Kaadu Pookkunna Neram - Malayalam Movie Review

The latest film from Dr. Biju has a clear vision and takes a strong political stance on the maoists movement and the timing of the release, well can't see a better time to release Kaadu Pookkunna Neram. Amidst all the unfortunate drama that has pulled down Malayalam film industry to a very low level, the director of the movie is able to find some thirty odd theatres along with the multiplexes operating in the state to exhibit his movie.

But the timing that I was referring to is not related to the strike within the film industry but is linked to the recent killing of people who were termed as Maoists by the state machinery and the plot that the movie discusses. It may be pure coincidence but definitely I felt it was an apt time to get the movie in front of the public (the movie was already aired in IFFK 2016) to see what it wanted to convey.

A little bit of spoiler is present in this and the following paragraph about the plot and hence I advise you to skip it if you are yet to watch the movie. A group of policemen are sent to a remote jungle and they camp in a little school of just two rooms. The school is where little children belonging to the adivasi tribes are taught. The mission of the police is to catch maoists activists operating inside the forest and their main crime was stealing rice sacks from Government godown.

One of the policemen gets isolated inside the deep jungle while chasing down a maoist. Whether he can make it back to the camp and ignorant of what the maoists are, whether this policeman can get a better insight into their movements, thats what Kaadu Pookkunna Neram discusses in a strong way.

I feel we the general public and also the the State and law enforcement agencies have certain perception about the maoists activities and in the same way the movie also has certain perception towards it. It comes out successfully in conveying what the perception of the movie is towards the movement. The way in which it is done and what stand or what side the movie takes is presented in a very strong manner.

Screenplay written by Biju himself has aided in covering up some loose ends. The dialogues were very powerful and is used to convey what is the stand of the director towards maoists activities. A slight uneasiness and unpleasantness was felt in the way the dialogues were rendered that had an overly dramatic feel. But despite this dialogue presentation issue, the movie in totality is neatly executed one which has a few areas where cinematic liberties have been taken even though a realistic approach is adopted in the narrative.

On the casting side, both Indrajith and Rima Kallingal were apt for their respective roles. Both their characters names are never revealed. In fact none of the characters in the movie have their names revealed at any stage of the movie. The problem area was in the dialogue presentation especially Rima who was guilty of going a bit too dramatic in the dialog rendition part but that doesn't take away any credit from the efforts she has taken in getting transformed into the character that the director has imagined and visualized. Prakash Bare, Indrans and Irshad are also part of the acting team.

The movie has a visually appealing presence and have effectively captured that feel of the jungle remarkably. Background score is used in a limited manner and it gave that perfect feel that suited the theme as well as the forest background through which the story takes its shape. Sound design is another notable aspect in the movie and whoever has done it deserves a pat on his back.

Kaadu Pookkunna Neram is definitely a must watch film and has that trademark style of Dr. Biju written all over it. A strong subject is what the movie had in its kitty and that subject gets the deserving treatment and in the process makes the political statement that the director wanted to convey.

Rating - 3.5 / 5