Kalki: Ambitious Adventure That Works In Parts!

 

Thanks to the success of Rajamouli everyone dreams of making epic movies. Some made and succeeded, whereas several others failed. And, it’s the trend now to make a movie in parts, something that wasn’t seen in Indian cinema for a century, while we were happily lapping up such fare dished out by Hollywood! 

Also, for long many filmmakers have tried to push mythology in the garb of modern day storytelling, without much success. And, lesser said the better about sci-fi movies in India. Now, we have Kalki 2898 that aspires to merge both these elements in one. 

As the title suggests, the movie is set in a (relatively) distant post-apocalyptic future, where few cities like Kashi have survived, and all rivers - including the mighty Ganga - have gone dry, and people are enslaved by an evil entity, Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Hassan),who rules from an inverted pyramid city hanging in the sky, called ‘Complex’. Yaskin, over 200 years old, survives on the serum extracted from pregnant women (who don’t survive beyond 100 days of pregnancy), and he’s seeking immortality by finding a woman whose pregnancy can last beyond 120 days. 

Kalki tells the story of the birth of the last avatar of Vishnu - as Kalki, as told to Ashwatthama - Amitabh Bachchan - in the battle of the Mahabharata. Because of Krishna’s curse, Ashwatthama stays immortal and is awaiting the birth of Kalki on earth for his salvation.  He is supposed to take birth on the darkest day in the last 6000 years, while the star ‘Ashwini’ is in ascendancy (oblique hat-tip to the director of the movie Nag Ashwin, and his father-in-law, and producer, Ashwini Dutt)

In the city of Kashi stays Bhairava (Prabhas), a raider/bounty hunter who’s never been beaten in any duel by anyone. He is street smart, has created his own AI programme-supercar, Buji (voiceover by Keerthy Suresh), has a smart mouth, a hot girl friend, and of course, a golden heart. 

Deepika stars as SUM-80, one of the lab rats of Yaskin, and even though she becomes pregnant, it doesn’t show up as positive in tests. Her pregnancy though gets revealed and she is pulled into the serum extraction process. However, before the process could get done - the Commander gets to extract just a drop - she is rescued by a rebel inside the ‘Complex’ and is whisked off towards ‘Shambala’, the rebel stronghold, led by Mariam (Shobhana). 

Ashwatthama in the meantime gets back his divine gem from a girl he saves from Yasmin’s forces. He also feels that the time for Kalki’s birth has come and sets about trying to find the mother. Bhairava too learns about the bounty on the head of Sum80 and drives towards the desert in pursuit. 

The rest of the first of what might even be a trilogy tells the tale of Deepika’s escape from Yaskin’s forces, the discovery of Shambala by Yaskin’s forces, Ashwatthama realising who Bhairava is. With that the stage is set for the ensuing parts. 

The canvas of the movie is huge, and the director has done a great job in the world building. The effort to blend mythology into science fiction needs to suspend one’s beliefs and requires a huge leap of faith, but I am sure the audiences would love this.  What works in the movie’s favour is that it doesn’t bring the characters from mythology as they were, but reimagines them differently. 

Those who read Mahabharata as young kids and idolised Karna would sure love re-imagining of Karna as the mightiest warrior of those times, even mightier than Arjuna (it quotes from the Bharata to justify this). I would wait for the subsequent parts to see if any other character from mythology are brought back to life (especially, if Arjuna is reimagined as the villain of the story). 

What works for the movie is the effort put into building a post-apocalyptic world, and the character of Ashwatthama, played with aplomb by Amitabh. Standing taller than any - he’s defined as an 8 feet man - and towering over the mighty he makes an imposing figure. He has dubbed for himself in Telugu too, and needless to say even here he aces it. The story of a world in ruins is new to most Indians (except those who consume a Hollywood diet of Mad Max and Terminator movies), and works well. Cinematography and music too are worth mentioning about, as they heighten the drama.  A host of actors and directors appear in cameos - including Rajamouli and Ramgopal Varma - and all that adds to the attraction of the film. 

