Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The postman
In the recent Kannada movie “Agnyathavasi,” (person in exile), veteran actor Rangayana Raghu plays the role of Govindu, an inspector in the village of Nalkeri. Set in the late 90s, before the age of cell phones, it is a place where almost everyone knows each other. In all of Nalkeri, there is one post office and one postman, who delivers letters to the entire village.
One day, a large package reaches the post office; inside the package is a computer, a rarity during those days in India’s rural pockets. The computer belongs to a teenager named Rohit (Siddu Moolimani), who soon makes the machine a source of income. For a fee, he delivers printed emails to the village folks whose loved ones have settled abroad, while occasionally reading them to those not conversant with the English language.
Investigating the death of a citizen
This peaceful setting in Nalkeri is disturbed by news of the death of a senior citizen. Initially thought to be caused by natural reasons, Govindu suspects this may have been a murder after visiting the house of the deceased. His investigation into the events leading to the death and the eventual resolution form the rest of the plot.
In Agnyathavasi, director Janardhan Chikkanna and writer Krishna Raj adopt a multiple timeline screenplay structure, one where the same scenes occasionally play out multiple times, only to illustrate key moments in the plot at the right time. For instance, a seemingly unimportant detail or a side conversation is better understood in a different context at a later time in the movie. While this technique may be gimmicky and manipulative in some movies, it is effectively used in Agnyathavasi, helping with the slow and steady progression of the investigation and the plot itself.
An emotional battle
But Agnyathavasi isn’t just about this one murder. It is a deep dive into the emotional battle that Govindu is fighting in his mind. For 25 years, he has been performing the annual death anniversary ritual for his deceased mother. He performs the rituals single-handedly, even cooking an elaborate meal himself and serving the villagers. His siblings are notably absent from the event for several years, but he appears to share a deep bond with his deceased mother and has not come to terms with her death after so many years. Their relationship offers a revelation, but one that the director divulges much later, tying it neatly to the investigation that he leads.
The movie is authentic in its representation of the life and times in a village before the turn of the century. The movie taps into the turmoil that the elder generation faces watching their kids drift far from them, emotionally and physically. True to how a villager would be, the person responsible for the murder isn’t really devious and confesses to their crime after a brief interrogation.
There are no sophisticated weapons used for the act, just a locally available poisonous piece of stem. And there are generous references to elements often associated with rural lifestyle – nature, animals, and omens that people believe in.
Agnyathavasi stays true to its central theme, both in intent and execution.
