Karthik Dial Seitha Enn — An indecent proposal??
“Some people are meant to fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together.”― Scott Neustadter, (500) Days of Summer
A movie that became a trend-setter a decade ago, has seen a sort of a sequel in the form of Karthik Dial Seitha Enn. VTV was a much celebrated film, had an almost cult status, that re-defined romance in Tamil cinema which made us wonder, “ Who said falling in love is easy?” VTV portrayed two complicated characters so madly in love who behave beyond any logic. Jessie as a woman who was torn by her dualities of existence, and Karthik who was head over heels in love with this woman, had a riveting climax where she gets married and moves to NYC and he makes a movie about them.
Fast forward 10 years, the 12 min long youtube video picks up from where they left off. We are introduced to Karthik who is imprisoned in his house(and in his mind) due to Covid-19, suffering from a writer’s block and has his own baggage of the struggles of a director(just giving us a preview of GVM’s actual struggle as a director, his pending releases, and his state of affairs). But the bigger news is, Karthik is still stuck in the past, so stuck that he needs his muse Jessie to inspire him all over again and what does he do? He calls Jessie! Now this is a premise that every audience who had loved VTV has been dying to watch- to know what happened to their most-beloved Jessie and Karthik, and how a conversation between the two would go about?
Jessie picks up the call, and there is no need for an intro from Karthik, not even a hello, he goes straight to the point, “ Kerala la irukkannu theriyum “. We come to know that Jessie is happily married to a very practical and an understanding spouse who trusts Jessie enough to respect Jessie and Karthik communicating and staying in touch. (whose name seemed to be mixed up since VTV days- Roy or Abraham?) and has twins. So far so good! Now why are we seeing so many memes and trolls all over the social media- I do not have any social media accounts and even I heard of all the trolls, that’s how viral this short film has become, and how much it has deeply impacted its audience.
When I watch a movie, I have learnt to remove myself from the actors, in other words, I do not put myself in the character’s shoes and view the movie- it helps me see the characters as is, appreciate the nuances, and I am more open minded to what the intent of the director is- I don’t do, “what would I do as Jessie?” or “How should Jessie behave?” in this instance. It helps me not to judge the characters or actions from my pov, but get a preview into the lives of 2 people. I am not going to get into- can a guy talk to a married woman with kids about wanting to be with her…Every human is different, relationship between any two people is unique for the two, and it’s not possible for an outsider to decode what was going on in their minds- what happens between two people is not for another to judge. With that disclaimer, let me share my 2 cents about this movie..
I am usually wary of sequels, when a movie is made at its prime, it has its own shelf life, and the director would have poured his heart and soul in etching multi-dimensional characters, and iconic shots and dialogues, and that’s why movies stay with us longer, and the characters become one of us, that we start loving the characters even though they might be unrealistic and larger than life. Sequels more than likely fail to create the same amount of magic. In VTV’s case, well, the characters seem to have caused a deeper impact on its audience.
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To me, GVM has retained consistency in his characterization of Jessie and Karthik- Karthik as a 23 year old was unrealistically in love with Jessie, “ un kaladi thadathil, naan kidappen” type, always had a burning passion towards Jessie, he is a guy who wouldn’t give up, “ en idhayam udaithai norungavey, en maru idhayam tharuven nee udaikkavey “. Jessie was, well Jessie, oscillating forever, but somehow knew that it would never work between the two and pulled the plug. Karthik as a 33 year old is still the same, how was his conversation with today’s Jessie any different than the coffee shop conversation when they were single?
Jessie never objected to how Karthik openly spoke to her(in language or actions) or his way of expressing love to her while she was single, and her marriage doesn’t stop her from asking outside the movie theater at the end of part 1, “ why do you like me so much?”, and today listening to Karthik saying, “I need you as any man would need a woman” she remains totally un-moved.
The problem I had with VTV was, there was no solid foundation in their love for me to root for their unison. They had nothing in common to share, they don’t talk about their careers or their interests, it’s just physical attraction that was portrayed in all of the 167 minutes, and apart from the fact that she is older and a christian- what else did they show for me to cheer for them? They did not convince me as a couple. Perhaps Jessie was well aware of their incompatibilities that she decided to call it off.
