Have you ever considered yourself in a position higher than someone else because of
any privileges you get in society? Kala(trans. The Unwanted or The Weed), a
recently released Malayalam movie directed by Rohit V.S, sets out to delineate
the story of a man (Shaji, played by Tovino) whose only benchmark for judging
persons is the prerogative of having wealth.
Everything turns topsy turvey all
on a sudden when he encounters an "underprivileged rogue" who goads him
into unleashing all of his ego and pride. His ego hurt by the incursion of the "unwanted" man into his house and his subsequent behaviour,
Shaji prepares to do away with him at any cost. The viewers get a hint of what
is to follow when the man whom Shaji keeps captive frees himself by
somersaulting.The man actually leaps over Shaji' ego and pride, eventually
leading him to the revelation that it's not only money and wealth that matter
and plucking off the unwanted weeds of class pride in him.
Shot with many violent scenes which are indeed unprecedented in the Malayalam cinema, the movie has
succeeded in keeping the tension till the end though some scenes are not much
convincing. The symbolic significance of violence, where sympathy and humanity
win over class consciousness, pride and ego, accounts for the illogicality of
such long violent encounters that a human would not really survive.
With a wonderfully capturing camera work and the amazing performance by Tovino and
Sumesh Moor, the film is sure to enthrall everyone.
