There is no doubt in my mind at least, that Jeethu Joseph, the Malayalam director, is one of the most significant filmmakers in India today. There is finesse in his work and something else very artistic that is so important to making good cinema – that is clarity of artistic vision, which distinguishes a talented director from a run-of-the-mill one. The two parts of Dhrishyam established a new oeuvre in crime stories. It was incredibly well told. The sheer power of the narrative, impeccable screenplay, and camera work, assisted of course, by the mellowed brilliance of the entire cast, made the Dhrishyam series one of the most iconic movies ever made in the Malayalam film world. The Malayalam film industry has, over the years, seen several path-breaking directors and writers, and it is good to see Jeethu carry that lamp forward in the modern era. After Dhrishtyam, Jeethu has now directed the 12th Man, once again with Mohan playing an important role. This new release is not in the same class as Dhrishyam, but there is Jeethu’s trademark imprinted all over it. Jeethu revels in spinning a good mystery tale. And this time, it is not Mohanlal’s brilliance that holds the movie together, but the carefully selected cast of relative newcomers, Jeethu’s firm grip on the narrative, and the slick presentation which keeps the viewer riveted to the screen. With each new film, Jeethu is breaking new ground and gaining better control over the medium.
12th Man is a remake of an Italian film. It is about a group of college friends who drift apart after college but continue to remain in close touch. One of them decides to throw a bachelor’s party and together they head to a resort. It is a motley crowd of people who gather for this party, as is so often seen in many alumni gatherings everywhere, who believe the bonds formed during their college days are unassailable, and what they were once, they still remain. A common enough illusion! At the resort, the group displays a strong sense of camaraderie, but lurking beneath the laughter and smiles are eddies and undercurrents of discontent – both in their private and professional lives. Jeethu subtly brings out the simmering uneasiness between them in a few affirmative shots. We sense there is a dark history between some of them in the group. The party begins, and conversations in the group take on different hues. There is an imminent danger of stepping over other shoes or peeping into another private consciousness. The conversations are measured and deliberate. The tension slowly builds up and becomes palpable as drinks and food flow, and tongues begin to wag. A steady stream of text messages and uneasy calls on the mobile phones causes uneasy pauses in conversations and interrupts the steady banter. Something is brewing. To lighten the mood, the group decides to play a game, in fact, it is not just an idle game, the intent is to test the integrity of their friendship. It proves to be a bad idea. Luckily, a rainstorm disrupts the gathering, and quickly thereafter, tragedy follows.
Mohanlal is the twelfth man in the resort, who happens to be there when the group arrives and when we see him for the first time, he is inebriated. A little later, we are told he is a senior police official on suspension, about to be reinstated in a few days. In the wake of the tragedy, he is woken up from his alcoholic stupor to investigate. The rest of the movie is about how Chandrasekharan (Mohanlal’s character) conducts the investigation and how the layers of deceit, secrets, and deception are gently peeled to reveal the culprit. Nearly two hours of investigation time, a little too long perhaps, but Jeethu is able to keep the viewer interested in the proceedings. Mohanlal’s greatest strength is his well-calibrated style of dialogue delivery and the mesmeric quality of his deep voice. The screenplay gives him the full rein to exercise this gift. He requests, he exhorts, he threatens, he cajoles, he manipulates, he insinuates, he subtly misdirects the responses and reactions of eleven members of the group, toying with their phones, their calls, messages, their interpretations, and implications, to establish the veracity of their statements and claims. After several well-crafted inquiries, cracks appear in the individual narratives of the group, and inconsistencies in testimonials emerge. Before long, the truth behind the tragedy is unearthed.
