Kabaddi is rich with metaphor. Few contact sports feel as intimate or closely fought as kabaddi, which makes it an apt subject for Mari Selvaraj’s latest chronicle of ordinary heroism in the face of systemic oppression.
Bison Kaalamaadan is the story of Kittan (Dhruv Vikram), who has been dreaming of kabaddi since he was a boy. Kittan has a talent for the game, which the coach Kandeeban (Azhagam Perumal) puts to good use. Kandeeban also tries to get Kittan to orient his natural aggression towards the sport, but Kittan’s obstacles are huge and numerous.
Kittan is from a lower caste and belongs to a village that is divided by caste lines and loyalty towards the Robin Hood-like leader Pandiaraj (Ameer) and his sworn enemy Kandasamy (Lal). Kittan’s father Velusamy (Pasupathy) has seen first-hand the repercussions of the decades-old rivalry, in which a word out of place is enough to spark carnage.
Caste, blood feuds, poverty, village-level politics, personal doubt – Kittan’s life itself is like a kabaddi game, in which he is fighting his adversaries every time he steps into the ring. Kittan isn’t the only one in the middle of a personal war.
His sister Raaji (Rajisha Vijayan) stands by him, seeing in his progress an exit out of a hidebound existence that is unavailable to her. Kittan’s romance with Raani (Anupama Parameswaran) too is fraught with tension. Kittan must learn trust – also a feature of kabaddi – and overcome ingrained feelings of inferiority if he has to emerge as a champion.
Although Mari Selvaraj overstates the symbolic possibilities of his theme, Bison Kaalamaadan is a fine instance of how Indian social realities can be refracted through sport. The Tamil-language film is out on Netflix following a successful theatrical run in October.
Selvaraj, whose previous movies include Pariyerum Perumal (remade as Dhadak 2), Karnan and Maamannan, re-establishes himself as one of cinema’s most astute sociologists with his latest project. Bison Kaalamaadan is a richly layered and piercing account of how historical fault lines, especially of caste, can irrevocably alter lives.
Apart from religious beliefs, animals play an important part in the film. Nicknamed “bison” for his combative manner, Kittan struggles to live up to the title.
While Bison Kaalamaadan could have benefitted from judicious snipping, the 168-minute film is a sober, revealing examination of brutal truths. The narrative is dramatic in its staging and performances as well as subtle in its exploration of the everyday violence of rural life in Tamil Nadu.
Selvaraj’s screenplay is bursting with colour and incidents. Shots last mere seconds to maintain the momentum. The markedly non-linear structure has flashbacks within flashbacks that point to Kittan’s troubled emotional state. Kittan is living simultaneously in the present and the past, unable to forget his caste origins and unsure of where he belongs.
Like the wrestling, tagging and raiding involved in kabaddi, the movie too is packed with moves and countermoves. Bison Kaalamaadan initially appears to be a straight-forward tale of caste discrimination, but there’s a lot more going on.
The never-ending war between Pandiaraj and Kandasamy, while leaving a bloody trail, is not as simple as it appears. The film skilfully reveals both the strengths and limitations of community ties, with Kittan finding himself a beneficiary as well as a victim of his background.
Also start the week with these films:
In ‘Dashavatar’, ‘Kantara’ comes to the Konkan
Brotherhood and betrayal in ‘Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana’
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