2nd September 2005

Grahanam

Deserves to be Controversial

On suspicious occasions, the human mind is always in an imbalance. And it always craves for balance. People believe something or the other just to bring their mind to a balanced state. A deep thought about the belief can again bring imbalance to the mind; so the belief is just blindly believed. Mostly, these beliefs are negative; proving ego as a basic human instinct.

Even in today's world of broadened liberal confines, people in many segments of the society suspect a woman's soft-corner for a guy; even if he is as young as her son. Such is the fate of those societies. A gloomy fate. Like an eclipse (solar). Like a 'Grahanam'.

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Dr. Raghuram tries to analyze a weird tale with his friend. In the village, Sharadamba was regarded as an epitome of pristine character. She was the wife of a rich and an educated man. She was very generous. Kanakayya, a poor Brahmin's teenage son, occasionally gets food in Sharadamba's house. Sharadamba's kindness and Kankayya's obedience blend so naturally like a soft leaf moving along the smooth current of calm waters.

One fateful day, Kanakayya falls ill because of a viral fever. Within just one dosage of medicine, his illiterate parents lose hope on normal medication and go for a 'Kali bhakt', Gopayya. Gopayya tells them that Kanakayya is suffering from 'Doshagunam'; according to Goppayya, 'Doshagunam' takes over any boy when he gets physical with an elderly woman. When Kanakayya utters Sharadamba's name in his sleep, she is pointed at from every side. Even her husband of many years doesn't give her a chance to tell her version. Even her own son doesn't accept her.

Now, only Raghuram knows the truth about what happened between Sharadamba and Kanakayya…..

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Among the performances, Jayalalitha, except for her awkward dubbing, was brilliant; esp. in the scenes where she retorts against her husband's suspicion. Tanikella Bharani's body language was simplistic, yet it spoke volumes of the complexities involved in the character. The other actors stood up to their respective roles.

The makers (BV Subba Rao & Anji Reddy) should be appreciated to make a film on such a contentious theme. The story, based on one of the controversial works of Telugu writer Chalam, seems to have been well adapted on screen (I cannot compare it with the original literary work as I haven't read it). The director, Murali Krishna Indraganti , should be applauded for choosing a bold script. The dialogues were crude and direct. Though the 'detail' in some of the expressions on the actors' faces was not fully convincing, the director was able to get the right emotions of the respective scenes through his cinematographer ( PG Vinda) and music director (K Vijay ). Claps to the team for their zeal to make a good film in simple black and white frames, when the whole film world is stumbling on colourful, glamorous picturesque!

And from my perspective, there is one big hitch in the film. It is the casting of Jayalalitha in the role of Sharadamba. No doubt, she has performed wonderfully and she is clearly an under-used actress in her prime. But while casting of certain roles is done, audience perspective should also be considered. Jayalalitha's screen image was 'bad' among the educated Telugu audience, owing to the 'degraded' roles she played in her prime. Her screen presence would mostly imply negative sense for her roles. In this story, the suspicion (among the audience) on her (pristine) character begins much before the story actually tells it. Had the role been played by someone whom the audience has respected on the screen, then the film could have been more appealing. I repeat: Jayalalitha has performed brilliantly; but unfortunately, the role did not suit her screen image.

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In an attempt to recommend this film to you, I would tell an incident that happened as I was coming out of the theatre, having watched the film. I heard a girl's words from behind. Probably she was talking to the woman next to her. After listening to her words, I realized how less some people really know about the sense of 'Grahanam' (which literally means 'solar eclipse'). "I expected the film to be on the solar eclipse (sci-fi); but I didn't get a bit what this film is about."

PURNESH
purnesh.konathala@gmail.com

More My Movie experiences:

Sudhindra - Super
Vijay - Aparichitudu
Madhav - Aparichitudu
Hazaraon Kwaishein Aisi
Swades
Shyam - Black
Sai - Anand
Rohit - Anand & Veer Zaara
Jaya Prakash - 7GBC
Raj - Anand
Purnesh - Anand
Purnesh - The Village
Sriram - Gudumba Shankar
Purnesh - Gharshana
Purnesh - Lakshya
Purnesh - Yuva
Leenesh - Yuva
Kis - Lakshmi Narasimha
Indian Pride - Tagore
Raj - Boys
Phani - Gangotri
Phani - Khadgam
Vikram - CKR
BKR - Indra (Singapore)
Ram - Indra (Dubai)
Ranjeet - Idiot
Rahul - Indra
King Koduri - Indra
Srilakshmi Katragadda - Mitr: My Friend