Baaram

With a national award for the best feature film under its wings and a cast and crew who seem to be alien to Kollywood, ‘Baaram’ has created quite a few ripples, thanks to its troubling premise. This movie is not entirely an artsy fair; it does delve into the ‘docu-drama’ space where we are taken detours towards what the subject is about and how prevalent it is in the region of South Tamil Nadu.

‘Baaram’ is about the organized euthanasia practice that is said to be prevalent in certain parts of Tamil Nadu in the name of ‘Thalaikoothal’. An aged man, Karuppasamy, who earns his living as a security guard meets with an accident. His hip bone is broken, and doctors advise immediate surgery for him to regain mobility. His son is reluctant to even get the formalities done even for free surgery. As a consequence, the old man’s plight is tied to his death bed with an indifferent son and daughter-in-law hardly paying attention to his woes.

Suddenly, the old man passes away, and his relatives are gathered. Karuppasamy’s nephew, Veera comes to know that Karuppasamy was killed due to the practice of ‘Thalaikoothal’ and his death was not natural. He gathers evidence from various sources and even manages to rope in the media to help him in this cause. The guilty is nabbed and interrogated. At the end of it all, political and societal bureaucracy prevail over justice. The movie ends with Veera hoping for a better tomorrow.

Director Priya Krishnaswamy who seems to be that geeky filmmaker in her appearance has delivered on expected lines. Also, the cast selection was brilliant. No one in the movie has been seen in the past. Everyone was handpicked with a purpose, and it has transformed so organically on the screen that we forget that we are watching a movie as we become a part of it at some point.

The dialogues were also very natural. Aided by a more suggestive cinematography technique, the camera just navigates through those narrow rural streets, into the crevices of the old house and finally into the psyche of the characters.

It was a hard-hitting drama that has been sliced from that part of the land that practices such a gory method to get rid off that ‘burden’ of taking care of the elderly and the ailing. At times we tend to debate the practice because of practical reasons. However, morality and dogma are at loggerheads here. Unfortunately, there are no winners and losers as conscience plays out relatively for each one of us. Hearty wishes to director Priya Krishnaswamy and team!

Verdict: Hard-hitting!

Rating: 3.25 / 5