 |
| Kadaram Kondan Movie Review: A Tearjerker With A Message |
Kadaram Kondan is one of the few Tamil films that has touched the hearts of movie critics and audiences alike. The film portrays the story of a man who has been cheated by his own family.
The first half of the film is set in Chennai, while the second half is set in Kondan, where the protagonist, who is now a doctor, is doing his house-job. Watch the Kadaram Kondan movie review to find out more about the movie.
Kadaram Kondan
U/A: Marathi, Hindi Director: Ranjit S. Mkali Cast: Rajesh M Selva, Sunil Sukhtankar, Sanjana Jadhav Rating: Wife! Wife! Wife! I know you are angry. Tell me honestly, are you glad I left your childless womb? If you were angry, you would be lying.
But you are not and neither am I. You, Sunil (Sunil Sukhtankar)… you know why… How long can I live here, with my bare feet planted on your mouth? Sunil is a college student, son of a wealthy businessman and loves staying by his parents’ side.
Dada (Sunil Sukhtankar) and Maa (Sudhir Mishra) were young and were high school sweethearts, but their marriage broke up because Maa was pregnant with Sunil’s younger sister. Now there is no one to talk to except his father. Which is also why he still carries the burden of his sister’s childhood.
Introduction
Based on the Telugu novel by Mettur Krishna, Kadaram Kondan is a story of a man who strives to make life easier for a prostitute, who is abandoned by her family. It shows how he takes care of her till she becomes stable, and starts an economic journey to bring her up and make her a self-sufficient woman.
Rajesh M Selva made a riveting debut with Kadaram Kondan. His story with good execution helped the movie to draw the viewers to the theatres. But at the same time, it had many flaws which affected the commercial aspects of the film.
And hence, it could not gain the success it deserved. This remake of Tamil movie En Kadhal Kanmani, which released in 2011, is directed by Rajesh M Selva and has Shilpa Manjunath in the lead role.
Cast
Rajesh M Selva, Jeeva, Gollapudi Maruti Rao, Abhimanyu Singh Direction The late K. P. Sharma Oli's last film 'Khaidi No.150' is one of the most watched films of the year. 'Khaidi' came out as a commercial failure, but has now earned the status of a cult classic.
While many wrote that it would mark a turning point in Telugu cinema, none could have imagined the change that the films would bring about in the careers of a handful of young film-makers like Vijay Sankar and Puri Jagannadh.
A genre of films which was referred to as 'mad films' became the new trend, and another genre of films known as 'bizarre films' also emerged. Rajesh M Selva comes with another bizarre film which is 'Kadaram Kondan', which is actually a biography on the famous film personality Shri Bhanu Krishna.
Acting
The performances in the film are commendable. Vyshak was excellent with his craft and was well supported by Ramgopal and Pandey. However, Chitragupta who played Vijay who comes back from the US doesn't have the required screen presence and had an almost invisible role in the film.
Bhargavi gave an adequate performance and also has good screen presence. Ravi Varma's dialogues have the right word for them. Overall, 'Kadaram Kondan' had good performances and some lovely music and cinematography.
Technical Aspects S Thaman has composed some great songs and the background score is one of the attractions of the film. Prakash Raj is the only name here who comes to mind and he proved himself to be an asset to the movie. P.S. Kumaran's cinematography too is worth a mention.
Overall
'Kadaram Kondan' is worth a watch for Rajesh M Selva, who appears in a sparkling grey suit with a rather old-fashioned avatar that does not matter one bit as a person will love it anyway. From the power-packed dialogues to Pawan Kalyan's consistent efforts to bring in a progressive message, the film works on many levels.
Story Bheem Army leader Veerappan is abducted by Union minister Shambhu and his goons, but is rescued by Rajesh's character Naveen. The ordeal leaves him with a shocking revelation that ends up breaking his marriage.
Director Kishore Kumar Pardasani is known for his low-budget horror films and hence the storyline of the flick sounds intriguing and rather new. The plot plays a vital role in whether the movie works or not.
Rating
4/5 'Kadaram Kondan' is about the pain of parents of a girl child, who is left to a life without a life companion. Most of the child marriages happen in villages in the name of caste, politics or property and 'Kadaram Kondan' takes us to one such village where society forces a child to marry without the blessings of parents.
Rajesh M Selva plays a father to the girl named Sundari (Tillotama Shome) and other characters like Savithri (Radhika Rao) and Ranga (Manivannan) are his loving sisters. Sundari comes from a poor family and lives with her parents Madhavan and Uma. What happens when they can no longer support her in whatever decision she takes is the theme of this film. The film has been rightly termed as '90s Tamil Family film.
The Story
 |
| Kodaram Kondan Story |
Hamsa (Nithya Menen) is a carefree, bold, extroverted woman in the city. She comes to the village as a maid for the very much disapproving and afraid old couple. Her determination to make her mark in life comes to light through various incidents and hardships that she goes through in her life and she ultimately wins her family's respect and love.
The Good Nithya Menen steals the show, and that too with her determined, bold, never-take-No-For-An-Answer and smart take-down of those who question her courage. There are several striking moments in the film, but Hamsa's pregnancy scene and the closing ones between Rajesh M Selva and Nithya Menen, that would blow your mind away.
The Performances
Rajesh M Selva pulls off the histrionics with ease, but the kind of narration that the story has has nothing appealing about it. The action sequences and romances are nicely woven into the narrative, but the other unnecessary portions that sneak in just to make the story edgy are not worth the trouble.
Though he seems to make an effort, Ravi Koduri fails to leave an impact. He plays the full-on entertaining role of Janardhan who's absolutely crazy about Kanna and only wants to be with her. In order to fool him, Anjali tells him that he has been sending her messages through their friend Ramu (Jagapathi Babu).
Upset with the fact, he goes on to plan to kill him and destroy her photos and other pieces of evidence. In the process, he gets trapped in a metro railway, and gets badly injured.
The Direction
'Kadaram Kondan' has given a run for its money to its favourite son Shankar Nag's 'Amaram' (1984) which has paved the way for the modern-day mass entertainers in Kollywood. As a director, Rajesh M Selva does his best to live up to the expectations.
But, to his dismay, the film falls flat on its face. Rajesh M Selva has been indulging in masala cinema for the past decade now. He has tried his best to keep the genre alive with various films such as 'Sneham Irundhal', 'Thai Peyam Illadaai' and 'Aaduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'.
Unfortunately, none of them made it to the hallowed halls of the award ceremony. In 'Kadaram Kondan', Selva takes a turn towards a new genre and that proves to be his undoing. 'Kadaram Kondan' is not a masala film per say.
Conclusion
'Kadaram Kondan' has left the critics divided with polarised Rajesh M Selva who loves watching masala movies with a bucket full of Masti. Whatever you do, don't expect something new in terms of content. It's a routine film that follows the lines of Ajith's "Vedalam" that deals with body-snatching.
The remaining good points in the film are the music, the cinematography, the acting and the story. The crassness of the genre has seeped into the plot. That's where the film leaves you. The film begins with a chilling incident.
A man in a huff takes his daughter away on her wedding day and leaves her on the roadside and sits at the entrance of the village and watches her. As if that is not enough, an entire family is eaten up by the tumour as if it were a bed-ridden person in the streets.