Kutty Srank is shrouded in enigma, much like its primary protagonist. I first caught this film in a small cinema in Thrissur soon after its release back in 2009. While I found it to be an interesting work of art, I was left confused on what the actual intentions of the movie was.
Is it a treatise on the many masks a man is forced to wear to adapt to his changing surroundings? Is it about the enduring effects of love on the human psyche? Or about the strength of the female form and the nature of the bonds she can have with a man?
The movie kept playing at the back of my subconscious for a few years, before I finally decided to re visit it. Once I started it, I was caught in the spell it weaved on me. Lush, lingering and beautifully shot, this is a film which has to be soaked in its moments and one which the viewer should allow to subtly and evocatively make its mark on him/her.
Essentially, it is about a dead sailor who washes up on the shore and the different women who recollect him from their perspectives to the local police. Perspective is probably the key word here. Each of the women seem to recollect a different man from the one the other remembers.
First up is Revamma, a quietly powerful performance by the dependable Padmapriya. The daughter of a rich and influential man, she had lost her innocence at a young age, because of the cruelty she seemed to have witnessed her father inflict on others. The blood which splatters on her face keeps coming back to her and she left home a long time ago to Ceylon. Now she is coming back and her father has big plans for her. Kutty Srank is his trusted helper, and he trusts his master to the point of blind devotion. When he goes to receive her, she has come with a young Buddhist monk in tow. Fearful of what her father might say, her uncle and aunt force Srank to keep it a secret from him and hide the young man in a dilapidated home. Srank feels the guilt at what he perceives to be his betrayal when Revamma abandons a party her father had held for her. He manhandles the young priest but is stopped by Revamma who tells him that she plans to run away and become a monk with him. The story unfolds in Srank being betrayed in turn by his master and in him helping Revamma escape.
The second story is my favorite of the three. Pemanna is portrayed beautifully by Kamalinee Mukherjee with an underlying sense of allure and seduction. She has always been an actress who, at least in Malayalam, wants to do only strong roles that offer her scope for performance, and she doesn't disappoint here. After helping Revamma escape, it appears they end up somewhere close to Cochin, where he gets involved with a local drama troupe headed by Pemanna's brother Loni. For the lead role, he chooses Srank, which upsets one of the regular actors, Joppan. Pemanna is entranced by her co-lead in the drama and very subtly tries to seduce him. There is a scene here which is probably the first nude scene I have seen in Malayalam, but it is so aesthetically shot that you can only marvel in the mood as Srank walks in on Pemanna in her state of undress. The jealousy in Joppan forces him to try and turn the public opinion against Srank by confiding and colluding with the local priest (Siddique) to defame him. The priest sees Srank as an affront and adversary to the control he holds over the local citizens using the fear of God, as Srank is skeptical of it all. The tale ends up in one deceit after another with more than one death involved. The acting in this piece is exceptional, but I have to give special mention to Suresh Krishna as Loni. Sadly typecast in commercial mallu fare, here he finally gets a role where he can display his range and comes up with an exceptional performance.
The final part of the recollections come from a mute woman who is adamant that the dead man is not Srank, and who should know better, as she claims to have been married to the man and is carrying his child. Considered a curse and harbinger of misfortune by the local village she belongs to, she met him when he was actually coming to finish her off, as his boss Unnithan (Saikumar) feels she is the reason for his family's misfortune. On seeing her pitiful condition and her fear, Srank could not bring himself to do it and instead becomes her protector and friend. The progress of their relationship to one of love is captured by Unnithan's daughter in law, who seems to be caught in a cage of her own in the household and finds in Kali and Srank an outlet for her suppressed desires, as she writes about them.
The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. Kerala on its own is a enthralling beautiful place and it becomes a sight to behold when framed through a creative lens. The acting is almost flawless for the most part, though I don't think Mammooty is the only one who deserves credit here. In fact, I would say it's the powerful supporting characters I took away the most from the movie.
