SPOILER ALERT
Before you proceed any further, if you have not seen the movie, and intend to watch it when you are free; please stop reading this blog post.
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I saw “Jallikattu” at Ambattur Mini Raki. A small screen theater with perhaps a 100 other audience-members, predominantly Malayalis living in and around Ambattur and Avadi. Mostly a young crowd and a couple or so middle-aged folk. At the end of the movie; the general feeling was – “Endhu padam aada idhu??” (What movie is this man?” followed by some cuss words. Lijo Jose Pellisserry (LJP) has slowly built a unique fan-following that caters to the masses in Kerala, the elite Delhi/Mumbai club, and also a foreign audience. With each movie of his; he has brought something different to the table and the movies have given decent returns to the producers (I hope so)!
The movie was screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala earlier this year; and I was quite envious about the people who saw it at the festival.
Let us see the trailer of “Churuli” that is streaming on SonyLIV.
What do you make of the trailer?
- Is it a cop-movie?
- Is it the hunt for an elusive criminal?
- Is it a story of people dwelling in a forest-village?
The movie shows us the journey of two cops traveling incognito into a forest village nestled somewhere in the ghats adjoining the borders of Karnataka and Kerala. Shajivan and Anthony are the names of these cops; played by Vinay Fort and Chemban Jose Vinod, respectively; CJV is the superior and Vinay plays the junior cop. Early into the movie we are made to understand that CJV is still unmarried but a man of the world with an affinity to all vices; whereas Vinay is a married man with no vices. They are headed to the mountain village to catch a man named Joy. They have not seen him nor do they have a photo; we are also not aware of the crimes committed by Joy. The duo disguise themselves as laborers who have come to dig pits in a rubber plantation owned by one man named Thankan.
The bus drops the duo at a point where there is a small eatery. The two eat and then head to a jeep that takes them through the treacherous and winding mountain paths. They reach a point where there is a rickety bridge fashioned out of bamboo and wooden logs. Everyone gets down and the driver skillfully negotiates the bridge and all of a sudden the people who were so forth silent and smiling start hurling expletives and abuses at the new duo. What did the crossing of the bridge do to the people? Is it our first hint of something strange in the mountains and the woods? Or is it just a frustrated driver tired of his daily struggle ferrying lowly laborers up and down the mountains for a living?
We reach the destination – the mountain village and like moths drawn to a light – everyone heads to a local bar-cum restaurant run by Vavachan played by Idukki Jaffer. Everyone drinks the plain white liquid that Vavachan claims is distilled with a bit of ammonia and people start singing and abusing as the alcohol flows freely. As Thankan is away from the village, Shajivan and Anthony are advised to stay at the bar till Thankan returns.
It is from here that the story picks up pace and we are introduced to a motley bunch of characters inhabiting the village. The bar-owner and his wife. The local drunkard whose day starts and ends at the bar. A local loner whose presence puts everyone into silence and ironically does not speak much in the movie and is suspected to have murdered two of his wives. A landlord / rich man from the Karnataka side of the mountains who drops by occasionally for a drink in Vavachan’s bar. A local hunter who poaches wild game, which is cooked and served in Vavachan’s bar; these are the primary people whom we meet.
Just a day has passed, but Shajivan feels that he has spent a long time here. Anthony asks him to be patient and says that they have to catch Joy. Shajivan believes that he is seeing some strange beings with glowing eyes and lights in the darkness. Is it a dream, a nightmare, or an illusion? A series of incidents occur – a church-ceremony for Vavachan’s granddaughter; wherein the bar is converted into a makeshift church complete with loudspeakers and an altar as the priest from the church dressed in white comes and performs the ceremony. There is a grand feast and all the locals are invited. Shajivan and Anthony try to identify Joy among the invitees but have no luck.
Then there is a temple-festival/fair in the neighboring Karnataka side of the mountains and our duo go there along with the other villagers. Shajivan and the rich landlord have a slap-fest as part of the games and we are left wondering – what exactly is happening. Another montage of shots show us the dead body of the landlord lying near a stream in the darkness. Anthony is injured and hurts his back badly as a hunt in the forest goes wrong.
Anthony is taken to a woman-healer/witch of sorts deeper and higher in the hills. This is a strange character among a bunch of other strange characters. As part of the healing process, we are made to understand that the lady seduces Anthony and the next morning he is healed. There is also a complaint that Shajivan has physically abused the lady’s nephew! We are never made to understand if this is real or a fabricated lie to extract money!
As the duo return, we see Joju George playing Thankan returning to the mountain village and starts the proceedings leading to the climax. Thankan says that he does not know who the duo are and wonders how the two learnt about him? As the villagers start getting agitated, there is a sense of intense distrust, and the villagers are almost on their edge, planning to kill the two strangers who have come into their midst.
Shajivan suddenly takes out his service gun and fires it. This immediately changes the equation as the villagers realize that the duo are cops. There is a sudden shift in the power-equation and Thankan is all soft and humble whereas the other villagers headed by Vavachan wait and plan their moves. Thankan says that Joy is his brother-in-law and he is at home. The cops ask Thankan to lead them to his house. As they make their way up the treacherous slopes, the villagers follow the trio via short-cut. The long trek ends and the cops finally find Joy. To their utter shock and dismay he is paralyzed and lying on a bed. What happens next? Do they manage to take Joy back to the police station? Or do they just curse their luck and leave? Or do the villagers gang up and kill the pair of cops?
Watch the movie for answers.
https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/churuli-1000144820
Postscript:
Once again LJP breaks free of conventions and makes a movie that is drastically different from his earlier ventures. Once again the women are kind of presented in the shadows but still one character stands out and plays a key role in the narrative – Geethi Sangeetha as the healer/witch. What exactly is happening in the village? What is the significance of the animated tale at the beginning of the movie with the brahmin and the ant-eater? Where does reality end and the nightmares begin? Is the entire story a dream? One can keep asking questions and wonder about explanations and what the director and story writer thought! Till they actually explain what they originally thought; we will never know. Enjoy the movie and share your thoughts in the “Comments” section.
Goodbye, stay safe, wear masks; and hope you are vaccinated!
Teerthadanam 