Kaathal – The Core (Malayalam) – My Flash Review!

The first question that comes to your mind when you finish watching this film is – how do writers in Malayalam cinema manage to conceive subjects like this, that too consistently? The story doesn’t fit into any of the usual cinematic formulae we are all used to.  It is interesting to see how a progressive theme of homosexuality and its impact on a family is interwoven in the politics of the town. Yet, it is a film about relationships that go beyond the normal definition between a husband and wife as much as a son and a father.

Kaathal – The Core is directed by Jeo Baby who gave us the other impactful film – The Great Indian Kitchen not too long ago. Like that one, this also revolves around a married woman (played by a fine Jyothika) trying to establish her own space in a house where she lives with her husband (played by Mammootty) and her father-in-law. Yes, the theme of male patriarchy re-visits in this film too. But the similarities end here. Unlike The Great Indian Kitchen which had repeated shots of the female lead cooking and cleaning utensils, Kaathal has none of it and talks about the conflicts between a wife and a husband at an emotional level.

Coming to the story – Mammootty’s character Mathew is a decent man in a small town in Kerala with left political leanings who is pitch-forked into fighting the local municipal elections by his party. Just as he files his nomination, a divorce notice from his wife hits him and his party, the reason for it comes as a surprise to us but not to anyone else in the film!  She wants a divorce that too after 20 years of marriage and an 18-year-old daughter as her husband is gay.  What happens next is the rest of the story.  The reason for her opting for divorce now even when she knew of her husband’s sexual orientation is interesting and brings to the fore the intelligence of the writers.

You can be rest assured that the storyline and screenplay do not play out as simplistic as I have portrayed, in my quest to not give away any spoilers.  Strange things follow. There is a divorce case proceeding in the court, but there are no arguments between the husband and wife at home. There is a poignant scene of Mammootty holding his wife’s bag in the court while she takes the witness box.  We don’t see Mammootty and his dad talking to each other while living in the same house except for one scene towards the end. The director frames this scene very well bringing the dimension of Jyothika as well behind the door. Yet, there seems to be no bad blood between any of them. They eat together and pray regularly together underpinning a conflict they are trying to overcome. I don’t recall any character having a laugh or even smile in the whole film.

The film is full of poignant moments that display extreme grace and maturity among the characters. I suspect the writers and the Director also expect the viewers to show such maturity and understanding of such characterisations and situations. Towards the end, all knots are opened up amicably and it seems that all’s well that ends well. That is when you realise that the place in Kerala where the story is set could very well be a utopia. The political party for which Mammootty’s character is the candidate in the local elections persists with his candidature even after he is hit by the divorce case that too on grounds of him being a homosexual claiming to set a progressive example!

The camera work by Salu Thomas captures the idyllic and idealistic geography with its quaint houses, a church, local party offices, door-to-door campaigning and courts and is outstanding and very real.  The film proceeds very slowly sans any drama. Yet, the proceedings are quite engaging mainly due to the powerful performances of the entire cast. Mammootty who has to convey that he too is a victim as much as his wife – is simply outstanding. In the entire film, his dialogues may not go beyond two pages, I suspect. He runs a master class on body language and facial expressions in every frame of the film. Jyothika as the victimised wife is full of grace and poise. She gives a very measured performance but half of the credit for her performance must go to the dubbing artist, in my opinion. Sudhi Kozhikode who plays the role of Mammootty’s partner is another actor who gives a moving performance.

In the entire writing process, the writers and the director do not make anything obvious. As viewers they expect us to watch every line and every bit carefully to pick up critical moments. Even the end is conveyed through signals and indications. So, this film is not for those with low attention spans who check messages on their mobile phones while watching films. If you are a fan of serious cinema and are okay with slow, poignant cinema, then this is a must-watch. And if you are a student of cinema, Director Jeo Baby gives plenty of lessons on conveying a lot visually rather than words!

Kaathal – The Core is now streaming on Amazon Prime.   I am still bewildered by the title, though!