But at the end of the day, if you ask me what it was all about and what was the point, I may still not be able to give a concrete answer. However, maybe that's not the point. Like all great works of art, Kutty Srank is an experience to be savored in the moments. Just like life.
Is it a treatise on the many masks a man is forced to wear to adapt to his changing surroundings? Is it about the enduring effects of love on the human psyche? Or about the strength of the female form and the nature of the bonds she can have with a man?
The movie kept playing at the back of my subconscious for a few years, before I finally decided to re visit it. Once I started it, I was caught in the spell it weaved on me. Lush, lingering and beautifully shot, this is a film which has to be soaked in its moments and one which the viewer should allow to subtly and evocatively make its mark on him/her.
Essentially, it is about a dead sailor who washes up on the shore and the different women who recollect him from their perspectives to the local police. Perspective is probably the key word here. Each of the women seem to recollect a different man from the one the other remembers.
First up is Revamma, a quietly powerful performance by the dependable Padmapriya. The daughter of a rich and influential man, she had lost her innocence at a young age, because of the cruelty she seemed to have witnessed her father inflict on others. The blood which splatters on her face keeps coming back to her and she left home a long time ago to Ceylon. Now she is coming back and her father has big plans for her. Kutty Srank is his trusted helper, and he trusts his master to the point of blind devotion. When he goes to receive her, she has come with a young Buddhist monk in tow. Fearful of what her father might say, her uncle and aunt force Srank to keep it a secret from him and hide the young man in a dilapidated home. Srank feels the guilt at what he perceives to be his betrayal when Revamma abandons a party her father had held for her. He manhandles the young priest but is stopped by Revamma who tells him that she plans to run away and become a monk with him. The story unfolds in Srank being betrayed in turn by his master and in him helping Revamma escape.
The second story is my favorite of the three. Pemanna is portrayed beautifully by Kamalinee Mukherjee with an underlying sense of allure and seduction. She has always been an actress who, at least in Malayalam, wants to do only strong roles that offer her scope for performance, and she doesn't disappoint here. After helping Revamma escape, it appears they end up somewhere close to Cochin, where he gets involved with a local drama troupe headed by Pemanna's brother Loni. For the lead role, he chooses Srank, which upsets one of the regular actors, Joppan. Pemanna is entranced by her co-lead in the drama and very subtly tries to seduce him. There is a scene here which is probably the first nude scene I have seen in Malayalam, but it is so aesthetically shot that you can only marvel in the mood as Srank walks in on Pemanna in her state of undress. The jealousy in Joppan forces him to try and turn the public opinion against Srank by confiding and colluding with the local priest (Siddique) to defame him. The priest sees Srank as an affront and adversary to the control he holds over the local citizens using the fear of God, as Srank is skeptical of it all. The tale ends up in one deceit after another with more than one death involved. The acting in this piece is exceptional, but I have to give special mention to Suresh Krishna as Loni. Sadly typecast in commercial mallu fare, here he finally gets a role where he can display his range and comes up with an exceptional performance.
The final part of the recollections come from a mute woman who is adamant that the dead man is not Srank, and who should know better, as she claims to have been married to the man and is carrying his child. Considered a curse and harbinger of misfortune by the local village she belongs to, she met him when he was actually coming to finish her off, as his boss Unnithan (Saikumar) feels she is the reason for his family's misfortune. On seeing her pitiful condition and her fear, Srank could not bring himself to do it and instead becomes her protector and friend. The progress of their relationship to one of love is captured by Unnithan's daughter in law, who seems to be caught in a cage of her own in the household and finds in Kali and Srank an outlet for her suppressed desires, as she writes about them.
The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. Kerala on its own is a enthralling beautiful place and it becomes a sight to behold when framed through a creative lens. The acting is almost flawless for the most part, though I don't think Mammooty is the only one who deserves credit here. In fact, I would say it's the powerful supporting characters I took away the most from the movie.
But at the end of the day, if you ask me what it was all about and what was the point, I may still not be able to give a concrete answer. However, maybe that's not the point. Like all great works of art, Kutty Srank is an experience to be savored in the moments. Just like life.