ORIDATHU (Malayalam,1987)
by
Govindan Aravindan
(Av on #Hotstar)
A village in Kerala is selected for electrification in the late 1950s. This sets off a buzz of excitement and expectations across the village.
The rich elite want to bring connections to their homes, but they do not wish to sacrifice in terms of space or cutting down of trees. The director focuses his camera upon a large number of villagers from every section of population, and manages to caricature them with deft subtlety.
The arrival of electricity creates a lot of problems for the villagers. This is not told in the manner of criticism , rather in a mocking tone. Humans are fickle minded and easily get rattled. Trying to cope with a momentous change is stressful. Crows and cows start dying, a pregnant girl commits suicide and personal interaction suffers.
All this tension culminates into a tragic climax where a young boy gets electrocuted, even as two grown ups fight over some matter of honour.
The film ends with firecrackers' explosion and the falling of a human shaped parachute on earth. It seems they indicate the coming of some kind of catastrophe.
G Aravindan was awarded the National Film Award for Oridathu. The word Oridathu means Once Upon a Place....The film's beauty lies in how it tackles a seemingly serious subject with effortless ease. To examine modernity and yet lampoon not progress but human minds is where the roots of the film's greatness lie.
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