Kutty Srank: The Sailor of Hearts (2009) Reviews

• A master piece!

  sad_story_teller2010-11-14

  Kutty Srank in the truest spirit of the word was 'a novel' experience for me. It is a layered master-piece, and put forwards a non-linear narrative style very rarely (if not never before) used in world cinema. Film is structurally divided into four different setting, three of which is set in north, mid and south Kerala respectively and the fourth one is a hyper-link section set in a Police station, where the dead body of Kutty Srank is kept for identification. Three different women (Revamma, Pemenna and Kali) come forward claiming the body and each protagonist has a different story to tell. The real genius in this film is in creating a false illusion that there is both a spatial and temporal link between these three stories, but later deconstructing this argument by specifically placed non-plausible circumstances. In short, though each of the stories is thematically linked, there is enough clues to believe that they stand separate in time and continuity. There is a scene in the movie when a Feudal landlord Unnithan (played by Sai Kumar) converges very quickly on the literal interpretation that Kali is route cause of the evils that has befallen in his land. This scene was revelatory to me and summarizes one of the basic premise the film discusses, stories of classic human weakness of finding patterns (and meaning) from loosely correlated sources , especially if it is a one which fits the narrative adhering to his/her personal believes. Something that is quite relevant in current times, when we are bombarded with information (and information providers can manipulate the popular narrative according to their whims and fancy due to people's low attention span). What was more impressive (personally for me), was that the scene was quite self-revelatory. During my first viewing of the movie, being a 21st century netizen corrupted by information overload, I was busy making associations and correlations with my prior template notions (Roshomon, Marquez, need of fourth female character etc. to name a few). It was a subtle nudge and reminder that I am not far removed to Unnithan character, and share instances where there is dirth of honest direct perspective and understanding, and associative template-based thinking takes precedence. The movie for me still remains a labyrinth, and required multiple viewing from my part to have a decent grasp of the proceedings, with each session bringing in something new. That said, locally (i.e per scene and theme) the movie is easy to watch and comprehend. Narration is straight forward and non-convoluted. However, it is when you sit back and try to connect the dots, the real potential and energy in this film explodes! Peripherally, there are only a few instances (or interfaces) when there is a conflict with our conventional notions with what is presented in the screen (for example, Kali denying it is the body of Srank, Srank's bodily appearance etc. ). A challenge is put forward, to use these leads and work backwards to unlock the underlying story within the movie, and thereby making the process of movie watching highly interactive and rewarding!

• Kuttisrank - kudos to director and cast!!

  jamshy_mail2010-07-25

  Kuttisrank shows its quality and difference in feel from shot 1 itself. Very different approach from Shaji.N.Karun. The film which lasted 2.10 hours was one of the finest i have watched in recent times, not as a mammootty fan, but as a true film lover. I would have loved a palerimanikyam style narration of the story, while this ones a little complicated , but it adds beauty to the masterpiece. The main positive of the movie is its casting. I was wowing a lot watching ikkas acting. Even though he ain't much different in the three stories physically, He is totally refreshing in each story though his mannerisms and dialog delivery. A special mention must be made for his chavittunadakam play, where we see a perfect play of how an actor differentiates between a film acting and an art form. I loved it!! Kuttisrank doesn't reveal more, no clue of his religion, as he is seen in Muslim, Christian and hindu surroundings, and that exactly what the directed aimed. Sureshkrishna delivered his best till date performance , he just rocked. The mammootty - suresh krishna combo scenes made the 2nd story the best part of the movie. Among the actresses, Kamalini Mukherji was really superb. She was looking good, and had a great charm acting perfectly done. Padmapriya was good, and Meenakumari was OK. The camera and choreography gets a hats off again, as they have done their characters really well. Overall, Its a must watch movie for true movie lovers, whatever the fate of the movie is. Rating :9/10

• Great Malayalam movie

  ghdass2010-11-23

  Saw this movie on an Empirevideo(the audio was so low) DVD and wish I had seen it in a theater. As a regular viewer of Malayalam movies, I have always appreciated the good quality movies that have come out from Kerala, especially during 2009 and 2010. Out of a dozen or so good movies during this period, Mammooty has been the leading man in most of such films. His performance in this movie will be one of his career bests. An actor who is so uncomfortable in dance sequences present in the mainstream 'masala' movies, shows how effective he can be in the play staged in the second story segment of the movie. This movie won the National award for direction, but Mammooty was not given the National award for best actor, although he deserved it not only for this movie, but also for couple of other movies. Excellent photography, wonderful music and a very moving story very well told. Of the other actors, only Kamalini Mukherji and Suresh Krishna could get away from vicinity of the imposing and tremendous acting screen presence of Mammooty and make a mark for themselves. Great film. Highly recommended. Should be viewed more than once to truly appreciate the movie. Looking forward to to Shaji N karun's next movie.

