Kishkindha Kaandam
Malayalam / Drama 123 minsDisney+ Hotstar
No spoilers
After the Golden summer, Malayalam cinema took a little breather, allowing me to enjoy other content. Before long, here comes the ace in the pack. A movie is a lesson in filmmaking with superb editing, excellent Pacing, good Story, a Screenplay masterclass, with one standout and 3 captivating performances.
At this time of the year, I did not expect any movie to push into my Top 3/5 for 2024, but this one leapfrogs right in!
"Kishkindha Kaandam" is one of the episodes from the Ramayana. But for the apes that share the forest home with the protagonists, there does not appear to be any obvious connection.
A grumpy ex serviceman Appu Pillai (Vijayaraghavan) is the head of the family. While his elder son works and lives away from him, the younger son Ajayachandran (Asif Ali) is his support. Ajayan works in the Forest department. He has recently married Aparna (Aparna Balamurali), who has given up her IT job in Bangalore and seems very happy to have moved to this remote town at the edge of the forest.
An election is around the corner. The code of conduct which expects anyone with a licensed firearm to deposit the same at the nearest police station, Appu Pillai is unable to locate his "Smith and Wesson" pistol. This is a surprise because Pillai is shown to be a very organised man. His carefully organised room hosts the stories of his past life. He does his own chores, drives his own car. He speaks few words, has very few active friends ( a colleague Amrith Lal ( Tamil actor Nizhalgal Ravi) and Sumadathan (Jagadish).
Aparna is trying hard to be one in the family - Ajayan's past and Appu pillai's actions seemingly have a connection. The Story, screenplay, dialogue is delicately laid out by Bahul Ramesh, which director Dinjith Ayyathan masterfully assembles into world class cinema.
Bahul Ramesh also shares cinematography credits (quite a rare combo with writing!), which is pretty good. The Drone camera allows a lot of lovely wide shots of the forest, while he also captures the beautiful indoors in low lights. The background score is good by Mujeeb Majeed. However, as a keen movie soundtrack follower, i noted liberal inspiration from scores by composer Hans Zimmer.
Vijayaraghavan's stoic performance is beautiful. Asif Ali is having a superb year and he uses his soft voice and eyes to express his hapless devotion to his family. A very different performance from the upright cop in Thalavan. Aparna Balamurali is good as well. Nizhalgal Ravi is classy , beautifully weaving Tamil in an effortless performance.
The last 10 mins of the movie will shake you! Perhaps the only hint i offer, with a rare and earnest imploration to watch this Tale of Three wise monkeys.
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