(Celebration of
Malayalam Cinema Today)
Directed by
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Produced by
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P. V. Pradeep
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Screenplay by
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K. Girishkumar
Kamal
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Story by
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K. U. Iqbal
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Starring
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Jaffer Idukki
Manu Jose
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Music by
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Background score:
Songs:
Lyrics:
Rafeeque Ahammed
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Cinematography
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Manoj Pillai
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Editing by
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K. Rajagopal
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Studio
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Anitha Productions
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Distributed by
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Murali Films
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Release date(s)
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February 4, 2011 [1]
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Country
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India
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Language
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REVIEW FROM
2011 has started with a
decent note with 'Traffic' in Mollywood. Now for the month of February, it's
'Gaddama'. Senior director Kamal's latest offering is a sensitive saga about
the suffering inflicted on Indian women who are working in the Middle East as
domestic servants. A disturbing premise, which makes you remove those blinkers
and experience the truth, 'Ghaddama' remains as a purposeful and powerful take
on the lives of expatriates in the Arabian Gulf. Kamal has utilised all his
experience to tell a real story of suffering with the intensity that is
demanded by the script.
The movie has Kavya as
Ashwathy, who takes a chance of working in Saudi Arabia due to the untimely
death of her husband Radhakrishnan, who was a J C B driver. She has to help her
own and her husband's family to tide over their deep financial difficulties.
With the help of Usman (Suraj Venjaramoodu, this time in a well knitted role),
her husband's friend, she fetches a job in a household where Usman is working
as a driver. The movie then follows the physical and mental abuses that
Ashwathy faces in the house of her sponsor. She also finds that she is not a
lone case as the Ghaddama's (domestic servants) are all subjected to similar
kind of treatment in the entire middle east. And her attempt to run off from
the house results in her being charged for robbing jewellery from her sponsor's
house.
Though the story seems
like a one dimensional look into the problem, the treatment of interspersing
Ashwathy's fate in Gulf with the character of Good Samaritan social
worker Razaaq Thottekad (played by Sreenivasan), who is in search of this
missing Gaddhama, manages to keep us interested along much of the narratives.
You do relate to the characters since you've either heard or watched tales of
domestic abuse and most of the time the corporeal abuse that Aswathy is subjected
to, shatter your heart.
Kavya Madhavan, who
plays a meaty role of one who continues to take the beatings silently on a
foreign land, takes much of the chances and emerges with winning performances.
She displays the helplessness and pain that this character demands with gusto.
But as she is asked to maintain a distraught, puzzled face much of the time;
she has to limit herself from displaying variety of emotions. Sreenivasan once
again is in his elements with sharp thoughtful dialogues. Mohanakrishnan, Biju
menon, Lena and plenty of freshers match pretty well with their characters. The
actress who plays the Indonesian servant also makes a commendable act.
The movie takes some
time to make a safe landing and leisurely conventional pacing may not interest the
new generation audience, but regular Kamal fans may not find this without
interest. Manoj Pillai's camera work, now in a different terrain excels
in capturing the murkiness and vulnerability of the isolated victims of the
desert. Benett Weetrag's couple of songs are pretty good while M Jayachandran's
theme music is also impressive.
All in all, 'Gaddama' is
a quality offering from the master director, with a genuine upsetting story.
The movie has plenty of faces that continue to haunt you even after the film
has ended. This is a film for the discerning viewer who likes to go a little
beyond the regular masala stereotype.
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