A movie review - Kaaka muttai
Hi friends,
This is one area I have not ventured before. I am not an avid movie buff but not a movie hater. My husband is even less interested in movies, and so an occasional movie watch in a multiplex theatre itself is a big event for me. I keep watching a handful of movies that are close to my heart either in tv or in Youtube. But lately, I am inclined to watch more movies (and of course with those that have good reviews) whenever possible.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary by watching a Tamil movie and dining out. To hear that a movie was named 'Kaaka muttai' (crow's egg) sounded odd!!But this was the one we decided to watch as to put in layman's words, 'running successfully for 4 weeks and a definite value for money'. We went for a show on a week day in a multiplex mall and the snacks we bought there cost us more that the tickets for the movie. Therein lies the catch. When we offered the credit card to pay for the snacks, the person at the counter said the machine was not working. The underlying reason might be that they do not want to account for the income generated through the highly priced snacks and beverages. What an irony! On one side, we were ready to watch a movie which depicts poverty and discrimination and on the other side we are contributing to the 'crimes' that these multiplexes involve.
Anyway, the director Mr Manikanthan has done a fabulous job in his debut venture by carrying the whole film on the shoulders of two boys. There are no major movie stars, except for Simbu who appears in the cameo role. The film is set up in a slum dwelling near Cooum river and the director cleverly manages to show the harshness of poverty through the characters without being judgmental. Every character plays his/her part naturally. The mother of the boys is shown to be a bold woman with lot of self-respect who balances her life between her jailed husband, her mother-in-law, her boys and her factory job. The boys who name themselves as 'periya kaaka muttai, chinna kaaka muttai' are shown to discontinue their schooling as their father is jailed and the family being short of funds. They are forced to collect sacks of coal to sell to a vendor every day for a few rupees. As they pass through the city, they notice that a brand new pizza outlet is opened and the actor Simbu inaugurating the same by cutting the ribbon and eating a slice. All the slum children including these two boys throng outside the elite outlet to have a glimpse of their favourite star. Then they get a coupon in which it was written that for 299 rupees, their favorite pizza is door delivered. How they manage to get the pizza which is like catching the moon for them forms the crux of the whole film. The middle class boy in the neighbourhood who talks from the other side of the complex wall, offers some scraps of pizza which the 'periya kaaka muttai' boy refuses as he feels he was insulted. The grandma who tries to make the best out of what is available to satisfy the boys' cravings wins our hearts. Then there is a character who calls himself 'pazharasam' (or fruit juice) who befriends the boys and helps them to find the hidden coal. Every character, big or small, has played the part well to make the film wholesome. When the boys were slapped by the security person at the entrance of the outlet, we feel they are slapping the poverty's face. The musical score is good, though not very catchy. The boys with their natural acting win our hearts and we feel like we want to own them!!
But why is the movie named like that? The family could not afford to buy chicken eggs as they were expensive, and so the boys lay hands on crow's eggs in a tree to satisfy their cravings for eggs.
One of our relatives was praising the movie all the way out and declared that it would fetch Oscars. Ahhh, it would have fetched those coveted Oscar awards, had it been directed by a white man or a Jew!!!
Deepa.
This is one area I have not ventured before. I am not an avid movie buff but not a movie hater. My husband is even less interested in movies, and so an occasional movie watch in a multiplex theatre itself is a big event for me. I keep watching a handful of movies that are close to my heart either in tv or in Youtube. But lately, I am inclined to watch more movies (and of course with those that have good reviews) whenever possible.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary by watching a Tamil movie and dining out. To hear that a movie was named 'Kaaka muttai' (crow's egg) sounded odd!!But this was the one we decided to watch as to put in layman's words, 'running successfully for 4 weeks and a definite value for money'. We went for a show on a week day in a multiplex mall and the snacks we bought there cost us more that the tickets for the movie. Therein lies the catch. When we offered the credit card to pay for the snacks, the person at the counter said the machine was not working. The underlying reason might be that they do not want to account for the income generated through the highly priced snacks and beverages. What an irony! On one side, we were ready to watch a movie which depicts poverty and discrimination and on the other side we are contributing to the 'crimes' that these multiplexes involve.
Anyway, the director Mr Manikanthan has done a fabulous job in his debut venture by carrying the whole film on the shoulders of two boys. There are no major movie stars, except for Simbu who appears in the cameo role. The film is set up in a slum dwelling near Cooum river and the director cleverly manages to show the harshness of poverty through the characters without being judgmental. Every character plays his/her part naturally. The mother of the boys is shown to be a bold woman with lot of self-respect who balances her life between her jailed husband, her mother-in-law, her boys and her factory job. The boys who name themselves as 'periya kaaka muttai, chinna kaaka muttai' are shown to discontinue their schooling as their father is jailed and the family being short of funds. They are forced to collect sacks of coal to sell to a vendor every day for a few rupees. As they pass through the city, they notice that a brand new pizza outlet is opened and the actor Simbu inaugurating the same by cutting the ribbon and eating a slice. All the slum children including these two boys throng outside the elite outlet to have a glimpse of their favourite star. Then they get a coupon in which it was written that for 299 rupees, their favorite pizza is door delivered. How they manage to get the pizza which is like catching the moon for them forms the crux of the whole film. The middle class boy in the neighbourhood who talks from the other side of the complex wall, offers some scraps of pizza which the 'periya kaaka muttai' boy refuses as he feels he was insulted. The grandma who tries to make the best out of what is available to satisfy the boys' cravings wins our hearts. Then there is a character who calls himself 'pazharasam' (or fruit juice) who befriends the boys and helps them to find the hidden coal. Every character, big or small, has played the part well to make the film wholesome. When the boys were slapped by the security person at the entrance of the outlet, we feel they are slapping the poverty's face. The musical score is good, though not very catchy. The boys with their natural acting win our hearts and we feel like we want to own them!!
But why is the movie named like that? The family could not afford to buy chicken eggs as they were expensive, and so the boys lay hands on crow's eggs in a tree to satisfy their cravings for eggs.
One of our relatives was praising the movie all the way out and declared that it would fetch Oscars. Ahhh, it would have fetched those coveted Oscar awards, had it been directed by a white man or a Jew!!!
Deepa.
Nice Manni...Happy that it won national award..
ReplyDeleteThanks Hari for the quick response.....Yes, it need not win Oscars. Making it tax-free, winning our hearts first and then the National awards are enough!!!
ReplyDeleteI like such movies that depict real life.
ReplyDeleteTrue Kiran, & it should be depicted naturally to the core.
ReplyDelete