‘Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam’ movie review: Even Muthaiya’s tried and tested tropes can’t save this exhausting hotchpotch

Arya and Siddhi Inani in a nonetheless from ‘Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam’
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

If you’re not aware of it already, let me provide you with a short introduction to the style of ‘M Muthaiya’s rural masala entertainers’. They’re all set in rural Tamil Nadu in a conflict-ridden village the place tensions are excessive usually as a result of atrocities of the wealthy and dominant households. The Muthaiya hero, a black shirt-clad, short-tempered, moustache-twirling roughneck batting for needhi, nermai, and nyaayam, is the one hurdle to those troublemakers. Something can occur and all heads can fall because it’s a world the place the aruvaa talks greater than regulation, and policemen are both killed by the antagonists or bashed up by the Muthaiya hero. And, oh, be able to see a collection of fights no matter whether or not you purchase the reasoning. As at all times, the hero has to fall in love (at first sight) with a girl who nearly manages to mood him down till a private tragedy strikes and he brandishes the sickle once more for a grand remaining showdown. In a movie mounted on this identical template, surprises come solely when he subverts his concepts, like in Pulikuththi Pandi.

In his newest movie Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam, Muthaiya tries to have a tighter maintain over the narrative and but, the movie doesn’t transfer an inch away from this template with even his trademark tropes usually failing. After all, the construction of the screenplay — its greatest USP, one thing we’ll come to later — ought to have made it a greater outing for the director, however sadly, that is additionally why the movie turns into fairly an exhaustive expertise.

The very first thing that strikes me about this movie is the way it initially poses to be completely different, promising to check out newer issues throughout the above framework. Take for instance how he initially writes the character of Thamizhselvi (Siddhi Idnani). In contrast to Muthaiya’s earlier movies, the place girls blindly let mother and father resolve their life, Thamizhselvi stands up for herself when the individuals of her city pressure her to marry one of many two morapayyans, sons of two influential males (Madhusudhana Rao and B.S. Avinash) of Naduvapatti; their solely want to marry her to swindle all of the properties that have been bestowed by her brother (the husband of Madhusudhan’s daughter).

She says that solely she is going to resolve who she will get to marry and you start to hope that this time maybe Muthaiya would possibly deal with his feminine lead as a person with wishes, mind, and a persona of her personal. Nevertheless, after a number of criminally squandering precious time with a number of mirthless scenes, Thamizh shares her want to marry Kathar Basha (an off-beat Arya whose chirpiness, like Karthi’s in Viruman, is the one silver lining). All hope dies down as we later realise that she falls in love simply because it was her late uncle’s (Bhagyaraj, who right here turns into the Samuthirakani of Pulikkuthi Pandi) dying want. You later realise you shouldn’t have hoped for it in a world the place, the hero, when requested to decide on a bride for himself, says “Let my mom select as a result of she is going to spend extra time together with her than I.” And let me prevent from the exhaustive particulars of who is expounded to who and what will get revealed the place after some terribly choreographed fights and mundane songs.

However keep in mind, Muthaiya isn’t right here to inform a love story. As soon as Kathar comes into the image, he comes into the crosshairs of Thamizh’s enemies. However we don’t arrive on the battle and it is just once we go right into a flashback for who Kathar Basha is, does the bigger narrative take form. As Kathar’s previous chases him, we’re taken to his hometown Paganeri the place his father Kathar Basha (Prabhu) is the pinnacle of the Jamad. The Hindus and Muslims of Paganeri reside in concord, however as anticipated, we’ve got a troublemaker within the type of Aadukalam Naren’s character and his nation bomb-hurling brat of a son (performed by Tamizh). Why they search to kill Kathar and the way this ties to the proceedings of Naduvapatti kind the larger arc.

The best way Muthaiya buildings his screenplay ought to have labored in one other movie however what it quantities to, apart from the flimsy battle, isn’t price all that effort. Although it’s commendable that the author in him tries to inform all attainable particulars and cross all his t’s, it does get tiring to observe up with the umpteen variety of characters who populate the body, the relationships between them, the collection of occasions that transpire, and the place they’re main up. Not one of the concepts actually register and you want the movie breathed a bit, a minimum of for us, to make sense of the numerous interpersonal conflicts that show important later.

Muthaiya additionally squanders his alternative to bat towards Islamophobia — a few dialogues are by no means sufficient. And the best way Muthaiya handles the subplot about Kathar’s sister can be fairly discouraging. If the intent right here was to counter the poisonous Love Jihad narrative that’s prevalent right this moment, it doesn’t do a lot. To make issues worse, what’s repeated to discourage the Hindus from attacking the Muslims is the truth that they have been as soon as of the identical caste, not that they’re additionally people who need to stay their life. Via nearly all of his movies, Muthaiya is thought for glorifying caste satisfaction, subtly or not, and that is the case along with his newest as effectively.

If something, Kathar Basha… is only a glad tour for Arya to check out a brand new rustic look in a mass masala avatar and have a great deal of enjoyable. That even he looks like a misfit on this world in some locations, is the disappointing fact.

Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam is at present operating in theatres