An emaciated storyline lost in the maze of imagery and metaphors! A story of courageous win albeit at a substantial price against an apathetic system has a lot of potential if handled by a director like Mari and performed by an awesome actor like Dhanush yet…….
The movie is filled with imagery, be it the powerful horse representing the dreams of the future generation, (remember the scene where ultimately it is a boy in the horse who succeeds in bringing back KARNAN into the village,) be it the present generation represented by the donkey in the shackles passed through generations of limited resources. The young girl’s masked spirit representing the silent victims and the pathetic conditions of the government facilities shown in the only contentious policeman cornered into the toilet. Even the scene outside the police station where the brutal treatment of the seniors by the police is revealed begins and ends with a boy washing the cup thoroughly, warns us about the impending violence both by the perpetrators and by the victims. The powerful and heart-wrenching image of the candidates clinging to the feet of the armed men, in the selection camp was impactful and made us ponder if the privileged really empathize with the downtrodden and how just a little help from them can go a long way in uplifting them. While the sword and its “winning” represented the surge of energy intertwined with the protagonist’s life, the very first song reminds us of our collective expectation of some unknown hero or savior who is going to salvage our lives!! The performance of “thatha” (Lal) and “Karnan” (Dhanush)was par excellence. The whole movie has captured the southern Tamil culture meticulously. Though colloquial words were used in ample, the tone leaves much to be desired. The first part of the movie was racy, showing us a remote village where the buses refuse to stop as this village is not acknowledged in the route map to have a bus stop. We catch a glimpse of the village’s day-to-day life, difficulties faced due to the lack of transportation, and how the protagonist “Karnan” is growing up amidst all the frustration spewed up by the villager’s immobility. Adding to the woes were the insults and venom spewed by the neighboring village’s antagonistic attitude as they consider Podiyakulam as a migrant community and thereby inferior. They are hostile to any Podiyakulam villager who comes to their bus stop. This part of the plot reminds us of the movie Maaveeran Kittu. The villagers are tired of being treated as second-grade citizens vandalize a bus and the perpetrators face jail term however the bus owner intervenes and withdraws the case. However, the police officer seems to harbor a personal grudge, and the next half of the movie is just about how the villagers stand up as one against an insensitive despotic government.
While I can relate with the patriarchal mindset of the neighboring village and can even digest their misplaced hostility, going out of the way to stop the Podiyakulam village from having a bus stop doesn’t sync just as doesn’t their role in bringing upon them the calamities. The second half of the movie was a drag with stretched-out violence and needless imagery. Many of the important twists beg for logic and clearer motives. If the bus owner was so compassionate and understanding, why was he not approached in the first place? Why was the police officer unnecessarily hostile? Why didn’t the collector show more maturity in handling the situation?
KARNAN-In sum total, a potentially powerful storyline, bowed down under the pressure of excessive imagery and drawn-out violence, mitigating the powerful performance of the actors and soul searching music.