Kuruthi | Malayalam Movie Review by Movie Insert | Prithviraj Sukumaran | MOVIE INSERT

 

 Kuruthi means the holy slaughter in Malayalam. There is much that gets slaughtered in thecourse of this two-hour film – relationships, an ancestral home, notionsof religion and faith and of course, human beings. Director Manu Warrier and writer Anish Pallyalbuild a Trojan horse – a home invasion movie that works as a gripping thriller but at the sametime asks us to consider religious fanaticism, how faith can create good and evil, how hate persistsand how ultimately, violence begets violence. While there are echoes here of two of my favoritefilms of the year – Kala and Nayattu – Kuruthi is very much its own beast. The film is largely set in a housein a remote forested area. Ibrahim, or Ibru as most people call him,lives here with his cantankerous father, Moosa and his belligerent younger brother, Rasool. A year ago, his family suffered a horrific lossand Ibru is still struggling to make sense of it. Doubts are a part of faith, he is told. Ibru’s neighbour Suma brings food for themen and does chores around the house, which is steeped in sadness and resentment. And then one night, an injured cop barges in,with a handcuffed man accused of murder. The prisoner is a Hindu extremistwho admits to murdering a Muslim. He's now being sheltered in a Muslim house, from a Muslim extremist who has vowed to kill him. Through the night as both ideologies andhuman beings are pitted against each other, the bigotry that festers even in those who appearto be beyond it, rises to the surface. Relationships that have endured for yearsare frayed by conversations of 'your people' and 'my people'. The film doesn’t take sides. Instead, it presents a harrowing view of thedivisions and hate that have penetrated so deeply into the fabric of our country thatany semblance of unity seems impossible. And in the midst of the emotional and physicalviolence stands Ibru, a gentle, devout man wondering what his god would like him to do. Anish’s screenplay is tightly constructed. You hear stray references to a wasp’s nest anda snake from a temple that become significant later. Much of the action takes place in one house,but the visuals don’t become repetitive. DOP Abinandhan Ramanujam keeps the cameramoving and darting between faces and spaces. At one point, the conflict eventakes the men to the roof. Editor Akhilesh Mohan keeps the tension bubbling. The first few scenes in the filmare purposefully confusing. It might take you a few minutes to piece togetherthese people and their relationships. Manu immerses us into Ibru’s worldand the profound faith he holds on to, despite his staggering loss. Kuruthi is brimming with stellar actors whodeliver strong performances. Roshan Mathew stands out as Ibru, an unassumingman who strives to do the right thing in horrific circumstances. And the scene stealer is Mamukkoya as Moosa – he gets some of the best linesin the film and runs with them. And pay attention to the layeringin Srindaa’s rendition of Suma – a woman filled with contradictions. There’s also Murali Gopy, Shine Tom Chackoand Prithiviraj Sukumaran, who has also produced the film. It’s laudable that the man enabling theproject and the biggest star in it has chosen to do the film’s mostunsympathetic character, Laiq. Prithviraj doesn’t hold back in infusingLaiq with malevolence and menace. But this is also the film’s most underwritten character. He comes off more as an idea than a person. Towards the end, Kuruthi also veers into preaching, which seems redundant givenwhat has played out before.  In one scene in Kuruthi, a character asks:Where is this country headed to? Only the devil’s arrival is left now. The film suggests that the devil is alreadyhere, comfortably concealed within all of us. Kuruthi smartly disguises an urgent wake-upcall as a genre movie. You can watch the film on Amazon Prime Video.