A surprisingly well-made adaptation of Pieta

One of many issues that strike you proper within the preliminary scenes of Theal is how quiet it’s for a movie involving violence. The scenes play out in an unhurried method, there may be lot of silence, permitting the scenes to breathe, the shabby-chic visible tone, with moody lighting (the cinematography is by Vignesh Vasu), is placing on the identical time. All these contribute to make the movie fairly participating. It’s then that you simply realise how successfully debutant director Harikumar (a widely known choreographer and actor already) has imbibed the essence of this movie’s inspiration – Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta (2012). The filmmaker acknowledges the Korean movie’s affect proper within the title card, together with a thanks notice to Kim Ki-duk, who’s given a narrative credit score.

Harikumar units the story towards the backdrop of the Koyambedu market, the place Paulraj (Shathru), a mortgage shark, lends cash at excessive curiosity to the shopkeepers. Those that fail to pay again the cash are given a particular therapy by his debt collector Dorai (Prabhudeva). Having grown up as an orphan, Durai has no qualms about bodily assaulting the hapless victims of Paulraj. He thrashes a person in entrance of his little son, cuts off one other’s arm, and even hits a pleading lady who provides to have intercourse with him in order that he does not hurt her husband.

In the meantime, a middle-aged lady (Eswari Rao) seems in his life claiming to be his mom. He pushes her away repeatedly, and even assaults her, however she refuses to go away him. Progressively, he begins softening inside, accepts her and mellows down whereas accumulating cash. However can he flip over a brand new leaf, particularly after having ruined the lives of so many individuals?

Theal is a surprisingly efficient drama that’s well-made with performances that maintain our consideration. Sure, a lot of the movie’s emotional influence comes from the writing, which it owes to the Korean movie (that is largely a slavish adaptation), however the filmmaking can be stable sufficient. Barring a duet within the second half, between Durai and Thilaka (Samyuktha Hegde), which is tonally off from the remainder of the movie (the romance angle is likely one of the movie’s few letdowns), Harikumar refrains from including pointless industrial parts. This focus helps in holding is hooked. Prabhudeva is spectacular because the silent however violent Durai, and Eswari Rao is excellent because the mom. The scenes between the 2 actors are affecting sufficient, and now have an aura round them because the director retains us in suspense in regards to the mom.