What makes this movie a rich viewing experience is that it does not depend entirely on Mohanlal for its effect. While he has done a good job, it is the rest of the cast that elevates this crime thriller into a watchable movie. Jeethu’s ability to make everyone in the frame count gives the movie a well-rounded and professional appeal. He did that with the Dhrishyam series as well. One of the basic flaws of most Indian commercial movies is that too much time and space is spent on making the Hero or the Heroine look good, losing track of what others do in the movie. A well-made movie is never a one-man show, it is the synchronous blending of all aspects of the craft. In his last three movies, including this one, Jeethu has shown consistency in his commitment to the story, the cinematography, and the overall effect of the experience, and not just on a few aspects of it. In the 12th man, specifically, the camera work and editing are noteworthy. The non-linear narrative of the tale is captured with technical finesse. Each shot transitions crisply into another, even when they are narratives are chronologically apart. That is not easy to do. It is the clarity of Jeethu’s vision and the authority of his execution that lends credibility to this tale. A round of applause to the entire crew. The only thing I wish was different is the length of the movie. It could have easily been thirty minutes shorter.
I was terribly disappointed with Rajamouli’s blockbuster RRR. Like Jeethu Joesph’s success with Drishyam in two parts, Rajamouli is also fresh from the tremendous success and critical acclaim of Bahubali – a rich, sumptuous two-part mythological tale, unparalleled in grandeur and execution in Indian cinema. The Bahubali series was a landmark production, and in my opinion, both the parts rank among the best movies ever made anywhere in the world in terms of sheer scope and extravaganza. It was a visual and auditory treat. An experience one can relive again and again. But what happened with RRR, I cannot fathom. A movie utterly devoid of any sense, or purpose. Once again, in typical Rajamouli style, the movie is an attempt to project a larger-than-life tale ( a trick that worked in Bahubali) but fails completely in RRR for lack of any meaningful premise to sustain that grandeur. Two young men, each trying to beat the British for their own reasons, forge a friendship, and their joint enterprise culminates in mayhem and destruction on a grand scale. Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn make brief appearances on screen leaving no impact whatsoever. If Recent Tamil films like Vijay’s beast and Rajni’s Annathe made me feel stupid, RRR made me question my very sanity. Millions of dollars have been poured into the making of RRR, and the result is a film that numbs merely one’s senses, without intoxicating them. Ram Charan and Junior NTR look strong, young, and vibrant, and they perform stunts ( of course liberally aided by technology) that not merely stretch the limits of one’s imagination, but puts it to shame. I am glad I didn’t pay money to watch this film in the theatre as I did with Bahubali. I would have regretted every dollar spent.
I don’t know for how much longer we are going to continue projecting caricatures in the name and form of the British regime that ruled India. Assemble a few white-skinned actors, clothe them in Red uniforms with a few medals pinned on their breasts, have them speak a few lines in British English, and also have them mouth a few foul words about Indians, and there you have a template of what the British were like when they ruled us. To an extent, such portrayals may be true, but Indian filmmakers have made a habitual cliche out of it. Anyway, the point is that Rajamouli could have done better than this. He is a serious student of cinema and a deep thinker. RRR, unfortunately, didn’t showcase either of these traits. A loose storyline, a shabby narrative, held together by excessive doses of action and patriotism – is all that RRR represents, and nothing more, which is sad, considering there is so much potential in this relatively young director, and there was enough scope in the tale to shape it well.
Yes, the special effects are wonderful. That is the only saving grace of this otherwise forgettable film. Rajamouli’s creative team is one of the best in the industry, and it seems they can virtually recreate at will, anything they want on the screen. In Bahubali, the extraordinary special effects blended well with the story and screenplay, but in RRR, the effects stand out as an aberration, as something that is distinctly noticeable and therefore leaves a jarring note in the viewer’s mind. I only hope Rajamouli does not get fixated on the success of Bahubali and will not continue to execute all of his upcoming projects in the same mold. He is a talented man, and he likes extravagance. That is not bad at all. Some of the greatest directors in Cinema have relied on their ability to fill up the screen with magic, but when such grandeur is spent on bolstering an inane storyline, then the effect can be quite the opposite – it will be construed as puerile and amateurish.
(RRR is currently streaming on Netflix, and the 12th Man on Hulu)