Speechless!!! Remarkable!!! Lump in our throats!!
Mark our words… You wouldn’t walk out of theatres without uttering these words after watching Bala’s Paradesi. It’s not an easy deal for any filmmaker to easily travel back to an era of 1939 for making a film based on this crucial concept. We’re sure, it’s only Bala, who can take us back to a journey into a different world through his movies and this one isn’t an exception.
Paradesi is a clamorous drama of joy, desolation and vain in the lives of labourors, who worked under the cruel landlords of Tea Estate in Ooty.
First things first, it’s a brilliant concept by Bala and no one can beat him over this context of making such an intriguing film. Decades back, it was his mentor Balu Mahendra set new trends with a stunning climax (he broke the stereotypical conceptualization of hero and heroine joining hands together in a climax with ‘Moondraam Pirai’). Now, don’t expect this to be an usual kind of Bala film, where tragedy can be awaited at any time. Yes, there are more heart-wrenching drama, but the climax is so shockingly repellant that you wouldn’t able to judge – is it a boon or bane to the protagonist. The climax is more than enough for you to remain stuck to the seats for the next few minutes even after the final credits.
On the dot, we aren’t able to cherry-pick the special highlights of this film for each and every element here are fantabulous. Maybe, it’s time for Oscars to knock the Indian doors. “When a Lincoln and Argo can, why not a Paradesi?’ you would boast with puffed vanity with this statement and feel excessively imperious to the world for a Tamil film delivered with an excellence.
You would remain as one of those desolated characters in the film witnessing the roughshod lives of the innocent souls. There are certain hard things, but quite a reality on landlords bowing their heads to British and even turn up as a pimp to save their status. Oops! It’s more than a lump in our throats.
Atharva, you’re beyond brilliance and the performance etched in every frame is a chromatic illustration of how a performer should be. Vedhika doesn’t get much scope, but manages to keep herself under spotlights. More than all, Dhansika’s overpowering emoting skill holds us spellbound from beginning till end. Not to miss the granny of Atharva, who leaves us in splits with her witty lines.
On the technical front, GV Prakash almost reaches the status of Maestro Ilayaraja at such a young age. His re-recording spell keeps us enchanted letting us emote with the same reactions as with accordance to the onscreen drama. Finally, it’s Chezhian pushing us straight into the world of 1939 with his Sepia-toned cinematography. Every shot cranked in the handheld and Crane is brilliantly placed.
On the whole, ‘Paradesi’ should be listed in the one of the 10 world cinema and it is a tangible symbol of excellence for Indian audiences to have such a masterpiece delivered from the native soil…
Watch ‘Paradesi’ and for the next couple of months you would never want to go to any other film just because it would get you of this feel.
Article Credit: Tamilwire
