I just finished seeing Kannathil Muthamittal. The second time I’m wathing it. There was something aboutthis movie that appealed tome the first time I saw it, I vaguely recalled. I remembered snatches of the movie. Saw it on the day of the last exam during my tenth boards at my friends place.
Now I saw it again…
And the magic is not lost. The movie still hurt me, moved me, tore me apart and made my heart go out to everybody- the li’l Amudha-torn between her real and adopted parents, wanting to know abouther mother, father; a million questions waiting to burst forth… why? Why did her mother leave her? Why did she never come back? Where did she go? Where is her father? Who is he? Can she see him?
Indhra- the real Indhra- the mother whose heart clingsto this child- fear, anxiety, love-all making her want Amudha more and more. Does my daughter need me no more? Does she still loveme? Will she go away?
Thiru‘Indhra’- the writer who sees everything in a different light. Wants his daughter, yet, he wants her to see her mother. He is a very straightforward person, but his mind works in myriad fashions; understanding the child and her longings and at the same time, loving deeply the 9-year old daughter who brought him all the world’s joy.
Shyama, the mother- her life, as dark as her name- freedom being the only goal in her life, working towards that goal her husband envisaged; leaving behind the daughter she wanted; her mind torn between her wee baby and her husband…
The war, the passion, the longing, the un-worded love oh- its beautiful… beautiful… smooth like a river, silk, a lovely mist, a poetry, a gurgling brook… my mind fails to capture its essence…
The movie left me speechless and longing… for what, I fail to find? Was it for that peace that Shyama seems to be searching for and Amudha seems to be waiting? I was grieved by the sight of the child soldiers, the innumerable bombings, the ever existing peril in their lives… does tomorrow hold life-or death?
They live just for this moment… tomorrow is a stranger… will it come?
Oh… these vry thoughts seem to strangle me. Why should we exist with little troubles and barely any sorrow while millions of others in so many regions live in fear and desolation… It kills me. Why are we being so mindless? Barbarians we are to be killing one another…
Oh can’t there be peace everywhere like it is here, now? Is life to be wasted in fighting and tears… my god, I’m so depressed…
I want every child on ths earth to be happy… oh god… please do something… I feel so lonely… so sad… are you hearing god? Make everyone as happy as I am!
5 comments
aaaahhhh, toucheetae po!
though I usually shy away from senti posts, me read thru this one. mebbe coz I like the movie too :)
Really beautiful post!
Nice post!
Sandhya!
As luck wud have it I was watching Kannathil Muthamittal yesterday (for the 5th time or something). Amazing movie!
The highlight of the movie was when Amudha meets Shyama. Shyama says that someday peace wud come and then she wud return and then Amudha spontaneously asks "Ennikku???" and then camera zooms on to the adults... who are as clueless themselves.
(Lot of Mani fans feel that the end sort of fizzled out. I dunno. I liked it as it is)
Did u know that KMI was compared to A.I. in an article in Hindu (I think!!). It pointed the parallels of the robot child looking for true love in its adopted parents and the 'thedal' of Amudha. Mani n Spielberg have both used children to raise questions on 'Adult' issues and make them realise their follies. The Spielbergian concept of peace in the world (thro the eyes of the child) are reflected in KMI as well.
Am glad tht the movie sparked such emotion in youngsters like u.
Ram
really good post. i have already watched the movie twice. The first time i saw the movie i didnt quite well like it, cuz it dragged a lot. The next time i watched it was truly amazing, i especially liked the character of madhavan & ofcourse the girl amudha, the movie really makes sense....
Hail Mani ratnam. hope he comes up more with such kinda movies.
Sandya,
First, its a good, heart-felt review of Kannathil...Have to agree with you 100% on those things you have shared about the movie here..
there is one additional "adhigaprasingi" comment too, if I may..
In reading through those gazillion desi/tam-bram blogs on the web, I happened to find a common thread and yours was no exception to that "thread"..
and its the dominance of "movies" in most of the subjects being discussed/analyzed..It makes me wonder what has gone wrong.. As we all agree, there is nothing wrong in viewing the blogs as an outlet to rant and write about those things that you like/dislike, is it a sin to write things that are non-filmy? I'm a bit puzzled whenever I come across something Desi on the cyberspace.. be it the Yahoo!Chat or the blogs, us Indians have resorted to using the time/space on teh web for writing about film related stuff.. Is it an indication that our creativity/originality is confined to cinema/music? Why not step beyond that .. Especially for good/smart/intellectual writers like yourself(!!!), it should be easy to focus on the needs of our human life.. address those problems around you and your environment rather than to hide yourself behind this veil of useless entertainment..The power of youth be displayed in ways that are useful to the society and not be in delivering these reviews that are nothing but a waste..
Sorry if I sounded a bit harsh but can't help using your blog as the portal to voice my opinion after reading those film reviews..My apologies if you are hurt from my blatant accusation(s)..But I guess you would realize that its not intended to be hurtful ..Also, my apologies if my words came across as "preachy" as a sermon..
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