Ozhivudivasathe Kali

The idea is great. But it drags too much. The movie is like few middle aged men deciding to drink in a holiday. And all the things they did is being captured. Well, the DOP doesn't make us feel the presence of camera. It's about misogyny and casteism. It depicts the attitude of majority of upper class Indians. And the fact that it's set up in one of the best states in India. Kerala is great when you compare it to other states. But the ground reality is even though people are educated, the majority aren't progressive. This movie is relevant all over India.

This is the movie that I watched in the theater with no expectations.

It's about 5 friends who are enjoying election day in a farmhouse.

At a peak time, the inside criminalization of everyone will come out.

The movie is talking about politics which is everyone keeps in their minds.

Viewers will feel little Lag, but it's a must-watch movie.

It took me more than six months to find a source and watch this highly acclaimed social drama. And once I finished watching it, I understood why people use so many adjectives to define it.

On an election day in the Indian state of Kerala, a group of five adult friends decide to spend an entire day in a dilapidated building few kilometers away from the city hustle-bustle. Their aim is to engage in incessant boozing and revisit the good old times. However, once they begin and reach a point where debauchery (albeit without sex and other drugs) sounds like an understatement, things start to go south. The members of the group, in their own idiosyncratic inebriated ways, begin to share their opinions. Heated discussions ensue as the nature joins them, lashing out its unparalleled powers through a downpour. One thing leads to another and things get rocky, but eventually they calm down, only to next play a silly game. A game they used to play when they were in school. A game which they don't know is not as innocuous as it seems to be.

The first thing that viewers are going to notice in the film is the terrible cinematography. All excuses of it being intentional goes down the drain because you cannot see anything. A bunch of people are conversing - that's all you will understand in the first 20 minutes. What they are talking about? Or who is presently talking? Nope. You will see leaves and barks in place of human faces.

In the first 20 minutes, you will perceive it as five adults fooling around on an off-day just because they can. Ogling at that lady who is preparing tapioca and chicken curry for them or forcing the helper guy to consume uncontrolled amounts of alcohol is what they essentially do. Then they begin to talk about politics, the society, the concepts of rape and hypocrisy - and that's when the bitterness sweeps in. It's like the thunderous downpour brings a wave into the room where these people are sitting, igniting their selves to speak up and engage in debates.

A lot of topics such as racism and caste discrimination are sampled here before the film crescendos to its final juncture where the subject shifts to that of "corruption in a democracy". The game they play is one that most of us have played at least once. But, the metaphoric perception the writers bring with it is remarkable. Unni R's story shines light into the natural state of a constitution and how corruption breeds in it due to the people and their outlooks. Sasidharan uses raw footage to convey the story and succeeds to some extent. He tries to embarrass the audience by showing them their own mirror images in the five protagonists as they set out.

You cannot call the film entertainment because it has no qualities of being any. This is serious cinema and should be perceived as a strong message to the people at large who do not mind consuming chicken, but repulse at the thought of killing a hen. It's a film that is going to haunt you for at least a day. After that, you will forget about it because that's how we all are. Like dust in the wind which moves on and on.

It is evidently made on a shoestring budget with heavy usage of improvisation. The dialogues and actions were allegedly spontaneous as Wikipedia tells me, and it may be true. The final long shot of more than 50 minutes is amazing to watch, along with the heart-rending climax.

BOTTOM LINE: Sanal Saidharan's "Ozhivudivasathe Kali" is a disturbing film which speaks truth and nothing but the truth. Watch it today on Reelmonk!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Ozhivudivasathe Kali is the film which places the viewer inside the movie as just as a"viewer". Here every spectator was glued to the lens of the camera. For the first 15 to 20 minutes there is long range shot which is merely audible what the characters are saying. The whole frame is blurred coz of the branches and leaves. I was disturbed with that in first place. Eventually it is understandable that the director wanted us to be like that. We met a complete bunch of strangers, a group of 5 boozing in a bush near to the road. Sanal didn't followed the conventional methods by introducing the characters with a voice over or their conversations. When the movie eventually goes forward we get to know the characteristics of each person. It shows the sheer brilliance of the director. The performances of lead actors are realistic in such a way that we get lost whether we are in a movie or not. The only woman Geetha is representing the today's women who is oppressed by the male dominated society. The last scene of Geetha and the anger she showed by hitting the slippers in the ground represents the frustration of every women in the society. The journey of 5 budding friends to the arguments and fights which brings out the true colours of the conventional society. At last the game white sounds childish turns into the mishap which shows how power centered politics of our great democracy deals with oppressed in our society . It shows the hypocrisy of every human when they tore their masks of common man. Then the woman alone is just piece of flesh only differs whether we should seduce her or rape her. Then the black guy in the group is supposed to be a laughing stock for their racist jokes. Sanal also put the lights on how the judicial system bend the rules and how it deals with the different sects of people. Sanal deserves a standing ovation in the end . The technical side was so perfect even I didn't noticed that the second half of the movie is mostly shot in a single shot. The river shown in between every incidents, which really feels like it's a mirror he put towards us to understand what are we and what we've done. End note: There is no films in recent history of Malayalam cinema which had made an impact on me than ozhivudivasathe kali. its haunting and fascinating at the same time. Sanal Kumar sasidharan is the best invention in recent times of Malayalam industry.

Best malayalam movie ever. Everyone one should watch this movie. It shows how our society discriminates human's in the name of sex, cast, colour etc....