Karthik S

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Remember the real "drinking the Kool-Aid" event? No matter who we are, however divided and culturally different, we've all done it – every single human individual that ever existed and will exist. An inherent characteristic of humans. Oh yes, people who are in the business of intellectual labor, too. There are certain things we don't dare ponder over, let alone rebel against. Faith along with its accoutrements is one such thing, at least for most of us. It is not an ideation of a single human mind, but rather that of a collective human mind, dating back to early humans and even protohumans. And it takes an incredible amount of cognitive remodeling on an individual scale to knock us out of that illusion. Here, we witness a family of 11, not very uncommon even in this day and age, who are a “normal” family, in fact. Religious. Superstitious. Patriarchal. Pivoting on a complex interplay of delusion, illusion, persuasion, and familial cohesion, they take the extreme step of ending their lives. So it seems. Coercion through influence is evident, which nullifies the former. With their prefrontal cortex still developing, human teenagers can be easily influenced. Advertising works for a reason! Leena Yadav and team have made something very true to the spirit of cinema, a medium with a great potential for shifts in human thinking. I was so engrossed with the personalities of the family that Rahman’s music was nonexistent for me. Or is it that the image and music are inseparably complementing? Creators, pray, do away with graphic depiction warnings on social media and in films, as if we don’t see horrible things in daily life. Phew!

I happened to tune into one of Kalidindi's interviews and found his views on the psychology of the characters intriguing, not least the villain's. However, the movie itself fails terribly at story and screenplay, both of which were hardly attended to. The story itself has got a lot of potential but the writing is frail. Casting is another massive let-down. Not that slender guys won't do for psychopathic characters (say, casting Kevin Bacon for Wade in The River Wild, which turned out to be stellar), but that it takes a lot to play such roles. The lead actor's acting is the saving grace of the film. He has put in some real effort. As for the entertainment I found the humor gross and impertinent (not the homoerotic dialogue; that was realistic). Despite breathtaking locations the cinematographer has failed to make the best use of it. By the way every minor character ought to be respected by providing them with ample screen time. They all have a life, too. The mother, the lime (lemon?) soda granny, the on-a-scale-of-1-to-10 tee henchman, etc. Details make a good film!