Zinemaya Blog

There are few movies and books that brings us emotional trauma and cause mental pain, some stays with us and gives a blissfulness of seeing real human life with full of art.

Kadal Theerathu (On the shores of the sea) directed by Sherry is one such neo-realistic film which will stay with us for a long time. Rejecting the illusory glamor and set-bound artificiality of conventional film-making, neo-realism took its stories from the struggles of the working class, went out into the streets to record them, and used non-professional actors to tell them. Director Sherry just did that with his film, his cast is non-professionals and brings the sorrow of working class, yet portrays the universal truths of human minds.

Based on a short story by O.V Vijayan, renowned Indian writer, this movie tells the story of Vellayiyappan, a working class man who is on his heart-breaking journey to the prison to receive his son’s body. He meets his friends and acquaints on his way to the prison. Marackar who he owes 15 rupees and Neeli who is deeply sorrowed by Vellayiyappan’s fate. There are few great scenes, portrayed beautifully in this movie, the scene where vellayiyappan meets his son for one last time before his son passes away and another shot where father and son exchanges emotions in silence.

The long shots from the sea shore where Vellayiyappan accompanies his son’s body is a perfect marriage of music and visuals which shows the master work by the director. Wandering in the hot sun Vellayiyappan reaches the shores of the sea. He finds the sea shore as the only burial ground for his son’s body. Vellayappan performs the rituals for his son with the rice balls he makes out of the meal packet. The movie ends with the scene when somewhere from the height of the sun, ravens descended to peck the rise balls. Bhaskeratten, plays the central role of this movie is completely adapted to the character of Vellayiyappan.

Its no surprise this movie won the best film award at the International film festival of Kerala. It is unique story telling and the direction is versatile as it has the power to touch the hearts of the viewers. This is no emotional overdose in this film, eventhough the story-line is heavily emotional. The half an hour journey through Kadaltheerath will be a memorable experience to all of it’s viewers. Credit goes to Sherry its director and the renowned writer O.V Vijayan.

O. V Vijayan was almost certainly India’s foremost fabulists in the recent past. An extraordinary writer with enormous range, he wrote everything from a semi-fictional history of his feudal-landlord family. His works have often been compared with those of William Faulkner and Gabriel García Márquez. O V Vijayan was unlucky not to win India’s principal literary prize, the Jnanpith, possibly because he did not endear himself to the political powers-that-be through his trenchant cartoons. Vijayan’s fans were also perennially hopeful that the Nobel Prize would finally recognize him. In 2003, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

This movie is available for download at zinemaya.com