The movie has major drawbacks too. One, it’s overlong and takes hours to set up the premise. The introduction of Bhairava consumes needless time. Plus, the humour falls flat all through - and the dialogues are cringey (except when mouthed by Amitabh). The biggest disappointment is Prabhas. His is a role anyone could have played, and played better. There’s not a muscle in his face that can act, and not a note in his voice that betrays an emotion.  There are some cop-outs, but I would not give them away, as it will reveal the story of second half. 

The worst fate of the movie though belongs to Deepika. I truly felt sad that she accepted the role (she looks amazing as usual, and plays the part with sincerity). Though supposedly playing a pivotal role of a mother who will birth the future savior, she is reduced to being one helpless whimpering mess, always at the mercy of others. One didn’t need an A-lister for this role; any extra could’ve done it just fine. Also, the lesson to take home is:

 a) it’s always a man who saves the world, and yes, it’s men again who ruin it too but they need women to survive;

b) gods too need a womb to take birth on earth, and save this world. 

Should you watch this movie? Yes, if you can endure the sluggish first half, and stay invested, and choose to ignore the gigantic plotholes, the size of moon’s craters. The second half picks up well and keeps you on the edge of the seat. I don’t know if 3-D is good or not, since my vision doesn’t allow me to experience it (even though I watched the 3-D version).  

Women Over Weekend

The long weekend was unexpected.  I didn't even know it was a holiday on Monday, until the last moment.  For a moment I rued over the fact that I wasn't in the mainland.  If I were, I could have planned for a nice getaway, were my thoughts (even though it hadn't happened in Bengaluru while being posted there, post-covid).  There were no friends to hang out with; two colleagues who used to be regular chums to spend time with, had moved away from the islands recently.  Another friend was away holidaying.  It meant I wouldn't have any company over the weekend.  

I looked at the things I could do - read, write, jog, workout, clean up the messy bedroom, etc.  I did some.  I wrote a story (which upset quite a few), I clocked some 25 km of walking and running, and read several articles.  The bedroom though, only got messier! Yet, there was still a lot of time on the hands (even after wasting many hours on the social media).  I surfed the multiple OTT platforms to see if I would want to watch anything.  I could not find anything exciting.  Then, I decided to fall back on the recommendations of friends (that were made mostly eons ago, but I was looking up them now).  Sathya had watched, 'Hidden Figures' (2016) and she wanted me too to watch and let her know how it was.  Everyone and her aunt was raving about 'Laapata Ladies' (plus some people were coming out of woodwork too, to claim that their work was plagiarised).  Then there was something I had forgotten to watch despite many recommendations and people going ga-ga over, 'Kaathal the Core'.  I decided I will watch them all.  I even threw in a Kannada movie for a good measure. And, a Jennifer Lopez starter, ‘Atlas’ into the melee. While 'Laapata Ladies' and ‘Atlas’ were on Netflix, the other three movies were found on Amazon Prime. 

One interesting fact about all the movies I watched was, they all either were women-centric (where a woman was the protagonist), or had a woman in a prominent role.  Not in my entire life had I seen so many women-centric movies together ever, over a weekend.  This was a first!

'Hidden Figures' tells the story of women in NASA and their role in putting the first American into space - not just any women, but black women.  It was the time of segregation and the kind of hardships these women - told through the lenses of Katherine Gobles, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, mathematicians and manual computers who dare to dream big - and how they overcome is a great tale of empowerment.  Even though the movie is based on real life people and events, it takes several liberties in tweaking the actual incidents to create drama.  Theodore Melfi has directed this drama that primarily focuses on the story of Katherine Gobles, and her contribution - and the trials and tribulations she faces for being a woman and a black woman at that - towards placing the first American astronaut in space.  

