MOVIE REVIEWS

Kutty Sranku Review

Megastar Mammootty joins with award winning veteran director Shaji N. Karun in "Kuttysranku". "Kutti Srank" that translates into boat driver has Mammootty playing the lead role. It unfolds through the impressions three women living on different islands form of him when he arrives to deliver supplies. Mammootty, in turn, reacts differently to what the three women have to say about him. Anjali, who has been working with acclaimed cinematographer Santosh Sivan, will crank the camera for the film. "Kutti Srank" will also mark the maiden entry of Reliance Big Entertainment into the Malayalam film industry. Ace cinematographer-turned-director Shaji says Kutty Srank, enacted by Mammootty, is the story of a traveler who was at home in the waters of Kerala. Set in the mid-Fifties, the film unfolds through the eyes of three women – Revamma, Pemenna and Kali – whose memories resurrect the life and times of this man.
Director Shaji N Karun is one such person whose Kutty Srank starring Mammootty harks back to the olden days. The film is about a character whose story is told from three different perspectives by three woman he was involved in different stages of his life. Shaji N Karun's Kutty Srank narrates the story of a nomadic drifter who is forever lured by the call of the waves. It's not just the story of a man who could never get over his obsessive quest for truth and identity; it's a multilayered account of several other lives as well that got allured by the labyrinth of his rootless existence. The film is extremely complex and demands a repeated viewing on the part of the viewer if he is to really savor its magnitude.
The pivot of the narrative is Srank, and women narrate their experiences with him after he is found dead by the police. Revamma (Padma Priya) is the first to tell her story. She tells about his violent streak when he worked as a servant in her father's house. Revamma is a graduate in medicine from Ceylon, but who refuses to join her father's hospital and wishes to take up Buddhism as a rebellion against her father. Srank had supposedly killed her mother when she was a child. Up next is Pemmena (Kamalinee Mukherjee) who reveals the social revolutionary side of Srank. How he takes on a priest of an orthodox church who is against the freedom of creative expression. Srank, who is an orphan, does not believe in God. Still, he is given the role of the main lead in the play to be performed during the annual festival of the church which irks the priest and his staunch followers. The third one is Kali,(Meena Kumari) a mute lady who is supposed to be a bad omen by the villagers. She is four months pregnant with Srank's child when she narrates her story of how Srank protected her from the hostile villagers.
It isn't entirely a character expose of a man that Shaji attempts through 'Kutty Srank'. It is rather an authoritative treatise on convictions and the flimsy stuff that even the staunchest of them are made of. The mystery that pervades the life of Kutty Srank is deliberately dotted with numerous blanks that will leave the spectators - both of his life and the film - in perplexity. Nothing is what it seems in this intriguing exploration. The world of dreams could in most likelihood be the most real world out there, and the world of waking may in all probability be the most illusory one. We live in a state of consciousness that we believe to be true, until someone comes along and questions the very basic tenets of our existence. And then in our pursuit of answers we get smothered by questions that multiply by the dozen every moment.
We may have seen many stories using this kind of narrative technique. But here the main flaw is that there is no element of surprise or shock employed. It solely depends on Mammootty's skills to pull it off. There may be not much difference in his physical appearance in the three parts but he differentiates the between the three through his mannerisms and dialogue delivery. Shaji has some of the best technicians working for this film, and Anjali Shukla has crafted some brilliant frames that lend an additional visual charm to Srank's life. Sreekar Prasad has done a crisp assignment here and the original musical score by Isaac Thomas is nothing short of delightful. About cast,Of the three female leads; Padmapriya is dependable as usual. Though she does not have any extraordinary lines or demanding scenes, she still makes her presence felt. The other two actresses- Kamalinee Mukherjee and Meena Kumari -- have better scope of showing off their histrionic capabilities. Another catching and appreciable role in this flick is Suresh Krisshna's role.
Kutty Srank is Shaji Karun's latest offering may be layered in its narrative techniques but still it depends on Mammootty the actor and may not be for the entertainment or masala film viewer. Veterans joins, a classic eligent film borns !!
Verdict: Its Classic.