Drishyam is running in Bangalore for over a month now. The film has broken a lot of Box office records in Kerala. I saw the film last Saturday and now i can understand the hype behind it.The theater i saw it was running with a packed weekend crowd, even after a month of the release. Drishyam works really well because it is fine blend of entertainment and good cinema. It has a slow build up and the films enters the second half, it keeps you in the edge of the seat through out.
Also, it is not an exaggeration to say that Mohanlal carries the entire film on his shoulders. Because, the central premise of the film will make sense, if and only if George Kutty is a believable to us. He is a simple man living a simple life yet he has an outstanding ability to perceive and plan out situations. You need to play out both the faces really well. He is a romantic husband, caring protective father, strong headed family man, passionate film geek. At the same time, he is helpless and weak common man in front of authority. If the character doesn't sell, no matter how intelligently the story is conceived, the film will not be reachable to us. Lal does it in a seemingly effortless manner.
As i mentioned earlier, George kutty is actually a film geek. In the beginning some one jokes at him saying one day he should make a movie of his own. So, when necessity comes ,he not only comes up with an amazingly cooked up story but also executes it perfectly. But the difference is, it is his life, so he cannot take anything for granted. Like films, we only see glimpses of "behind the scenes" of his story and it makes sense only when it all plays together.And when we his story unfold in front of us, we are indeed stunned by it. But if you really see, he actually has a very shaky start for his plan. He sees the yellow Maruthi Zen and opens in without realizing it is going to trigger alarm. A grave mistake that would haunt him till the end. But, I think it is not a mistake to assume that he is shaken by this mistake and realizes he cannot leave anything unturned. This leads to his commitment to plan out everything to the smallest details like gathering bills and coaching his family.
There are two audience for the story created by George kutty. One is us, sitting outside and the other is the police. We want him to survive and the Police want him to perish. We want him to survive, not because he is the hero but because we can relate to his life. We understand the how precious is this little bubble called life. We understand the justice he is trying hard to imply. That justice is what actually touches the nerve of the audience. We are fully convinced that what he is doing is right, even though it might look wrong in eyes of the law.
That brings us to the most disturbing part of the film. In the very beginning, George explains to a policeman, how an ideal police station should be. He says, it should function as a place which can be approached by the common people who seek justice. But what we see is the opposite. We see police brutality and how they function as thugs for the rich and powerful. We see that the head of Police, instead of seeking justice, uses her power for her selfish needs.
We actually see the exact point where she crosses the line. In the beginning what she does looks justifiable, considering her son missing and all, but at one point even though she realizes that her son has done an unpardonable mistake, she decides to take it though the end. She gets obsessed and gears up to quash this nice little family. Not for the sake of justice, but for the sake of her own obsession and revenge.
***SPOILER ALERT****
Even more disturbing part is even after this ordeal, the police attitude remains the same. They see George as a suspect. The new inspector wows to put him in jail. We know that he will survive that puts our mind at ease.
But the more important thing to think about is, George is actually fine with this tag. He would rather sign in a ledger than seeking justice through the judicial process. Because if you really see, even though it is a murder, what happened is an act of defense. And there is enough evidence that can set him and his family free. Yet, he and his family decides to take things in their own hands. Of-course, it is just a movie, but the situation is not unreal. We see this happening everyday. Day in and Day out, the girls who are the victims of assault and their families, mostly decide to stay mum.They don't have faith on that the society will support, the police will assist and the courts will get the justice done.
The most obvious reason is, such a disclosure would tarnish the future of a girl. This means the victims pay for something which they did not commit. This is an indication that we live in a unjust society where a victim can't seek justice, unless he or she is rich or powerful enough. The second reason is, our police and the judicial system is never people friendly. It takes a lot of power to get the attention of police and it takes an eternity to get the deserved justice.
As George points out in the beginning of the film, people are always afraid of the police. I dont know whether we can change the attitude of the entire society easily, but with some effort we can definitely change the attitude of our judicial system. Hopefully, films like this can open up more discussions on this topic.
As i mentioned earlier, George kutty is actually a film geek. In the beginning some one jokes at him saying one day he should make a movie of his own. So, when necessity comes ,he not only comes up with an amazingly cooked up story but also executes it perfectly. But the difference is, it is his life, so he cannot take anything for granted. Like films, we only see glimpses of "behind the scenes" of his story and it makes sense only when it all plays together.And when we his story unfold in front of us, we are indeed stunned by it. But if you really see, he actually has a very shaky start for his plan. He sees the yellow Maruthi Zen and opens in without realizing it is going to trigger alarm. A grave mistake that would haunt him till the end. But, I think it is not a mistake to assume that he is shaken by this mistake and realizes he cannot leave anything unturned. This leads to his commitment to plan out everything to the smallest details like gathering bills and coaching his family.
There are two audience for the story created by George kutty. One is us, sitting outside and the other is the police. We want him to survive and the Police want him to perish. We want him to survive, not because he is the hero but because we can relate to his life. We understand the how precious is this little bubble called life. We understand the justice he is trying hard to imply. That justice is what actually touches the nerve of the audience. We are fully convinced that what he is doing is right, even though it might look wrong in eyes of the law.
That brings us to the most disturbing part of the film. In the very beginning, George explains to a policeman, how an ideal police station should be. He says, it should function as a place which can be approached by the common people who seek justice. But what we see is the opposite. We see police brutality and how they function as thugs for the rich and powerful. We see that the head of Police, instead of seeking justice, uses her power for her selfish needs.
We actually see the exact point where she crosses the line. In the beginning what she does looks justifiable, considering her son missing and all, but at one point even though she realizes that her son has done an unpardonable mistake, she decides to take it though the end. She gets obsessed and gears up to quash this nice little family. Not for the sake of justice, but for the sake of her own obsession and revenge.
***SPOILER ALERT****
Even more disturbing part is even after this ordeal, the police attitude remains the same. They see George as a suspect. The new inspector wows to put him in jail. We know that he will survive that puts our mind at ease.
But the more important thing to think about is, George is actually fine with this tag. He would rather sign in a ledger than seeking justice through the judicial process. Because if you really see, even though it is a murder, what happened is an act of defense. And there is enough evidence that can set him and his family free. Yet, he and his family decides to take things in their own hands. Of-course, it is just a movie, but the situation is not unreal. We see this happening everyday. Day in and Day out, the girls who are the victims of assault and their families, mostly decide to stay mum.They don't have faith on that the society will support, the police will assist and the courts will get the justice done.
The most obvious reason is, such a disclosure would tarnish the future of a girl. This means the victims pay for something which they did not commit. This is an indication that we live in a unjust society where a victim can't seek justice, unless he or she is rich or powerful enough. The second reason is, our police and the judicial system is never people friendly. It takes a lot of power to get the attention of police and it takes an eternity to get the deserved justice.
As George points out in the beginning of the film, people are always afraid of the police. I dont know whether we can change the attitude of the entire society easily, but with some effort we can definitely change the attitude of our judicial system. Hopefully, films like this can open up more discussions on this topic.
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