Unpeeling layers to unravel a mystery
In many ways, filmmaker Dinjith Ayyathan’s Kishkindha Kaandam is the perfect antithesis to the remarkable Dhrishyam. In that film – both installments put together – there is one character who knows the entire truth. And so, to uncover that truth, we peel the layers of the film’s lead character George Kutty’s mind to solve the mystery of a missing body. Kishkindha Kaandam also deals with several things that are missing – a bullet, a weapon, and a character. And yet, no character knows the entire truth behind the film’s happenings. Even the ones closest to the many incidents that make up the mystery only know parts of the truth. In many ways, we are peeling the layers of the onion here too, but the experience is so different. The means and the end of Kishkindha Kaandam are so different from Dhrishyam but equally satisfying.
The plot unfolds organically without unnecessary drama seen in most movies. The movie starts with an uneventfully eventful gathering. There are muted celebrations at a registrar’s office, where a wedding is taking place. It is interrupted by a phone call from the local cops who visit a house looking for a missing weapon, one that forms the backbone of the plot.
In a later scene, during a long-distance Zoom call, we learn of a character that has gone missing from someone’s life. We slowly learn about the lead characters in the movie through their everyday interactions. As the mystery unwraps, we wonder if an elder sibling holds clues to the truth. Does an old friend have something to do with the missing weapon? We are neither spoonfed, nor are we told about the characters and their past through artificial moments. Not everything is laid out clearly in Kishkindha Kaandam, and that is by design.
The Stories Big Media Won’t Tell
38 years of authentic voices, fresh perspectives daily. Subscribe now for free and never miss a story that everyone’s talking about! 📰
Powerful cinematography
The movie is backed by its powerful cinematography, and it is interesting to note that the one wielding the camera for Kishkindha Kaandam is also the movie’s writer – Bahul Ramesh. And so, I was left wondering if the thick forests where the movie is set in are indicative of the movie’s plot. It could also be a metaphor to the complexities of the human mind, that is explored in such detail in the entire movie. It also serves to tell us that in a land where the sun’s rays can barely pierce through the thick vegetation and hit the ground, you may never find what you are looking for.
But Kishkindha Kaandam isn’t just about the mystery that we are looking to uncover. It is a fascinating exploration of the human mind. It is a deeply thought examination of the often-abused corporate dictum – “I don’t know what I don’t know”. It is about memories that are hidden in the most unreachable corners of our minds and a character’s constant efforts to find them.
Family & relationships
The movie is also a fascinating study of family and human relationships. Almost every character knows more than they can reveal to the other. But the tendency for them to hold back is either situational or fateful. Kishkindha Kaandam is not a silly mind game, nor do its characters play tricks with each other. The revelation in the end and the way it unfolds is deeply cathartic for everyone involved – even the audience.
Not only does the movie boasts of fine writing and cinematography, but its cast brings the plot and its characters to life beautifully. With his brooding looks, Asif is tailor-made for the central character of Ajay Chandran. Barely capable of a smile, he is perfect as the man trying hard to fix a broken relationship with his father, while simultaneously building one with the new woman in his life, played by National award-winning actor Aparna Balamurali. She is solid as the daughter-in-law whose entry into the family triggers the slow discoveries.
But the movie’s finest role is played by Vijayaraghavan, who is terrific as Appu Pillai, the patriarch of the house. Displaying a stern exterior for much of the movie, he looks every bit the military officer he once was, until his body language crumbles and Appu Pillai transforms into the movie’s most vulnerable, yet endearing character. The scene where he and his “friend” fight for a piece of paper that holds the key to truth that gives you the adrenaline rush of a Bourne Identity series.
For a movie that does not have a “villain,” Kishkindha Kaandam isn’t just a deeply meditative experience, but a gripping thriller too.