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Zooming in on society’s ‘thakara’ Film Review

Thakarachenda

As the city expands in the guise of development, the destitute are pushed to the fringes.

Further expansion throws them out of their makeshift homes. Then, they sprout elsewhere like the uncared-for ‘thakara.’

This is the theme of Avira Rabeca’s debut film ‘Thakarachenda,’ scripted by Avira and Walter.

Chakrapani (Sreenivasan) lives in a colony of slum dwellers. Being physically challenged, he is confined to a wheelchair. He begs on the streets, but is also a moneylender.

A drunkard, he spends most of the time quarrelling with his mother. Chakrapani has a soft spot for Latha (Geetu Mohandas), a housemaid. She struggles to bring up her two children, Siva and Malli. She wants them to excel in life and so, cautions them against moving around with Chakrapani. The authorities decide to evict the settlers.

A JCB arrives on the scene and the local people protest as a union with Chakrapani in the forefront.

But their pleas fall on deaf ears. The film is full of black humour and sarcastic comments. In the opening scene, street children are seen working hard to remove the dust and soot that have accumulated on the bust of Gandhiji. A pointer to our callous attitude to the Mahatma.

There are also several touching moments like the one in which Malli sings in the streets, accompanied by Chakrapani on the harmonium. Manjari’s song ‘kunju kunju pakshi’ penned by Vijesh and set to music by Siby Kuruvilla strikes a chord with the viewers. The other singer is Vineeth Sreenivasan. Cameraman M.J. Radhakrishnan captures vividly the filth and smoky surroundings ‘Thakarachenda’ produced by Naushad and Sevi Mano Mathew is based on a real life incident.

G. Jayakumar

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