Director: Senna Hegde
We Indians claim to have given the world a lot to be thankful for, like the zero, Ayurveda, yoga, plastic surgery and what not. But I would say one of India’s most unique contributions is the concept of Arranged Marriage. The idea that unmarried adults, no matter how old they are, cannot and should not be allowed to choose their partner is not unique to the country. But in this day and age, it is unlikely to be as prevalent and common place in any other place, as it is in India.
Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam (The Engagement is on Monday) takes a hilarious, yet heartfelt look at the practice within a household situated in Kanhangad, a small town in the north of Kerala. The slice-of-life drama happens almost completely in a small house and its compound and on one Sunday, the day before the engagement.
Vijayan (Manoj) and Lalitha (Ajisha) are getting ready for the engagement of their younger daughter Suja (Anagha). The elder daughter Surabhi (Unnimaya) has come with her husband Santhosh (Sunil Surya), who she had married against the wishes of the family. It had been two years, but Vijayan would still not speak to his son-in-law. While the preparations were going on, Suja was frantically trying to reach her secret boyfriend, who was nowhere to be seen. The youngest son Sujith (Arpith P R) has problems of his own.
Thinkalazhcha begins with a long and lengthy shot of a bus stop at night, the only time the action happens outside of the house or its compound. You just hear voices for a couple of minutes before seeing anyone. You realise the filmmaker is introducing you to the location through the accents of the people. Kanhangad is a town in Kasaragod, the northern-most district of Kerala. The accent is quite unique and very different from the rest of the state.
The dialogue plays a big role in the movie. Once you get past the initial surprise and curiosity at the accent, you realise that the dialogue plays an intrinsic part in rooting the film in reality. It is funny as hell, but not at anyone. Malice doesn’t creep in.
There is no familiar face in the cast. All of them were selected from Kanhangad after auditions. The standout performer is Manoj K U, who almost carries the film on his own. If he doesn’t have a long career, then Malayalam cinema would be the loser. Ranji Kankol plays the joker in the pack. In any other film he would be the comic relief, who invites everyone to laugh at him. Not here. Everyone, without exception, plays straight and natural. Hopefully, some of them are able to land other roles.
While taking flight from arranged marriage, writer-director Senna Hegde ensures that Thinkalazhcha touches on other issues like migrant labourers, money-lending and the Malayali’s definition of feminism, manhood and democracy. There is an argument towards the end of the movie that leads to a fight, but it is not slapstick. It is common people screaming about inheritance, disobedient children, broken promises and shame or the lack thereof.
The movie has an ending that is bound to be divisive and talked about. I liked it. It continued the humourous tone to the end, and also showed that the makers were not going to end it all with a traditional climax.
The pandemic, and the subsequent OTT-explosion, brought Malayalam cinema to audiences far away from Kerala. The young, fearless filmmakers who were pulling the audiences away from the Pulimurugans and Kasabas found an audience hungry for a new brand of cinema. Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam will join those ranks. We will still arrange marriages for our kids. But we cannot stop them from making the films they want!
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