Thangalaan Movie Review: Vikram-starrer gives a deep insight into the search for identity by the oppressed.
Vikram Thangalaan Review: Why do we study history? What is in the past that helps the present, and understand the future? Some say we read history to avoid mistakes, and not repeat the faults of our ancestors. Some say we read history to learn of our legacy, and how we are just the pale shadows of the past. And then, some ask whose story is history? There is an oft-quoted African proverb that says the hunter will always be the hero until the lion tells the story. In every possible way, Pa Ranjith tries to tell the story of the invisibilised, the overlooked, the oppressed, and the ones left behind. In his latest endeavour, Thangalaan, which is also his boldest attempt at storytelling, Ranjith takes up the story of how people were exploited to mine gold from the Kolar Gold Fields. Thangalaan is Ranjith’s first direct attempt at revisionist history, and he ropes in concepts like multigenerational memories and magical realism to reiterate that often the oppressed are forced to choose between ‘lesser of the two evils.’
Thangalaan begins with Vikram, the titular character, waking up from a dream; a dream that has been haunting him for years. A dream that features the sorceress Aarathi (a brilliant Malavika Mohanan) and a search for identity. It is this quest that makes him and his family the only land-owning family in the village of Veppur in North Arcot. Not wanting to allow Thangalaan and his family to be independent, the village zamindar makes them his bonded labourers by using nefarious means. But this quest for identity never stops, and when a silver-tongued Britisher asks the Veppur villagers to join him on his quest to find the famed gold mines, which the villagers believe to be haunted, Thangalaan is the first to volunteer. However, Ranjith and his team of writers aren’t just invested in the life and times of Thangalaan. They also allow other characters the space to grow and express themselves.
Pasupathy plays a character who anoints himself as a Brahmin hoping for a place in Vaikunta. He believes this identity will give him a life better than being stuck in Veppur as a bonded labourer. He believes in their God in the hope that it will allow him a place in their heaven after his death. Then, there is the Britisher Clement (a terrific Daniel Caltagirone), who wants to find a place in history as the man who discovered the mines. There is Gangamma (a wonderful Parvathy Thiruvothu), who prides on being a mother but wants to be respected as a wife, and a woman. These characters’ search for their identity, and identifying the right ones is the bedrock of Thangalaan.
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It is the sketching of these characters, even the ones in the periphery that gives Thangalaan a beautiful sheen. And how good are all the actors! Vikram does what he does best, and he surrenders to the world of Thangalaan; every aspect of his physical and mental being screams ingenuity, pain, and a sense of wonderment. He is the voice of reason despite seeing apparitions. He is a leader who knows that he is moving from the pan into the fire, but it is better to fight with nature than struggle inside the boundaries set by others. Be it Parvathy, Pasupathy or Daniel, every actor plays real characters in a magical world and manages to remain rooted. And when I say every character, I mean every character, including Anandsami’s character that looks down upon Thangalaan and his people, the families in the Veppur village, the king and his men from a bedtime story Thangalaan narrates to his kids, and Daniel’s friend, who sees Thangalaan as the Satan. But a sense of hurry creeps in the way many of these characters are written off. It is saddening to see some beautiful ideas like a wailing villager not getting his due. Thangalaan is that kind of film that could have done with more breathing space, and a more expansive, even briefly expository, narrative.
On the other hand, Thangalaan greatly benefits from the holistic look of oppression, and platforming the voices of the oppressed that are often relegated to the periphery. Look at where the foot-tapping Minikki song is placed. Look at the joy in their lives. It reminds people who refuse to believe oppression exists even now that it has always taken various forms and shapes throughout history. Every moment of happiness in the lives of these characters is soon followed by a huge grief. But the irony is that this dichotomy isn’t just relegated to the protagonists. We see Clement lose exactly what Thangalaan loses. Two leaders, in search of something, lose something even more precious. But again, what differentiates these two sides of the same coin? It is the intent, and it is this intent that keeps Thangalaan afloat whenever it meanders.
Initially, Thangalaan moves ahead like an adventure film featuring a motley group of people sticking together to reach the promised land. This adventure through rivers, forests, wild animals, venomous snakes, and the vagaries of nature’s wrath is reminiscent of Selvaraghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan. Like the Karthi-starrer, Thangalaan finds magical realism interwoven with the adventure portions. Nevertheless, Ranjith treats these sequences with no sense of wonder and presents us with a raw, gory, and bloody journey. But even when they are on this adventure, Ranjith uses symbolism and a direct approach to remind the world about the cyclical nature of oppression and the fight against it. There are visceral images showcasing the idea of the inhabitants’ bleeding out to give a thieving world its wealth. There are characters spouting poetry to provide an understanding of their struggle to find an identity. An identity that is not handed, but taken. An identity that is worth its weight in gold.
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But this journey is also burdened by Ranjith’s attempts to tell a story with far-reaching implications. The film rambles around quite a bit, and there are well-made portions that don’t always feel cohesive with the narrative. Some of his audacious attempts at storytelling in Thangalaan get overburdened by the novelty factor. He isn’t always ably supported by the technicalities of the film that keep us at an arm’s length at times. Sync sound and the underwhelming mixing drown the lines in places. However, it is the compelling performances that tell the story even if the words don’t. The same is true of the film’s VFX, which isn’t always at par with the international standards Thangalaan aspires to have. But when they all come together in the terrific final act, Thangalaan becomes a different beast altogether. The editing pattern, GV Prakash’s thumping score, the stellar art direction, the brilliant cinematography, and the consistently effective performances from all actors give us an all-important insight into why Ranjith made a story about the search for gold.
But what is this gold? Is it just the Aurum that decides the rate of capitalism in the world? Is it about people developing teeth in the fight? Is it about people reclaiming what is theirs? It is all this, and much more, and Pa Ranjith doesn’t gently guide us to the golden light at the end of the tunnel. He pulls us through grime, stones, rocks, and dirt. This is not an easy journey, but perhaps, it wasn’t intended to be either. In the end, do we come richer off it? More importantly, if gold is the universal language, Thangalaan deals with the universal desire: identity.
Thangalaan Movie Cast: Vikram, Parvathy, Daniel Caltagirone, Pasupathy
Thangalaan Movie Director: Pa Ranjith
Thangalaan Movie Rating: 3
