Kaduva: What is a mass film without euphoric highs or wretched lows

One of the best things about a well-working commercial blockbuster is the highs and lows that the film presents the audiences with. The recent successful films in this format exhibits a brilliant pre-interval block, a stunning portion that would take the lead characters through gut-wrenching low before the films comes to an end on a high note. This, of course, doesn’t mean that the film will end on a happy note. It just will leave the audiences feeling a sense of high, one that leads to the film being appreciated and being labelled success. This, unfortunately is exactly what is missing from the recent Prithviraj-starrer Kaduva directed by Shaji Kailas.

This film marks Shaji Kailas return to the Malayalam film industry after almost a decade. The directed had last helmed Jayaram-starrer Ginger which released in 2013. Considering the paramount of expectations placed on this film, it is regrettable that Kaduva is a film with good sensibilities that fail in the basics. Kaduva is about what happens when an arrogant man’s — Joseph Chandy Manjiledathu — ego is hurt in public. There is revenge, and this revenge entails a fair amount of cerebral planning. Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan’s (Prithviraj Sukumaran) intention had been to exact revenge from a priest who had misbehaved with a young girl in the church. Joseph’s intervention in this matter is what sees the two of them locking horns but there is not much spark to these conflicts really. At one point, it becomes clear that the film hopes for these sparks to occur while it combines slow motion action sequences with background score.

The hopes are dashed because there is no real effect to these scenes. Be it the introduction fight in the prison, or the conversation that occurs in the interval block between Joseph and Kuravachen, they are all lukewarm. The electric charge that audiences are expected to feel in such scenes is insipid, and this in essence is the undoing of Kaduva.

Speaking of the female characters in the film, Samyuktha Menon plays Kuravachen’s wife Elsa and the wife of three kids. She is sexually harassed by the pries, the one whom her husband had opposed to at the very beginning of the film. So in Kuravachen’s absence, this pervert of a man decides to take advantage and Elsa does everything to fight this man. Beyond the politics of this scene, it is clearly a scene set up to bait the male lead. It is set up to prove later, at some point in the film, that Kuravachen is a protector. It is to establish the fact that Elsa is his, and he would exact revenge for what Elsa had experienced. He doesn’t lose his temper the moment he learns about the truth, however, and awaits the right time. This is not the problematic saviour complex, it is just the male ego, the very center of this film that manifests its ugly head.

Mind you, one cannot dismiss this film as bad. It is a mediocre film with an interesting set up — a local plantation owner going head to head with not just the church that he goes to, but also an inspector general with political influence. This is a family man who has a reputation for being the tough guy in the neighborhood, the go-to guy to sort out issues that fall on the right side, morally speaking. When one has to bring such a guy down to his knees, there is a lot of cerebral work that the villain must do, but none of this really takes form on screen. Until the moment that Kuravachen ends up in prison, what really unravels on screen is the many ways in which Joseph managed to make life hard for him. While the struggles of Kuravachen is all out there to be seen, Joseph’s plotting is not.

All of this magic missing from the screen only hinders the overall performance. This could have been the blockbuster that Prithviraj had hoped it would be. In many interviews, he expressed how he reads a desire in the audience to enjoy a commercial fun film. While he did read the audience accurately, the film fails to cater to these very needs, and instead of conflicts that gives one goosebumps and whistle-worthy confrontations, we have a sober version that is entertaining. Just not as much as one would except.

One of the common problems that commercial films — in Tamil and now Malayalam with Kaduva — face is the absence of a powerful villain. Only with a powerful villain can the influence and charisma of the hero be highlighted. In its absence, a larger than life character such Kuravachen also becomes two-dimensional, which has nothing going for it except slow motion fight sequences and intense dialogue delivery.