Movie: Haridas
Cast: Kishore, Sneha, Prithviraj Das, Parota Suri, Pradip Rawat, Rajkapoor, Yugi Sethu
Director: GNR Kumaravelan
Plots centered around differently-abled persons are rare on celluloid. If there was a Thaare Zamin Par in Hindi, Tamil had its Vinmeengal. And now, director GNR Kumaravelan brings the story of a mentally-challenged boy poignantly on to screen. Autistic, seven-year-old Hari, with the support of his father and a kind teacher, rises against all odds and proves that he could be an achiever too. Kumaravelan’s two earlier films (Ninaithale Inikkum, Yuvan Yuvathi) were forgettable ones. But with Haridas, the director reveals himself as a maker who can handle delicate themes with sensitivity.
The narration is from the perspective of Hari, now a strapping youth, who reminiscises about his childhood days and his relationship with his father. The knot is borrowed from the award- winning South Korean film Marathon. Slight changes have been made with an additional cop-criminal track. Shivadas (Kishore), a cop, guilt-stricken that he had neglected his autistic son and left him in the care of relatives in the village, brings Hari to the city. Fighting against prejudices and taunts, and suggestions that Hari (Das) be sent to a special school, Shivadas finally manages to admit him at a normal school. He never gives up despite his son’s tantrums and his inability to communicate with him. There is a humorous touch to the scenes where the cop accompanies his son to the class, to the discomfort of the teacher (Sneha) and the other boys.
Shivadas identifies his son’s passion for running and takes him to a coach (Kapoor), the latter skeptical about the boy’s ability. The marathon race, though a predictable one, manages to touch an emotional chord.
There is a parallel track where Shivadas and his team are on the trail of a wanted criminal (Rawat). These episodes add spice to the narration. There are a couple of moments where the audience is led to feel that the two would intersect. The disappearance of Hari from a school excurison adds an element of thrill and suspense.
The bonhomie among the cops and their professional and personal bonding is depicted well. It’s an award winning performance from Kishore. He is splendid as a tough cop, relentless in the pursuit of his duty, and as a concerned father struggling to cope with his son’s autism. Memorable is the scene where he bares his heart out to his unresponsive son. It’s a very convincing performance from Prithviraj Das as the autistic child. Sneha fits in gracefully as Hari’s encouraging kind-hearted teacher.
The film does have its lagging moments. The scenes of his trip to his village to settle a property issue, slackens the pace. The narration ends on a poignant bitter-sweet note. Striking away from formula-plotting, Haridas is refreshing and engaging. Heart-warming and motivating, it clears some of the misconceptions related to autism, even as it depicts the triumph of human spirit against all odds.