When a position of a computer (before the arrival of personal computers, people who excelled at computing quickly worked in the scientific organisations as computers) arises in the core team of the space mission at NASA, Katherine gets called in, and soon she becomes the indispensable one for the calculations need advanced knowledge of analytical geometry.  How she continues to stay relevant even after the IBM machine makes its presence felt forms the crux of the story.  Elsewhere, Dorothy who leads all the Black women computers is fighting her own battle of survival and progress; she wants to be officially recognised as the supervisor, a position that is reserved for White women.  At the same time, Mary is taking on the powers-that-be to break into the male bastion of 'engineers'; she wants to enroll into a degree and for that she goes to the court of law.  These are the figures that we do not learn about, and hence the word 'Hidden' in the title.  

The movie is heartwarming, uplifting, and devoid of needless drama, and focuses majorly on the story it wants to tell, without too many deviations.  The acting is competent, and so is the recreation of the atmosphere of the 60s.  What doesn't fit well in it is the saviour complex that the White Men suffer - and how Kevin Costner's role had to be enhanced to show him as the saviour of the Blacks and their dignity in a sequence or two.  It sure adds to the drama and makes for great viewing, but it does a disservice to all those women who truly fought for their rights and freedom.  Also, the lives of these women away from work looked too perfect to be true - everything rightly falling in place, and not a worry to fret about apart from their rights.  Regardless, I still totally recommend watching this movie.  It was just a little over 50 years ago that Blacks were still fighting segregation.  There would be lessons for those anti-reservation people of India too.

'Laapata Ladies' directed by Kiran Rao (Aamir's ex wife) and produced by Aamir Khan didn't last long in the theatres, but has been making a lot of right kind of noises ever since its debut on the OTT.  People have raved about it, the song 'O Sajni Re' has become very popular for making reels, and suddenly Kiran Rao is just more than Aamir's ex wife too.  

Set in a fictional place (somewhere in the Hindi heartland where all possible Hindi dialects, accents, practices mix and make a heady cultural mix) in the early 2000s, the movie tells the tale of a mix-up of newly married brides, and one of the brides arriving wrongly at one destination, while another frantically trying to reach where she is supposed to be at! Along the way it sheds light on the regressive practices of ghunghat (veil covering the face), denial of education to women, and denial of agency.  

Rahul is getting back to his village post his marriage with Phool.  It's the big wedding season and there are several similar newly-weds in the train, and he gets off in the dead of the night with the wrong bride - discovered only when she lifts her veil and says she's Pushpa.  This leads to a frantic search for Phool by Deepak and his friends.  Meanwhile, Phool who discovers that she's been left behind makes railway station her home and finds kindness among those other inhabitants, and hopes to find her way back to her sasural.  The protagonist though is 'Pushpa' who has wrongly entered the household of Deepak. Who is she and what are her motives? These are slowly laid bare by the time we reach climax.  

'Laapata Ladies' is an absolute feel-good movie that tells the essential story of the need to empower women in India. And, the story-telling is first-class, and so are the acting chops by most of the cast.  Even though 'Pushpa' does not look the part as a rural girl, she does a commendable job, and so do Deepak and others. Of course, the movie is far from being realistic. Hardly anyone is evil or bad here (save for one); even the corrupt police want to be helpful and play the 'good samaritan' role. It is a movie where the girls on the run find protective people to shelter with, and do not have to face any of the brutal circumstances that might happen in reality.  Barring that, this is a little gem that cannot be missed. 

'Kaathal - the Core' is a Malayalam movie that released last year and created waves - for the subject it handled. Jeo Baby has directed this movie.  He had made waves with his first outing, 'The Great Indian Kitchen' too, which dealt with patriarchy in middle-class Kerala households in a very Margaret Atwood-esque way (though of course the ending isn't like her books).  (Margaret Atwood because he didn't name any of the characters in the movie). Expectations from Kaathal were surely high because Mammootty not only acted as the lead, but also produced the movie.  

