Mari Selvaraj’s Karnan, which starred Dhanush in the lead, had received rave reviews when it was released in cinemas and later on Amazon Prime Video.
Mari Selvaraj’s Tamil opus Karnan, starring Dhanush, has found its place in New York Times’s monthly international streaming column, making it one among the five movies that are a must-watch for October. The honour comes as a deserving laurel to the film that was applauded for the way it was made and the subject is dealt with.
Released on April 9 this year, Karnan went on to make headlines as critics heaped praise on the film. After it arrived on the Amazon Prime Video platform later, it opened up before a wider audience, making the film a subject of immense praise and applause. The film is still being watched by audiences all over the world.
NYT has termed Karnan, a ‘bristling Tamil neo-western flick. According to Devika Girish, the newspaper’s columnist who pens ‘international streaming’, Karnan is on the number four slot in the five-movie-list of must-watch flicks for October.
Karnan based on true incidents of caste brutality
Karnan is based on the true incidents that happened in Podiyankulam village in southern Tamil Nadu way back in the 1990s. The brutality slapped on the lower caste people of Podiyankulam by the so-called upper castes, and the police form the theme of the movie.
As the brutal force of power and casteism combine hands to beat down the hapless villagers to no extent, Karnan emerges as a saviour. Karnan is one among them, fearless and hell-bent on bringing some honour to the poor souls of Podiyankulam.
Cast away by caste: The tale of a hapless village
Karnan isn’t your average Tamil flick. The making, the subject and the way it has been perceived by the director and the actor playing the lead are different from any Tamil flick earlier screened. Casteism and the il effects it has on poor, hapless lives across the Tamil terrain comes to the fore in the starkest portrayal of each character in the film.
This isn’t just a Tamil Nadu phenomenon – caste plays a major role in determining how people live in most parts of the country even after so many decades of independence. The stark reality expressed in the most convincing manner is what makes Karnan a must-watch. Mari Selvaraj, who had directed the awesome ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ earlier needs to be acknowledged for making Karnan such a great film.
Besides Karnan, the other four movies on the list are I Never Climbed the Provincia (Chile), The Cloud in her Room (France), The Father Who Moves Mountains (Romania) and Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams (a documentary on baseball in Japan).
