India’s Most Fearless, a book authored by journalists Rahul Singh and Shiv Aroor documents true stories of heroism and fearlessness displayed by Indian soldiers in the line of duty. I have read this book and its follow up volume which give an insider account of the acts of valour and bravery of our Jawans which otherwise do not come out in such detail. One of the chapters in this book features the story of Major Mukund Varadarajan from the Rashtriya Rifles on whose life this film Amaran is based on. The film is therefore a true story of the life of Major Mukund with of course some cinematic liberties taken while making it for the big screen.
First up, more than a war film or a film about the acts of courage on the war field, the film is a poignant love story of a soldier and his wife living in constant anxiety and in long distance companionship. In a brilliant screen play tactic, Director Rajkumar Periasamy tells us this story through the lens of Major Mukund’s wife Indu Rebecca Varghese. In effect, Amaran is her story, which starts with falling in love with her co-student in college followed by long courtships, pre-marriage conflicts being from different religions, a brief break up, getting married finally and then carrying on with life as a single mother with the husband far away on Nation’s duty only to lose him forever. We all know that a Jawan’s life is tough. This film makes us realise how the life of the Jawan’s family is probably tougher.
What strikes upfront in Amaran is the making. Periasamy displays a solid hold on the craft of film making whether it is the choice of telling the story through the wife’s lens that makes the film stand out and engaging or the framing of scenes, the crisp storytelling, the way the action scenes are choreographed, the lighting or getting the best performances from his lead cast. I also liked the way the director uses “freeze frame” to point out sequences that are from Mukund’s real life.
Sai Pallavi as Indu in almost minimal or no make-up look throughout the film largely, gives one of the best performances in a Tamil film for a female lead in a long time. She is effortless and comes across as a natural whether it is the happy go lucky scenes in the beginning or the heart wrenching scenes towards the end. She can count herself in serious reckoning for a National Award for this performance, in my opinion. Siva Karthikeyan as Major Mukund is also a revelation. His physical transformation is impressive but for an actor who is used to playing dark comedy or feel-good roles, to turn up in an intense role like in Amaran is even more commendable. Even Bhuvan Arora, part of Mulund’s team as Vikram Singh and Rahul Bose as Mukund’s senior stand out among the supporting cast.
It takes a lot of fearlessness to take up a story where the male lead despite his heroisms faces death at the end. It also takes a lot of courage to tell a story where the people know the end. Director Periasamy bets big on striking at the emotional core of the viewers by constantly mixing up acts of valour with acts of sacrifice of the uniformed men and the ensuing poignant imagery. All this sans the usual overkill of drama and surround sound which we get to see in typical Tamil films.
I am therefore not surprised that the film is a huge theatrical hit in Tamil Nadu and other regions despite not being a typical formulaic Tamil film that bets on a routine of song-dance, action and mass moments. The only mass element that the director couldn’t probably avoid is the background score of G.V.Prakash whenever Major Mukund and his team achieve some success in the battle zone. Prakash’s songs which are played mostly as montage to move the relationship are good and rich in melody. Towards the end, the montage song playing in the background when the last honours are given to the martyr brings a lump in the throat.
For a film that attempts to be different in terms of storytelling, it still stays with the usual tropes we see in films set in an army background like trainers in military school being always ‘kadoos’, showing a bunch of soldiers cracking jokes, singing songs or talking to their families just before any major mishap/attack, some soldier playing a death prank and so on. Of course these are minor cribs in an otherwise well-made film.
Amaran is now streaming on Netflix and I would recommend it as a Must Watch if you haven’t already watched it.
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