SHAJI N Karun's tryst with an eponymous hero has gifted us yet another multifaceted character. Kutty Srank is a kind of ruffian who seems so subdued and refined.
He is brute, not from his heart, but from the predicament he finds himself in. He is loyal and faithful towards his masters, but he loathes the stain of blood and constantly sniffs his fingers, washing again and again. His identity is an enigma and his yearnings for love remain repressed deep within. Mammootty elevates the character to realms so familiar, yet so distinguished and untrodden.
The narrative rolls down on a cloistered beach. Overgrown with moss and mushrooms, lay a corpse, putrid and worn out. With flies buzzing around and a rancid smell filling the air, three women come in search of the body. The stocky police officer queries their association with the body wrapped in a tattered palm leaf shroud.
They narrate a tale about manwoman relationship and the shades it assumes in the vicissitudes of life.
For Revamma, played by Padmapriya, Kutty Srank was once a ruthless, servile dog of her feudal father. When he beats up her dear Prassanna, her lover, she tells Srank, "I am an unchaste girl. My chastity has been smeared by the blood splattered by my father, your master". Her words sting Srank and he promises her his aid. But Srank fails to keep his word and breaks off before Revamma. She is moved and her pleas for shelter from her father's rage. Srank takes her away and as they part, he tells her, "You remind me of my mother, whom I have not ever seen in my life."
Kutty Srank moves on and finds himself in a new land. His frigid heart thumps to the taps of Chavittunatakam and he discovers a new life. For the natives, he is defiant and inflexible who would even shrug off the religious head. Kutty Srank is beyond lust and passion. He remains passive even when Pemmena, his pair in the play, strips herself bare before him. Her gesture is not of seduction, but a diffident submission before the man she loves. Kamalini Mukherjee is a quintessential rustic beauty. Her fluttering eyelids and the cascading curls of hair glint with the love for Srank. Her unrequited love remains so pure that she even purgates the dead Srank of the blood, for which he was not responsible.
The striving soul of Kutty Srank liberates Kali, who is a bad omen for the villagers. The love between Kali and Srank is not blazing fire. It is like a soulsalving, gentle breeze that ruffles their inner self with timidity. It is a vast expanse for the director. But, the delicate bristles of his brush leave behind measured strokes and moods on the canvas. Extreme long shots and midshots by Anjali Shukla adeptly capture the picturesque locale and moods emoted by the characters.
Keeping apart the patchy makeup and a few incoherent points in the narrative, Kutty Srank is a wonderful film where every character is wellcarvedout.