The opening scene takes a sarcastic dig at how digital india can help poor villagers defecating in the darkness outside. Just switch on the flashlight feature on the phone! The poor villagers are carted away to a swanky new public toilet that has been constructed and is yet to be inaugurated. The debate turns to which caste would use it first. All hell breaks loose. After all, salvaging your pride is more important than relieving yourself!
A political satire, laced with dark undertones. The power of the vote. Caste politics. A caricature of a protagonist. Electoral petty politics and violence. How the common man becomes the victim of greed and communal muscle. #MadonneAshwin’s film brings together some very relevant themes in this new Tamil film. One aspect that I found especially fascinating is how the director never allows the narrative to slip down into caricaturish ness and in spite of the very unlikely face that he puts forward, puts forth a story that is at once a laugh-a-minute-riot and also a poignant take on the socio-caste-politics paradigm of mainstream India.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #Mandela, streaming on #NetflixIndia. #YogiBabu plays the role of his lifetime as the village barber who is thrust bang into the centre of the politics of caste between the Thekkuooru (Southerners) and Vadakkuooru (Northerners). Unwittingly he becomes the fulcrum of the elections for the local village body. In the ensuing confusion, does he become victim or does he emerge as a saviour for society?
#SangiliMurugan plays Ayya, the village patriarch who has two wives from different castes. The sons Rathnam (#GMSundar) and Mathi(#KannaRavi) represent the two legions are always up in arms against each other. They are consumed by the fact that winning the elections can result in a whopping thirty crores into their pockets. In a careful analysis of the votes, they realize that the voter list is equally balanced between both sides. Enter a nameless, lower caste barber who begs his way through life and in a quest for identity is christened as Nelson Mandela by the staff at the village post office. #SheelaRajkumar plays a convincing role as the post office worker. Both the parties now vie for that one vote and in an unprecedented turn of events, even auction the vote. Mandela finds himself with a new mirror for his salon, a revolving chair and several material riches. In the ensuing confusion, he loses his sense of worth and even his sidekick Kirudha (#Mukesh). After a lot of back and forth and some body blows, he realizes his folly and then leverages the power of his deciding vote to improve the living conditions at the village. At the end, the entire village comes together in a show of solidarity to stand by his side and turn the political vultures away.
As you settle into #Mandela, you are struck by #VidhyAyanna’s cinematography and how a solitary village is recreated. It is almost like in the middle of nowhere and cut away from the rest of humanity. The camera work is supported by superb editing by #PhilomaRaj and music by #BharatShankar. The story of this little village Soorangadi is the veritable story of rural India at large. You chuckle at every little joke and dialogue, and even before the laughter is over, you reflect on some fundamental truths that #Mandela lays bare.
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