• Just very good!

  jayakrishnan-ks1002011-01-27

  I had avoided this film for a long time thinking it was just an overrated movie and the national award it bagged was merely bought by Reliance. But I was to be proved wrong and blown away by the film. It is technically top class. The camera work is brilliant and the direction (story telling) is subtle & wonderful. The movie begins with an identified dead body found, washed ashore somewhere in the 50's. Three women from different walks of life describe their experiences with Kutty Srank, the protogonist played by Mammootty, to the policemen. The protagonist is a nomadic boatman free from the bondages of family,region & religion. One who wanders from shore to shore easily adapting to the lifestyle of the people living there. Even his name Kutty cannot be identified to any particular religion or caste. He speaks three different dialects in the movie-North malabar, Kochi and South Alapuzha. The movie ends with the dead body remaining a mystery. When one of the women, a mute whom Kuttysrank had married, asserts with certainty that the rotten dead body is not Kuttysrank, the film is taken to a whole different level. The film ends with no puzzles solved, no questions fully answered. It's a piece of art for sure.

• An ambiguous visual masterpiece

  praveen772013-04-12

  Kutty Srank is shrouded in enigma, much like its primary protagonist. I first caught this film in a small cinema in Thrissur soon after its release back in 2009. While I found it to be an interesting work of art, I was left confused on what the actual intentions of the movie was. Is it a treatise on the many masks a man is forced to wear to adapt to his changing surroundings? Is it about the enduring effects of love on the human psyche? Or about the strength of the female form and the nature of the bonds she can have with a man? The movie kept playing at the back of my subconscious for a few years, before I finally decided to re visit it. Once I started it, I was caught in the spell it weaved on me. Lush, lingering and beautifully shot, this is a film which has to be soaked in its moments and one which the viewer should allow to subtly and evocatively make its mark on him/her. Essentially, it is about a dead sailor who washes up on the shore and the different women who recollect him from their perspectives to the local police. Perspective is probably the key word here. Each of the women seem to recollect a different man from the one the other remembers. First up is Revamma, a quietly powerful performance by the dependable Padmapriya. The daughter of a rich and influential man, she had lost her innocence at a young age, because of the cruelty she seemed to have witnessed her father inflict on others. The blood which splatters on her face keeps coming back to her and she left home a long time ago to Ceylon. Now she is coming back and her father has big plans for her. Kutty Srank is his trusted helper, and he trusts his master to the point of blind devotion. When he goes to receive her, she has come with a young Buddhist monk in tow. Fearful of what her father might say, her uncle and aunt force Srank to keep it a secret from him and hide the young man in a dilapidated home. Srank feels the guilt at what he perceives to be his betrayal when Revamma abandons a party her father had held for her. He manhandles the young priest but is stopped by Revamma who tells him that she plans to run away and become a monk with him. The story unfolds in Srank being betrayed in turn by his master and in him helping Revamma escape. The second story is my favorite of the three. Pemanna is portrayed beautifully by Kamalinee Mukherjee with an underlying sense of allure and seduction. She has always been an actress who, at least in Malayalam, wants to do only strong roles that offer her scope for performance, and she doesn't disappoint here. After helping Revamma escape, it appears they end up somewhere close to Cochin, where he gets involved with a local drama troupe headed by Pemanna's brother Loni. For the lead role, he chooses Srank, which upsets one of the regular actors, Joppan. Pemanna is entranced by her co-lead in the drama and very subtly tries to seduce him. There is a scene here which is probably the first nude scene I have seen in Malayalam, but it is so aesthetically shot that you can only marvel in the mood as Srank walks in on Pemanna in her state of undress. The jealousy in Joppan forces him to try and turn the public opinion against Srank by confiding and colluding with the local priest (Siddique) to defame him. The priest sees Srank as an affront and adversary to the control he holds over the local citizens using the fear of God, as Srank is skeptical of it all. The tale ends up in one deceit after another with more than one death involved. The acting in this piece is exceptional, but I have to give special mention to Suresh Krishna as Loni. Sadly typecast in commercial mallu fare, here he finally gets a role where he can display his range and comes up with an exceptional performance. The final part of the recollections come from a mute woman who is adamant that the dead man is not Srank, and who should know better, as she claims to have been married to the man and is carrying his child. Considered a curse and harbinger of misfortune by the local village she belongs to, she met him when he was actually coming to finish her off, as his boss Unnithan (Saikumar) feels she is the reason for his family's misfortune. On seeing her pitiful condition and her fear, Srank could not bring himself to do it and instead becomes her protector and friend. The progress of their relationship to one of love is captured by Unnithan's daughter in law, who seems to be caught in a cage of her own in the household and finds in Kali and Srank an outlet for her suppressed desires, as she writes about them. The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. Kerala on its own is a enthralling beautiful place and it becomes a sight to behold when framed through a creative lens. The acting is almost flawless for the most part, though I don't think Mammooty is the only one who deserves credit here. In fact, I would say it's the powerful supporting characters I took away the most from the movie. But at the end of the day, if you ask me what it was all about and what was the point, I may still not be able to give a concrete answer. However, maybe that's not the point. Like all great works of art, Kutty Srank is an experience to be savored in the moments. Just like life.