Kottukkaali — The Adamant One
Brilliantly done!
It actually pays to not watch trailers and be delighted with the surprise the movie brings. I am glad I clicked on the film on Amazon Prime video and let me mention that the audio on Amazon Prime Video far exceeds the audio quality of films on Netflix, i.e. if you are hooking up an audio system such as a surround system (2.1 or 5.1) to your setup. I even set the audio on Netflix to its best possible setting and it still doesn’t come close the audio on Amazon Prime Video, though Netflix has a far better collection of films and documentaries. Btw, YouTube and SonyLiv audio is good too.
Anyway, back to the film. In the poster, as Anna’s make-up was so different I was unable to recognize her but when I did recognize her while watching the movie, it was such a pleasant surprise and was waiting to see what was in store in her first Tamil film. The other character I was waiting to watch was Soori and what a memorable performance he gives. This was my first film of Soori doing his offbeat and serious role that he has been donning in recent years. I have watched Soori only in his role as a comedian but he has proved his worth in this film.
Akin to the sacrificial rooster tied to a stone, Meena (played by Anna) visualises her life and basically the life of young women like her, as victims of patriarchy, male chauvinism and in the process, subject to male violence and demands. Isn’t she free to choose even the one she wants to love? The best part, there aren’t any scenes that show Meena in love with someone from another caste. In several scenes when Pandi (played by Soori) whom she is arranged to marry looks at her in the eye, he is shown thinking and deliberating. Probably he is wondering if all this is fair. Aren’t we tormenting a girl who just wants to be free?
When he watches the exorcism of another lady he is wondering if Meena (played by Anna) also has to suffer the same fate and why is a helpless rooster being sacrificed in the process? Aren’t we faking the fact that she is possessed when all that she wanted was to just love someone of her choice freely? The lovely ending only makes us think that Pandi will eventually let Meena go her way instead of making her go through this exorcism and torture and that by forcing his will on her in marriage will only result in a poor and unhappy relationship with her. In the end you are left wondering if Meena was really the adamant one or the helpless and defiant one. Anna talks probably just one line in the entire film, we decipher the rest from her myriad of expressions and moods.
I love road trip films and if you do too, you’ll love the routes and places the film takes you in rural Tamilnadu (actually around Madurai).
Throughout the film there is also this mystery and intrigue that something strange or untoward is going to happen at any moment, and the director has done this in all subtlety. Even in the scenes when the ladies go to ease themselves deep in the shrubs or when one of the ladies discovers she has had her period and goes to the woods to use her sanitary napkin. Btw, they aren’t hard on the eye scenes though one where dirt in the eye is taken out using the tongue was a difficult watch. And what all are ladies carrying in their blouses, wallets, mobile phones even sanitary napkins?
Several thought provoking scenes fill the movie , the small girl and the bull and the crow that comes to sit on the bull. How a small girl is able to handle a bull while the elders cannot even go near it and how a crow is freely able to sit on it without disturbing it. The brightly red coloured clothed Meena, with her hair let loose is another scene where the viewer along with Meena feels what it is to taste freedom.
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Even to this day honour killings in the name of caste takes place in India. Young people are the victims and “Kottokkaali” handles such a scenario differently and adeptly.
The initial message during the credits mentions that “No animals were harmed during the filming” was comforting because even if they were to show some killing, I was happy that it would be fake, in reality. I was also dreading watching some killings on screen but it wasn’t so. A sacrificial goat is also shown as part of a coming-of-age ceremony and with the sacrificial chicken you wonder why innocent animals have to be sacrificed for no reason or gain other than consumption.
The exorcism involving complete trust in an exorcist who may be indulging in fake and dubious procedures just to keep his believers spellbound and even fooled was done well.
After the turning of the auto rickshaw 180 degrees just wait for the bike turning scene too. These are fine-touches included in the movie. The most memorable scene however is the thrashing scene where the story of the movie is revealed. It may be mistaken for violence on women but it isn’t a glorification of violence, It is the truth of how women are treated in such communities. The scenes with Anna after the thrashing and with the little child were done very well. It’s a long single shot scene where Anna gradually tears up, taken very well. A lot of profanity does occur during these scenes, most of it muted but the situation is understandable.
The rustic Madurai Tamil language only beautifies the movie all the more.
Sivakarthikeyan produces this film. Both he and Soori were in “Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam” and it it not surprising he was willing to produce a film for his colleague and friend (who director Vinothraj and Soori call him “Annae” in Tamil meaning brother) and that too a film as this.
Kudos to P S Vinothraj for the wonderful direction.“Koozhangal”, his film that was sent to the 2022 Oscars in the Foreign Film category is certainly on my list. Wonderful camera work with several long single shots. Supporting cast and crew deliver too with literally no room for any kind of error or unwanted over acting.
Anna Ben has admitted that playing this role and the entire experience with the movie makers and crew in Madurai was the most rewarding and life changing experience of her career and life till date. I can only imagine why.
After Manjummel Boys, I would recommend this film anytime over “Laapata Ladies” to have been selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign film category for the 2025 Oscars.
Go for it. It is on Amazon Prime.
P.S — Watched “Garudan” the Soori thriller after his performance in Kottukkaali” but you can avoid that typical violent film.
