Savarakathi Tamil Movie
In the contemporary Kollywood cinescape, we've seen some of the finest dark humour in Mysskin's movies. Be it the frozen characters within a cold frame or a wry witted character or an eccentric one - all have been humorous in their own right. But, never had I thought of a full-length humour from Mysskin. Even the director himself has time and again reiterated the fact that humour hasn't been his cup of tea.
In one of the recent promotional interviews for Savarakathi, when Mysskin was quizzed on how he had to tune himself to write a script with brief spells of comedy, it was an instant 'Mysskinistic' repartee - that he has taken cues from Chaplin, and added, that most of the tragedies, when reverse engineered, would lead to a farcical subtext.
'Savarakathi' too had a violent layer buried deep beneath, but it was Mysskin, the screenwriter and actor who has elevated it to a wonderfully crafted comedy, ably stewarded by the debutante director, G.R. Adhithya.
Pichai (Ram), a humble barber unintentionally locks horn with Manga alias Mangheswaran (Mysskin), a dreaded gangster who is out on a parole about to end in a few hours. The whole movie is the cat and mouse game between the two and how Pichai saves himself and his family from Manga.
Poorna as the deaf Subhathra has delivered a fine performance. Dubbing in her own voice with a crude accent and rendering the most gut-wrenching wisecracks seemed a little strained, but kudos for the effort. Mysskin as Manga was that eccentric mad villain whom we've been witnessing in Mysskin's past films. Now we're witnessing the man himself play the part.
It's a gift to play the part that one writes. It also unleashes another sly contest between Mysskin the writer and the actor. Of course, in here, both of them win. Ram as Pichai looked the part and he played the type of lead whom he portrays in his films - bearded eccentric men, whose imperfections struggle to defend the generally accepted moral equations.
Two out of the three (except Poorna) in the lead cast had their favourite zones with respect to their roles. That was the biggest advantage the film had. And the rest was taken care by the screenplay. The supporting characters were a bunch of goons who played cronies to Manga. It was a laugh riot when each of them gets their dues from him. The writing made the characterisation so intense and contrasting, that at times, the humour just slid through without a fuss.
Of course, the movie had some of those Mysskin tropes like characters freezing and then breaking into a frenzy, an uncanny 'barber knife fight' in the climax and some indirect potshots on the societal malice at large. But the exorbitant showcase of legs and blind men were some notable misses. Of course, it was directed by G.R. Adithya, to put it mildly!
The comedy of errors was smartly spun and has been packaged with supporting technicalities - good BGM and music by Arrol Corelli, neat and crisp editing from Julian. Mysskin continues to amaze with his dense and layered writing. And this time it's the humour that plays out like a charm!
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