Mammootty is Mathew Devassy, a taciturn but affable man in his middle ages living in a small Kerala village.  He is a member of a Communist Party, and is asked by the party to contest a local by-election, as the ward seat falls vacant.  Jyothika plays Omana, his wife.  They have a daughter who is studying in the city.  The household is completed by Mathew's old father (who also is a man of few words like his son).  The director places the church at the very centre of the movie and it plays a very firm character; the songs in the movie take off from the choir.  Omana is shown as a devout Christian, regularly attending the masses, and lighting candles, and praying before every meal.  

The seemingly 'perfect family' picture is broken when the news spreads that Omana has filed for divorce, on the grounds that Mathew is a homosexual.  Is the accusation of Omana true? Even her own brother sides with his brother-in-law!

All the drama in the movie comes from the people around the household.  The party workers, the churchgoers, and the supposed voters.  The household though maintains its calm, outwardly.   The movie later becomes a court drama.  Several unpleasant questions are asked, and many marital secrets tumble out of the closet as the case unfolds at the Pala Municipal Court. Mathew tries to speak in monosyllables, Omana refuses to twist facts for the sake of an easy win, and just when she appears to be losing, she brings in a star witness that tilts the case in her favour. 

The movie is set nicely amidst an election, where the hero could become something bigger, and the court case comes as an embarrassment that could make his plans go awry.  When characters express Omana could have filed the case at another time and not now, even the viewer might side with that opinion, as someone rooting for the appealing Mammootty. But, the film hurtles towards the climax where Mammootty seeks forgiveness from Jyothika (and Devassy from his son for having forced him to marry).  

Kaathal surely is a landmark movie for treating homosexuality with compassion and not either as a disease or a condition to be pitied about.  It stays absolutely equanimous in its treatment of the subject and steadfastly avoids being melodramatic.  Some of the scenes hit home hard. Acting is first rate.  My grouse? A few for sure.  The movie treats Mammootty's character with kid-gloves, and tries to gloss over his follies.  It becomes even more evident when you hear Jyothika tell him why she fought the case. Nor does he once say the word 'gay' or 'homosexual' - that felt strange for a man who agreed to play the role.  And, not many emotions are visible anymore on Mammootty's face after too many facelifts and botox treatments.  If you haven't watched it yet, don't miss it.  

I also said I watched two other movies.  'Atlas' of Jennifer Lopez, and a Kannada movie called, 'Dauther of Parvathamma'.  Both totally forgettable, and avoidable fare.  Now, I am wondering what to watch next.  Any suggestions?

Rage of Angels

 “Another miss of the sales target, and you’ll be shown the door”, the manager barked at him. He just bent his head down and nodded. His eyes were almost brimming, but he didn’t let anyone see those tears.  He walked quietly out post the review meeting, and headed toward the bus station. 

He was one of the very few who didn’t ride a bike. It meant he took longer time to attend to the sales calls. While his colleagues easily made 10 plus calls a day, his numbers barely ever got there. Yet, he had managed to achieve his targets most months, but had failed to reach them in the last couple of months. Others had failed too, but at least they could justify themselves that they had made more calls than him. Hence, he was the target of the manager’s ire. 

He needed the job. Who didn’t, he thought, and smiled sardonically, as he stood at the bus station looking for Route 37 that would take him back to his small hovel that he called home.  The day was getting darker, the bustle was slowly increasing, as officers-goers were making their way back. He wondered if he would find another job soon - something that didn’t involve sales. He wasn’t growing any younger for finding new avenues, he chided himself, despite the qualifications. 

As he waited for his bus, he suddenly noticed a woman absentmindedly moving towards the tail of a bus that was turning. His brain didn’t have time to scream and let her know. He just ran towards her and pulled her away from what could have been a nasty blow if not fatal. The woman was shocked to find herself being held by a stranger, a man at that. He too realised and tried explaining through his own shock, “the bus…you’d be hit…”

He suddenly felt someone hit him hard on his head. He tried to turn around even as he put his hands on the head to block any further blows. More blows followed, even before he could do anything. He lost balance and fell to the ground, and just as he realised someone was using more than hands to hit him, he started losing his consciousness. The last words he heard before he blacked out, “How dare you touch my wife….”