Aattam

Aattam (The Play) blew my mind and gave me so much to think about that I don't have to watch any movies for the rest of the year. I caught this at the 2023 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival yesterday and I'm still thinking about the irony of the plot where 10 men get together to discuss an incident befallen their sole woman colleague of a theatre troupe. It starts by building tension and giving us a peek into the characters and their idiosyncrasies and dynamics. Then it pulls you in with what seems like a group discussion with lots of talking and arguing. I don't know about you, but conversations in films always have my full attention and Aattam, above all, succeeds in doing that. It's so well written and directed that you feel you are part of the discussion. Absolutely seamless, that it also reminded me of Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, another film with the same vein at the fest. It's basically a study of the feeble human nature. The final 30 minutes are sure to blow your mind too. Watch it.

A fantastic movie that really takes the dark, self-serving, materialistic human nature and puts it out in broad daylight. This is a great commentary on virtue signalling, hypocrisy, trust, betrayal, hierarchy, and human values.

The writing and the direction are really well done - the movie feels real, and you find yourself getting emotionally invested in the plot. The relatable subject matter also helps in the engagement, and while a movie of this sort often runs the risk of coming across as quite preachy - Aattam never falls into this trap.

But what sets this movie a class apart from the rest is the quality of the acting. Every single cast member has done a phenomenal job. I found myself hating, sympathising with, and being disappointed in the characters at different points through the movie - and the fact that this movie brought out such strong emotions from the audience is testament to the skill with which each actor portrayed their characters.

Overall, this is a movie that makes you think long and hard about what you would have done if you were put in a similar situation, and this leads to some good introspection.

A theater group named Arangu is thriving with the addition of a film actor Hari, who has replaced Vinay to be the play's hero. Anjali is the sole female in the group and the main female lead. To celebrate the success of their play, they are invited to a luxurious hotel. That drunken night leads to sexual molestation of Anjali and she suspects it to be Hari while confiding about it to Vinay. What follows next is the men from the theater group, trying to discuss the possibility of expelling Hari as a retaliation while their hypocrisy, dual faced characters, greed and judgemental behavior gets exposed.

This dialogue heavy gem is yet another addition to the Malayalam cinema that effectively deals with a sensitive story and presents it with exceptional narrative. As the first hour is dedicated to introducing each of these characters and their background, with almost all of them hailing from lower middle class. Vinay and Anjali are in a relationship but he is not ready to make it public using his impending divorce followed by his jealousy towards Hari for losing the hero role in the play. This sets up the story and the subsequent drama to unfold later on.

Adding to this is the mystery of who actually did that heinous act and with the men discussing over various possibilities without firmly taking sides, start exposing their petty nature, until Anjali enters the house to join in on that discussion and I cannot stress enough how effective the scene building is, throughout the film. The dialogues aren't superficial and those lines are sync with their personalities and mindset. The way all of it culminates in that terrific climax, where real world isn't capable of meting out justice, art does. Director Anand Ekarshi on his debut has definitely shown immense promise with his craft and starting with Zarin Shihab, the dozen supporting cast, have given commendable performances.

Aattam is an eye opener. Probably the best movie I've seen in years put together. The movie and its direction has mastered the subtle art of tugging your inner conscience. One of those movies that you keep thinking about long after you've seen it. It has definitely changed me as a person. A classic for all times. The scenes in the movie are just so original, it's hard to think of it as a movie than real life itself. The lead actors, all 13 of them, have showed so much justice to their characters. The uniqueness in their individualism is a testimony to world class writing. Aattam is a must watch by everyone, not just Malayalis. Everyone.

I decided to see this movie because it has got the national award for best feature film even though I don't know the language. I was surprisingly kept engrossed and riveted for the duration of 140 minutes despite the fact that the movie was dialogue heavy and with hardly any action. The narrative with the help of subtitles was spell binding and all credit should go the director for creating world class cinema. Comparison with the English language movie " 12 Angry men " is natural and fair. Twelve male stage actors discuss a possible course of action after their female colleague complains of being molested by one of them while she was sleeping after their get together. Discussions among them continue for a long time with each putting forward his views and suggestions. At one point it is unanimously decided to expel the wrong doer but then unexpected developments take place.

Director Anand Ekarshi does a superb job with some fine storytelling and keeps the tempo and suspense going. He is helped by a well knitted screenplay, some artistic cinematography and brisk editing. All actors have done exceedingly well and it is difficult to say who is the best among them. Definitely a movie with all round excellence which needs to be on your" must watch" list.