By Akshay
One cannot find wheels anywhere in this village, but the ever erratic wheel of fortune. Kuttanad, a desolate village of Kerala that could only steer water to commute, to the maximum tries to steer clear of conflicts. The world war 2, in general could be called as an evil that destroyed the world. A wound could be recognized from a reasonable distance, but only a microscopic view could tell how deeply dented or torn the wound is. ‘Bhayanakam’ is such a microscopic movie.
The terror filled eyes of a postman looking at the army recruitment is very much the crux of the movie. The disgruntled parents look emphatically real in their disappointment with their children in army.
In that era far from VIP culture, the postman is the VIP who alone is known by all. But, this pride comes with a risk. Times come where every household expecting money order, greets the postman for lunch. Then when times change, the postman is even chased away from taking shelter for rain, fearing a telegram.
Such a scenic yet gloomy location is a cinematographer’s day out. Nikhil Praveen doesn't take much time to convince us that we too are kuttanad residents. The top angle everytime while rowing in rain will make us hold our chair as if protecting us from drowning. This is just one among many such magical scenes.
Director Jayaraj Nair doesn't spare the caste and class hierarchies strictly maintained in the pre-independent Kerala. There is a scene, the postman tries to stop one from joining the army, and that person tells army is the only way to end starvation of his family. And the one who had starved them was an apathetic landlord. All this shows the root of this helpless Hobson’s choice.
Director’s touch could be felt in the scenes where the postman walks over the ‘Join Army’ placard and the isolated recruitment office, showing none’s left to die.
Talking of dialogues, the subtlest of lines are delivered in the simplest of manner. For example, the line the Postman describes his trauma in personal and professional life is both comprehensible and philosophical ‘No matter where the war happens, the dread falls into my bag’ is the zenith of pathos.
The philosophy that carries ‘Bhayanakam’ is the human preference of a distant and a hypothetical hope over a fear of pessimism that's near. This it does with ease, making this melancholic memoir of world war 2 an engaging watch.
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