Karnataka   

Breaking out of the mould

Film: Tamassu (Kannada)

Cast: Shivrajkumar, Naser, Sharat Lohitashva, Shobraj, Harshita Poonachha

Director: Agni Sridhar

Even while commenting on the politics of hate and violence from various points of view, Agni Sridhar's maiden venture Tamassu attempts to explore the “ignorance” of society, areas of “darkness” within and the inescapable guilt factor in the context.

The film traverses through the episodes of selfish politics, religious bigotry, legal compulsions, social order, blunt terrorism and the resultant human predicament for emphasising the value of communal harmony for the cause of peace: “foolish, they do not know how to live in peace”.

Tamassu saves itself from becoming another commerce-oriented film on communal harmony owing to its inquisitive approach despite some hitches . Armed with a powerful plot and subplots of crime and punishment, and guilt and redemption laced with poignant emotional situations and balanced social outlook , Tamassu dares to break the commercial cinema pattern to some extent. The plot is all about bloodshed in the name of Gods on the one hand, and on the other hand it is about the plight of a conscientious police officer, Shankar, who is forced to take refuge in the house of a “terrorist” he killed blindly.

While Shivrajkumar as stands out, Harshita Poonachha as the slain “terrorist” Imran's grief-stricken younger sister, Amareen, and Naser as her father draw attention.

K.N. VENKATASUBBA RAO

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