The way the phone conversation unfolded, just made me realize Karthik is still a man-child, in love with an ‘image of Jessie’ to the extent of obsession in the name of passion, and Jessie entertaining the conversation, is GVM alluding to us, that Jessiee still likes the “idea of Karthik”, the guy who is madly in love with her, its her un-attainable status is perhaps the only thing that keeps their relationship going and makes her desirable to Karthik? Jessie saying, “ angeyum ellam azhaga irukku” when speaking of her marriage does bother me, that “angeyum” instead of ange, just gives Karthik some sort of false hope. But isn’t that what Jessie is? In 2010 after getting married and moving to NYC, she asked Karthik, “ of all the girls, why do you like me so much- nan enna avlo nallavala?” She did not wipe the slate clean when she left. So yes, GVM stays true to his characters.
While Karthik is on the phone with Jessie, a rack of books are shown- from How the Secret changed my life, Robert E. Svoboda’s Aghora I, Aghora II book, Heal Yourself, Sensemaking, Seventh Sense, DMT the spirit molecule, ego is the enemy and so on, just gives a glimpse that he has been engaging in self-discovery and self-help all these 10 years, struggling for a spiritual awakening and inner peace and yet is truly helpless and needs Jessie to throw him a life line. We see a guy who is self-absorbed. During a pandemic, it’s not uncommon to call someone you know, for help, or advice or an inspiration. But he doesn’t even wait to hear her say about her kids or husband, jumps to his saga. There is one thing to say, “ you are behaving like a baby”, but calling your ex as, “ you are my third child “- that’s the cringiest dialogue that I have heard in recent movies… But again, its Jessie- everything goes in her and Karthik’s universe.
I couldn’t help but think of the opening scene of Super Delux with Samantha. Not much different there too, an ex is still sulking about Samantha, and calls her, and she is married but is guilt-ridden about her ex’s status, asks him to come over, and the rest is history. But I do not recall Samantha or that character who called her getting trolled, instead, the audience started rooting for Samantha at the climax when the police officer was about to abuse her- it is as easy to call Samantha a whore for that opening scene for cheating on her husband, but the audience seemed forgiving. So why are Karthik and Jessie getting trolled so much? Is the “TELL” — the dialogue of Karthik bothering them much more than the “SHOW” of the Super Delux? Partly yes, but more so because the audiences have emotionally invested in Jessie and Karthik. Many of the 20 somethings who watched VTV back then saw themselves on celluloid in the form of Jessie and Karthik, and it is unsettling, creepy to see their favorite characters take a different shade and cross boundaries.
The uncertain look on Jessie’s face at the end of the call just shows the pain due to ‘lack of closure’ and the messiness it creates that just stalls one’s life and goes around in a loop and we audience along with Jessie know clearly that we are back again with square one on this Ferris Wheel. Throughout VTV, all Jessie needed was one conversation with Karthik and she would start oscillating. The short film was an extension of VTV in showcasing the dynamics of an ended-yet not-so-ended type of a relationship and there is no full stop for this, until the characters Move on!
During this pandemic, the advice from psychiatrists, therapists, psychoanalysts all across the world was, “please reconnect with family, mend with your friends, but do not be tempted to call you ex :-)”. There was a valid reason a person becomes your ex, and dare not revisit that messy place. GVM along with his characters broke that 1 cardinal rule about ex-es and break ups. Love is Love, just because there is a breakup, does not mean, you start hating that person. One just finds closure, and moves on and always wishes that person well. Love does not mean holding hands with each other, but it also does not mean that you don’t have any concern for that person just because they are out of your life. First love is something that should be reminisced once in a while, but never to be revisited and returned. The final words on Karthik’ screen is beautiful and true, “ Some women and some people just don’t go away from you and your soul “ but it is also a valid statement to say, “Mind the GAP!” and don’t confuse love and lust. Love is a chapter in one’s life and not be all and end all, Life does Move On!
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