‘Nandan’ Movie Review: Sasikumar’s anti-caste film is high-hearted, but lacks subtlety and subtlety

Saravanan opens his film with a slide that challenges them that incidents like caste oppression and arrogant display of power dynamics do not happen in today’s India. Not only does he dare to disagree with it, but he ends the film with real-life Dalit panchayat presidents lamenting how their work is hampered and their positions are not taken seriously. More than making an entertaining movie, Saravanan and Sasikumar wanted to document something unfortunately still conventional and they certainly succeeded in that endeavour. But whether the film does justice to its premise — something that needs to be addressed immediately by those in power — is a different question.

Undoubtedly, the biggest problem with Nandan This is the ‘in-your-face’ perspective. Ironically, this slant in the film also gives it its most honest and realistic moments, especially when Saravanan takes a dig at contemporary politicians. But the lack of nuance, which seems to be a product of improper translation from prose to film, kills the immersive experience the film tries to achieve. An establishing shot of Kappulingam’s bedridden father (GM Kumar) begins with a cobweb-covered walking stick. A piece of stem that Ambethkumar’s son hastily buries, becomes a plant as a metaphor for how people and their ideologies are not buried but sown. Do you get the gist?

A still from ‘Nandan’ Photo credit: Special Arrangements

There is a shot of a young man being scolded by elders for playing rummy online, and another in which Ambethkumar’s wife Selvi (Suruthi Periyasamy), a cashew vendor, is duped by rich travelers on a highway, who run for it without paying her for the product even though they are Ambethkumar’s. While these scenes may provide additional context for the clan’s quality of life, none of these scenes add any value to the film’s proceedings. Similarly, the torture porn episode feels needlessly graphic towards the end of the film’s runtime. The film jumps from one scene to another with bumps big enough to slow down cashew thieves, and Sasikumar and Surithi’s unevenly applied dark make-up is not only artificial but also reiterates misconceptions and stereotypes around the interrelationship between caste and caste. Skin tone

but Nandan There are also silver linings, such as Ambethkumar doing a trial run for the Independence Day flag hoisting ceremony complete with a salute on his red towel, which can also be explained away. red greeting Some dialogue from Nandan Not just the political satire we are reminded of in Tamil cinema, but also stands as a testament to the filmmaker’s bravery in contemporary politics; A man of high caste is spoken of “Inda puli, siruthai na namakku agdhu” (Lions and panthers are not good for us). There is also a fantastic dialogue about how people used to believe that power and authority were necessary for ruling, but the truth is, it was also necessary for survival.

The film’s accomplished cast does most of the heavy lifting. Interestingly, the film is packed with director-actors, from GM Kumar to Samuthirakani (who makes an extended cameo) to the protagonist and antagonist, and they all do a solid job. Sasikumar portrays a challenging role beautifully, and Suruthi, on the other hand Balaji Sakthivel is also building an interesting filmography as an actor. But despite their performance and a much-needed message at the core, Nandan Succumbs to mediocre writing, resulting in a predictable ending that fails to provide the catharsis the film sets us up for.

Nandan is currently playing in theatres