Malayalam cinema stands out because they are willing to experiment along unconventional lines. Here is a movie that starts out as an investigative drama, pivots to the mainstay which is about the drudgery of police work and ends up as a redemption story for the protagonist who is fighting his demons. #KuttavumSikshayum means Crime and Punishment but the true meaning of that title strikes you when you ponder who is actually being punished here. Meanwhile, your average policeman has no time to rest; the next case beckons even as the culprit in the previous case is out on bail!
A nondescript location somewhere in Idukki district. An even more nondescript jewellery shop. And a heist that happens early one morning. The only thing that catches your eye is the statue of Gandhi presiding over the town square! Circle Inspector Sajan Philip (A brilliant #AsifAli) is called in to investigate. You sit through the initial part of the film wondering why the focus is on the painstaking inquiry process , each instruction , each car trip and each dialogue. There is also a brief reference to Philip’s troubled past. The enquiry takes the posse of policemen to Dhanaganj somewhere in North India; this is where the suspects …migrant labourers hail from. Again a lot of focus on the interaction with the local cops , the informers, the locals and the suspects themselves. The cops are finally able to nab the suspects and in the final encounter, Sajan redeems himself and wins over his demons. The film ends in a somewhat abrupt manner and makes you reflect on the point of view of the policemen and the drudgery of their work!
Director #RajeevRavi has an envious track record with films like #KammatiPaadam and #AnnayumRasoolum under his belt. With #KuttavumSikshayum, he is venturing into the territory that gave us #Mammootty led #Unda. But what makes this film stand out is that Ravi keeps the narrative true and honest to the track of the police interrogation; not once does it wander off on a tangent. Sample this ….except for the female SP, there is no woman character of significance in the movie. The script based on true life incidents has been written by cops #SibiThomas and #SreejithDivakaran. The supporting cast of Basher (#AlencierLesLopez), #Rajes(#SunnyWayne) and Abin (#Sharafudheen) are credible as honest cops who stay in dogged pursuit of the criminals and also end up making human errors. Rajesh’s wife creates TikTok videos and he is castigated by Philip for watching them on duty. #KuttavumSikshayum is purposeful story-telling; unconventional yes for sure and you might even find the pace a tad slow but prepare to be surprised!
DoP #SureshRajan keeps the visuals taut and the north India jaunt gives the film the feel of a veritable travelogue. There is of course, emotional segments that give the film its weight ; the scene where Philip and Basheer are drying clothes on the rooftop shows how the cops are not super-heroes and are at the end of the day common men. Basheer talks about how he plans to keep working post retirement since his children are still very young!
The movie has come in for a fair bit of criticism with regard to the slow pace as also the plot not being gripping enough. Sajan Philip’s troubled past is not explored enough and the redemption comes perhaps too easy. But then that is just the point; the story is about the police force and their thankless work; the protagonist here is merely a statistic! Watch #KuttavumSikshayum on #Netflix
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