, the movie is technically brilliant with international quality camera-work and some breath-taking shots of the sea. But the content never ventures beyond the ankle deep waters. A. R. Rahaman's music is good but this must rank as his most ordinary score in a Mani Ratnam movie.
So here are the main reasons why was I disappointed by Mani Ratnam's "Kadal"
Logic in movies is not always a prerequisite of a commercial Cinema. But, Mani making such blatant mistakes like...
1] Not a shred of justification for the extremely hostile and wicked "Satan" nature of Bergmans [Arjun] !
2] Father Sam [Aravind Swamy] gets punished depending on just one woman's word. No investigation was done about those dressing materials, blood on the beach and the boat and other tell-tale evidences of the existence of Begrmans in the boat. No effort at all was made by the Church to find out the truth of a reputed Priest from a very rich family. No Church in the world would sit quiet ! Under which law was he imprisoned for 4 years ? This is a HUGE GAPING hole in the plot that can't be glossed over.
3] In spite of some magnificent shots of the 'Sea' and the Cyclone, Mani never tries to delve deeper into Psyche of either Father Sam or Bergmans at any point. Why ? Instead of wasting time on those boy taking the girl on boat scenes, he could have tried to enter a little deeper into these characters !
4] Thomas' [Gautham Karthik] affection or devotion for Chetti [Ponvannan] in spite of consistent rejection and humiliation is tough to understand. He harbors enormous grudge for everyone with no reason often but continues to adore the person he believes to be his 'Father' !
5] Telling us Beatrice is like a kid in her mind is one thing. But making her look convincing is other. Mani made "Geethanjali" [Girija Shettar] extremely ethereal yet convincing in "Geethanjali" / "Ithaythe Thirudaadai". Young Thulasi Nair suffers not because she is deficient but the characterization has let her down. Sad !
These are 5 of the many reasons I felt let down by "Kadal". I never felt the thrill of a ride into the "Sea". It was all shallow throughout but for technical brilliance !
Expectation is a beast that bites from both ends. Damned expectations; this would have been a damn good movie from any other Director. Overall, I was all at "Sea" and Disappointed with one more below par movie from an Icon we have venerated. But, Dear Mani Ratnam, I still believe in you and hope your next movie will take you back to where you belong; at the top !
The story credited to Jeyamohan and Mani is about the triumph of good over evil. It takes the beaten and rocky path and lets both the youngsters [Gautham Karthik and Thulasi Nair] down. Only good thing is a strong come back by Aravind Swamy as Fr. Sam.
Arjun's role is extremely poorly written and the reason for his claims to be the Satan remains unsubstantiated. Why does he foster so much of hatred remains a mystery. But he still manages to pack power into his performance.
Gautham Karthik is intense, gawky and suits the role to the tee. Thulasi Nair is supposed to be an angelic figure. Somehow the charm is missing in spite of an earnest performance by the little girl.
As a generation, our taste in cinema was redefined by Mani Ratnam with movies like "Geethanjali", "Anjali", "Nayagan" "Thalapathi" and "Roja". The usual Mani ingredients like the shadow and lights play, the black and white backgrounds and the omnipresent rain grace "Kadal" too. But somehow, the soul is missing. Even "Ravan" had more soul than this movie.
For me, Mani playing safe is Mani having lost the confidence. Why should he resort to a theme any new-comer Director would have handled beats me. Was it to launch two star-kids ? But given their pedigree, they too deserved better.
With all this rant, I must add, the movie is technically brilliant with international quality camera-work and some breath-taking shots of the sea. But the content never ventures beyond the ankle deep waters. A. R. Rahaman's music is good but this must rank as his most ordinary score in a Mani Ratnam movie.
Logic in movies is not always a prerequisite of a commercial Cinema. But, Mani making such blatant mistakes like...
1] Not a shred of justification for the extremely hostile and wicked "Satan" nature of Bergmans [Arjun] !
2] Father Sam [Aravind Swamy] gets punished depending on just one woman's word. No investigation was done about those dressing materials, blood on the beach and the boat and other tell-tale evidences of the existence of Begrmans in the boat. No effort at all was made by the Church to find out the truth of a reputed Priest from a very rich family. No Church in the world would sit quiet ! Under which law was he imprisoned for 4 years ? This is a HUGE GAPING hole in the plot that can't be glossed over.
3] In spite of some magnificent shots of the 'Sea' and the Cyclone, Mani never tries to delve deeper into Psyche of either Father Sam or Bergmans at any point. Why ? Instead of wasting time on those boy taking the girl on boat scenes, he could have tried to enter a little deeper into these characters !
4] Thomas' [Gautham Karthik] affection or devotion for Chetti [Ponvannan] in spite of consistent rejection and humiliation is tough to understand. He harbors enormous grudge for everyone with no reason often but continues to adore the person he believes to be his 'Father' !
5] Telling us Beatrice is like a kid in her mind is one thing. But making her look convincing is other. Mani made "Geethanjali" [Girija Shettar] extremely ethereal yet convincing in "Geethanjali" / "Ithaythe Thirudaadai". Young Thulasi Nair suffers not because she is deficient but the characterization has let her down. Sad !
These are 5 of the many reasons I felt let down by "Kadal". I never felt the thrill of a ride into the "Sea". It was all shallow throughout but for technical brilliance !
Expectation is a beast that bites from both ends. Damned expectations; this would have been a damn good movie from any other Director. Overall, I was all at "Sea" and Disappointed with one more below par movie from an Icon we have venerated. But, Dear Mani Ratnam, I still believe in you and hope your next movie will take you back to where you belong; at the top !
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