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'Sarvam Thaala Mayam' review: Rajiv Menon film underlines mainstream Bollywood's bankruptcy of ideas

Don't miss this film which you will want to watch repeatedly.

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Movie: Sarvam Thaala Mayam 

Cast: G V Prakash Kumar, Aparna Balamurali, Nedumudi Venu, Vineeth

Director: Rajiv Menon

Critic's Ratings: 4.5/5

Review:

How do you take a deeply polarising subject like caste in India and make a mainstream film to strike a chord with audiences? Nagraj Manjule's Sairat (2016) and Pa Ranjith's Kaala (2018) have done that in the past holding the mirror to upper caste exclusion with anger even rubbing its nose in it. This is where ace cinematographer-director Rajiv Menon's Sarvam Thaala Mayam (STM) differs. Without shying from making markedly underlined points about caste, double standards of the so-called upper castes, exclusion and even cow slaughter; it does so keeping the tone conciliatory and open. Instead of anger, it evokes humanness and empathy in showing us how the otherising constructs are only that and deep down we are all the same.

This can be an extremely tricky and slippery precipice for any work to be located on, especially given cinema's reach as a medium. The tiniest nuance gone wrong can lead to a disastrous reaction and more. Menon maintains the fine balance between the political, social and the humane beautifully using the caste, class and religion based exclusion - which has made the word of Carnatic music a Brahminical monopoly - as a backdrop.

STM which also takes tongue-firmly-in-cheek potshots at urban, left-liberal “saviours” and their rants - which apart from aggrandising their own individual brand equities - rarely goes beyond the symbolic in addressing more deeply-rooted wrongs and stays in the empowering and transformative zone throughout. Instead of a narrative which seeks to transfer-project victimhood for survival and success, it makes us look deep within. Menon's success lies in the fact that he doesn't merely keep underlining the problem but is able to gently nudge you towards the solution deep within us.

This is an endearing story of an underdog Peter (GV Prakash Kumar) who strays into the cultural endogamous and protectionist world of Carnatic music and chooses the very same music as a weapon to hit back at his oppressors. The son of a mridangam-maker refuses to live on the scraps thrown at him by the upper castes. He wants to not only play the instrument but wants to be treated as an equal percussionist. The lot follows a graph which keeps you hooked right till the end. A scene where Peter's father (a brilliant Elango Kumaravel) and he are discussing the making of mridangam stands out for its bravery in taking on a burning issue of lynchings in the name of cow vigilantism. The father tells the son a mridangam requires the skin of a goat, a cow and a buffalo to give it the perfect pitch and sound. “It has to be the skin of a cow which has just given birth because the skin is stretched,” he says only to be asked by Peter: “So is the cow killed for the skin?” 

The Madras Mozart AR Rahman is in full form in STM after quite a while, not only in the songs (especially 'Eppo Varumo Enge Kaalam') but also the absolutely stunning background score. Looks like he's pulled out all stops for STM which has nephew Prakash Kumar (son of playback singer A R Reihana, Rahman's elder sister) playing the lead. The song 'Varalama Un Arugil' (a moving ditty sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and penned by Madhan Karky), composed by the film director Rajiv Menon himself, in a first also stands out.

Kumar brings to his character an innocence and vulnerability, both real and relatable. But the latter is true about the ensemble cast, especially Nedumudi Venu (one of the best actors from the Malayalam industry who has rarely got his due) as the mridangam maestro Vembu Iyer is bang on. Almost all the cast was chosen for their interest/understanding on music. Venu who actually plays the mridangam gives his character a shade so real that it stands out. The other actor who stands out is Vineeth, whose slimmer version had matched steps with Vidya Balan in 'Mere Dholna.' While even the smallest character leaves her/his mark, Aparna Balamurali's Sarah (Peter's love interest) makes you feel she could have done better.

Mention must be made here of the special cameos by musicians Unni Krishnan, Srinivas, Karthik and classical vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan who has several scenes and also gets to sing in the film. Despite such rich icing Menon makes the plum on the top stand out as the charming Bombay Jayashree takes to the screen with the Tyagaraja composition Makelara Vicharamu as the end credits roll.

Ravi Yadav's breathtaking cinematography also stands out in this don't-miss film which you will want to watch repeatedly laughing at how the must-watch STM underlines mainstream Bollywood's bankruptcy of ideas!

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