Naan Kadavul, I AM GOD.

Disclaimer: I am attempting to write this post, knowing completely well that I will not do justice to this captivating movie. You can only truly experience it yourself.  

I have been anticipating the release of Naan Kadvul for quiet some time now. It was publicly announced that Bala's forthcoming movie after the stupendous success of Pithamagan, would be titled Naan Kadavul. This was 3 years ago. After much production and financial controversies, Naan Kadavul has finally arrived at the silver screens. And thank Kadavul it did! There were two important reasons why I was anticipating its release. One. Director Bala of course. He gave me Sethu, Nandha and Pithamagan. I had greatly appreciated all 3 movies for their simple and straight forward story telling, top notch performances and awesome direction. Two. Arya. Arya's first tamil movie was Ullam Ketkume, in which he did a pretty decent job. But it wasn't until Arinthum Ariyamulum that I took notice. And now, I was looking forward to Arya's performance in a Bala film, as we all know what Bala did for Vikram's and Surya's career.

So when Naan Kadavul was finally released at Woodside Theatre I was in high spirits. I caught the 7:30 show with a friend. She herself was very excited too as Arya, in her own words 'is the hottest tamil actor ever', and also like me, she was a serious fan of Bala's work. And although I had read one review for the movie beforehand, both of us didn't have any inkling to the storyline however. Which by the way I believe is the best way to watch any movie, and especially this movie. With that being said, I can't give away much about the story, except that it will first gently touch, then abruptly scorch your heart. I have watched MANY movies that brought tears to my eyes, but ONLY Naan Kadavul made me want to bawl, kick and scream all at once. I was ready to cry out 'why God why' right there inside the movie theatre. The perpetual emotions of guilt, remorse, sadness, and anger are far entrenching and become exhausting by the end of the movie. Yet, this is a movie that we must ALL brave through, as it depicts life in its most brutal and realistic facet.

I don't know Director Bala's intentions in making this film. Was he questioning the existence of God? or was he simply exposing the hardships of people often forgotten by our society? So many questions I would ask him given the chance. And so many discussions that can begin by carefully exploring the themes of this movie. But like everything else that is good and complicated, I am afraid that this too will be forgotten perhaps. You may question whether you should be watching any movie in such troubling times like today. Rest assured however that you don't have to worry about this when watching Naan Kadavul. It was absolutely okay for you to skip out on Vijay's Villu and Simbu's Silambattam. But, when a movie like Naan Kadvul comes your way, please stop and take notice. Naan Kadavul was more than a movie for me, it was an experience and like my friend said to me 'it was a reality check'. After watching this movie, my only hope for you (and for myself too) is that we will never again complain or cry for the merely passing dark clouds of our lives....