'Kazhcha'- About the Movie

 'Kazhcha':  A vision which I missed

The 2004 Malayalam movie 'Kazhcha' is the directorial debut of the gifted director Mr. Blessy. When this movie was released, I was still in school. My parents were not quite the movie enthusiasts, so my only option to watch a movie was from the television channels. So I couldn't watch this movie any time during my childhood. 

Years later, I knew about this movie but till it was not in my watchlist. Sometimes somewhere I would hear and forget about this. Recently I saw a clipping from YouTube reels and that made me add this to my watch list. I searched immediately in YouTube and  there it was- the entire movie. I downloaded and kept it.

Days later, when my husband was scrolling through my downloads, that reminded me again that I haven't watched the movie yet. 

"It's a tragedy" He told me.

"Is that so?" I asked back.

"Yes, it's a tragedy... you watch and you'll know it."

That finished our conversation about the movie.

Few days later, I started watching the movie in parts during my break time.

'SPOILERS AHEAD'

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The Plot

The lead actor is Mr. Mammootty, who plays the character Madhavan. This middle aged man who has his happy family which consists of his wife, daughter and elderly parents, has a passion for movies. He couldn't become an actor, so he became of lover of movies, a film operator. 

He would collect the film rolls of movies and project them on a screen, the usual locations are on the beach and the library. Every year during the 'palliperunnal', (the annual celebrations in Catholic church on the feast day of the patron Saints) he used to organize a show near the church also. Somewhat contend satisfied life.

The innocent trusting nature of Madhavan was portrayed so well by Mammootty, to be honest, he was living as the character. He came upon a child- Pavan, who spoke a language similar to Hindi and who gets episodes of epilepsy when triggered by certain sights. The child followed him, probably trusting his good nature.

Madhavan takes the kid to his home, where his family members welcomed him as part of their family. When Madhavan's daughter was almost drowning in the lake, it was Pavan who saved her. This leads to the publication of the story in newspaper. An ex-army person in the locality identifies that the boy speaks Gujarati. He soon finds that the boy lost his home after the Earthquake in Gujarat.

Later, due to the complaints of some local political leader, Madhavan gets arrested on false charges of child sexual abuse. Soon he was out on bail, but Pavan was transferred to the Juvenile home. When the boy was admitted to hospital, Madhavan and his wife took care of him. They decided to adopt him legally, which was not possible as the status of the boy's parents were not known.

After many days of petitions and court meetings, finally Madhavan is sent to Gujarat with pavan along with an officer to search for Pavan's parents. After going through some offices, they find that the parents are 'missing' not sure whether alive or dead.

The law forces Madhavan to leave Pavan in Gujarat and return to Kerala, hoping that the boy finds happiness or will be returned to him if parents were not found.

Child abuse

 The opening scene of the movie was that of a policeman luring Pavan for sexual abuse. It was hinted that this officer was a habitual abuser of young boys especially the homeless boys. Pavan injures the man and ran away from there, and reaches the place where Madhavan's movie show was happening.

This led him to be afraid of policemen. 

The child may not understand what that beast was planning to do. He must have perceived that it was not right. If I had watched this movie as a child I would not have understood the underlying meaning. As an adult, it hits hard.

Child abuse- especially sexual abuse is a crime which keeps on happening throughout the ages. Defenseless and ignorant kids who are neglected are usually targeted by these criminals. The movie showed that the world is a dangerous place for children especially children with no reliable guardians.

The Emotionless LAW  

The Goddess of Justice is blindfolded. The law is impartial. The laws are emotionless.

The love and care Madhavan has for Pavan, and the dependence and trust the boy shows to Madhavan are visible to everyone. But Madhavan cannot legally adopt him. He repeatedly asks various authorities, " Please allow me to adopt him as my son, I'll take good care of him"

But the law and order cannot be bend for a single person. Madhavan is helpless before the strict adoption laws. When human lives are dictated by some emotionless lines, with no humane view or flexibility, some lives are thrown to despair. 

In the climax, when Madhavan hopefully gives his address to the officer, it ends up immediately in a wastebin. The inability to think in the shoes of another, the loss of human heart when immersed in truckload of paperwork, was brilliantly depicted. 

Pavan is left in Gujarat, under the premise that his parents will come for him someday. But will they really come? Noone knows the answer. 

The Calamity/ Disaster

There is a dialogue by one of the officers in the movie, ' the disaster strikes for some 15 minutes, but the paperwork won't finish by another 15 years.'

After any natural calamity, it may take years to rebuild life in that area. When Madhavan reaches Gujarat, he understands the seriousness of the issue more clearly. When they reach the village of Pavan's family, only rubbles and shattered concrete remain there. 

Nature sometimes strikes back 100 times stronger, destroying your dreams and plans. The entire life savings of an average Indian family will be completely in case of a earthquake, especially 10-20 years back. The loss of dreams and the hope of a new life are all shown in the various frames. 

Conclusion

What I have added above were the various aspects of the movie which made me think. Child safety should be a priority and we should view others as humans not simply some names on a paper.

For anyone who has not yet watched the movie... watch and enjoy the experience.