The Hindu : Kerala News : Zooming in on the pangs of the ‘aliens’ FilM Review

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Zooming in on the pangs of the ‘aliens’ FilM Review

Paradesi

Nothing is more traumatic and shameful than to live the life of an outsider in one’s own land. Valiyakathu Moosa, Karadan Abdul Rahman and Hamsa are among the millions forced to keep away from public glare. They may be arrested anytime and put behind bars for overstaying without valid documents. Their disgust, suffering and desperation form the backdrop of P.T. Kunhi Muhammad’s realistic film Paradesi.

Kunhi Muhammad has done the script, dialogue and direction of the movie.

Circumstances

The film opens with Valiyakathu Moosa (Mohanlal), son of a freedom fighter, standing outside a police station with a drooping head lost in thoughts. He is summoned by the inspector to put his thumb impression on a document and is reminded of the expiry of his visa. Like many others, he had left for Karachi during the colonial years to look after the family. With Partition in 1947, he was compelled by circumstances to stay in Pakistan. Somehow, he manages to come to India and be with his wife and children. But things are not smooth.

Since he has a Pakistan passport, he is considered an alien and allowed to stay here only for a short period. To the bureaucracy and the police, he is a spy. Even his children, though they like him, keep a safe distance from him, lest they should get into trouble. It is only his wife,

Ameena (Shwetha Menon), who lends support to Moosa. Moosa has set his eyes on the outcome of the impending Indo-Pak summit to be held in Kochi. But Karadan Abdul Rahman (Jagathy Sreekumar) is sceptical about it. Talks break down and the two sides fail even to reach an agreement on the agenda of the talks.

The police go on a witch hunt to round up the so-called illegal migrants and deport them to Pakistan. Each time they are deported, they return illegally entering the borders of India.

There are several heartrending scenes in the film, such as the meeting between Moosa and Hamsa. When Moosa meets him, Hamsa, lying cuddled in a corner of his house, wakes up shocked and in fear — for, the police are always on the lookout for people like him.

And, after the report that the summit talks have failed, a statement from the Health Minister that all the people of Kerala will be provided toilet soap to wash their hands evokes laughter from the viewers.

Mohanlal essays the different phases in the life of Moosa, as a youth, a middle-aged man and an octogenarian with aplomb. Jagathy Sreekumar puts up a challenging role as the lunatic. No less important are the characters of Hamsa (Siddique), Aboobaker (Jagadeesh) and the freelance reporter Usha (Padma Priya). The cast includes Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Madhupal and Cochin Haneefa.

K.G. Jayan’s camera attempts to capture through close-ups the pain and suffering of the ‘aliens.’ Ramesh Narayanan’s background score syncs with the overall theme of the film.

A little more attention to editing could have enhanced the quality of Paradesi, produced by Antony Perumbavoor for A&A Productions.

G. Jayakumar

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