Vidheyan

After watching Bramayugam, I was reminded of Vidheyan, a film I had long intended to watch but never got around to. This 1994 classic by Adoor Gopalakrishnan delves into the psyche of an oppressed man serving an authoritarian master. Set in the forests of Dakshina Kannada, it follows Thommi (Gopakumar), a migrant laborer from Kerala who finds himself enslaved to Bhaskara Patel (Mammootty), a tyrannical landlord feared by the villagers.

Mammootty's performance here is chilling-he dominates the screen, wielding his cane like a weapon of control. Thommi, on the other hand, is the epitome of submission, blindly obeying orders without a shred of autonomy. The film's authenticity is enhanced by its localized language, featuring Kannada dialogues and regional references, including places like Ichlampadi and Arishinamakki. Notably, Mammootty dubbed his own Kannada lines, adding to the realism.

While Vidheyan is not directly related to Bramayugam, some framing choices and themes of subjugation and psychological torment feel eerily familiar. Watching both films together offers an interesting study of power dynamics in Malayalam cinema.

Vidheyan follows the tale of Thommi a slave who is struggling between his sense of morality and the loyalty he has for his master, the Tyrannical Patelar. From the very start of the film, what caught my attention was the menacing presence of Mammookka every time he was on screen. The oppressive nature of his character Patelar and the complete opposite character of Thommi was something that the two artists excellently portrayed. Another thing that was instantly evident was the tone of the film, aesthetically beautiful and calm, contrasting the brutality of Patelar.

Thommi was a tough character to decipher, with his views and actions changing throughout. All I could conclude was that, he would do anything to stay on the side of power, except take that power for himself. A cowardly character who is okay with just surviving instead of taking control of his own life. The side characters were also quite interesting, all contributing to the extraordinary performances.

While the movie itself was on the slower side, the story was engaging and visually intriguing. While I didn't feel satisfied with the conclusion, the experience was very memorable. My first taste of Adoor Gopalakrishnan films and it stayed with me for a long time after viewing.

Vidheyan (1994) : Brief Review -

Adoor Gopalakrishnan's overdose of faithful Slavery lacks poignant flap but is saved by Mammootty and GopaKumar's Rock-solid performances. Vidheyan starts off on painful note where we admire the realistic tone and uttermost brutality of the main character. It is a common notion that as a viewer one expects the film to either make a sense or show the horrible facts or sometimes break the silence on the same but Vidheyan fails to convey a positive message except that it has a positive message coming off without fighting for it. Thommy, a Christian migrant worker from Kerala is an obedient slave of his aggressive, tyrannical landlord Bhaskara Pattelar. Thommy obeys all the orders of his master, whether it is to make his own wife sexually available to his master or in killing Pattelar's kindly wife, Saroja. When Pattelar escapes to a jungle, due to his own deeds, Thommy escorts him like a pet. But when Pattelar is killed Thommy exults in freedom. Thommy's faithful services were just too much. He himself knows that his Mater is doing so many wrong things, he even warns him everytime but at the end when i saw him grieving for the master i was like, has he lost it? He should have been happy actually. I didn't really understand the point here that was it an attempt to show just the tyranny and not fight against it or was it about escape by luck? From both the sides it had shortcomings. I recalled Shyam Benegal movies from 70s which had the same themes about Tyranny, cruelty and depotism of upper class people but those films had fightback segments to make it inspirational and hard-hitting. Vidheyan lacks that fightback attitude throughout the film. Mammootty and GopaKumar's performances are outstanding and that's why this slow paced film becomes fantastically watchable. I just wish Adoor sir had gone for aggressive cinema rather than defensive tone.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

The 1st Adoor Gopalakrishnan film tat I saw was this. Reading about his directorial prowess, I had to see at least 1 film of his. I was impressed and how. Mammootty is plainly put, outstanding. His 2nd National Award for Best Actor was jointly for Vidheyan and Ponthan Mada. After seeing Mammootty act, or rather live, the role for around 10 minutes, you'll understand why he got the award. The film is about a master-servant relationship. It's a beautiful film in all aspects. Kudos to Adoor for making this film. Be warned Mohanlal fans, watching Vidheyan may just force you the turn the tables! Mammootty is arguably the best actor who showcases anger. His look is stunning. His accent is spot-on. His facial and eye expressions are perfect. This film is right up there among the greatest films and more so, among the greatest performances by an actor.

In the case of making art house aesthetic films Malayalam and Bengali films are best.So another evidence that malayalam film is the best in India.This movie is an absolute gem.Mammootty as patelar really shocked with amazing performance.