Review – Irandaam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu

Film: Irandaam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu
Director: Athiyan Athirai
Cast: Dinesh, Anandhi, Rithyvika, Munishkanth, Lijeesh, John Vijay
Cinematography: Kishore Kumar
Music: Tenma
Rating: 3.5 stars

Director Athiyan Athirai comes up with a story that is both refreshing and educative in nature. Refreshing because nothing even remotely close to the story that he narrates in his film Gundu has been touched upon by Tamil cinema in the last hundred years of its existence.

And educative because of the hard-hitting facts on which his story’s plot is based.

It is a fantastic effort that, without getting too preachy, shines the light on a series of problems plaguing the society — from the evils of war to the problems caused by corruption to the raw deal that is meted out to the working class.

The story begins in a scrapyard owned by Basha Bai (Marimuthu) in which Selvam (Attakathi Dinesh) works as a lorry driver. Metal is separated from the scrap that comes to the junkyard and despatched to different metal producing units across the state.

Selvam slogs for hours together in this demanding hellhole that is fraught with risks for a pittance. And as if that wasn’t enough, his boss is someone who has no consideration for those working under him to the point of being inhuman.

Selvam’s only dream is to own a lorry one day and marry the love of his life, Sittu alais Chitra (Kayal Anandhi) who lives with her parents in Villupuram. Sittu’s family meanwhile does not approve of her relationship with Selvam and even goes to the extent of attempting to kill her for the sake of the family’s honour.

It is under these circumstances that one day, a bomb that was carried by a warship docked at the Mumbai Naval Yard during World War II is washed ashore near Mahabalipuram.

The cops are alerted and the bomb is taken to the local police station. Soon, agencies, that are looking to make several thousand crores from defence deals that are being struck by the government, get wind of the bomb that has been washed ashore. Corruption rears its ugly head and the bomb is stolen from the police station by a petty thief who then sells it to a local scrapyard dealer. From there, it reaches Basha Bai’s yard.

Without even realising that it is a bomb, the poor labourers at Basha Bai’s yard begin to load and unload it. They are even asked to cut out the metal parts of the bomb, which they mistake for a cylinder. Luckily, they don’t persist with their attempts to do that and soon, it makes its way along with other metal scraps to Selvam’s lorry.

Even as Selvam begins to transport it to a metal factory, the police realise what has happened and begin to desperately search for the bomb. Oh, by the way, the cops don’t search for the bomb for the sake of saving the public. They do it because firms involved in defence deals want to either take possession of the bomb or want the bomb to go off. With the police hot on his heels, it is not before long that Selvam realises what he has in his custody. What he does next is what Gundu is all about.

Athiyan Athirai’s film Gundu is based on facts that are bound to make your jaw drop. It tells you about how an American firm in association with an Indian firm made crores of Rupees by way of a contract that was put out by the Defence Ministry. The contract, worth thousands of crores of Rupees, was for defusing bombs lying on the ocean floor as a result of a warship being sunk off the coast of Mumbai during World War II. It tells you how the firms instead of defusing the bombs, cheated the public and the government, by shifting the bombs to a point near the Kolkata coast.

Through his film, Athiyan shows how to this day, live shells that lie at the bottom of the ocean get washed ashore all along the eastern coast from Kolkata to Kanyakumari. The film also shows how lobbying groups and those looking to manufacture spare parts for defence equipment make thousands of crores of Rupees through government contracts and how they seek to keep information pertaining to such live shells a secret.

The film does not stop with just that. It goes on to explain how the police force is corrupt and in collusion with the defence lobby. The film also beautifully showcases problems pertaining to caste and also touches upon the issue of honour killing. Gundu also shines the light on how the working class in the informal sector is exploited by their owners and how the government to this day, does not care about their lives.

Using a simple story, director Athiyan Athirai highlights a number of societal issues, all pertaining to class, caste, race and sector.

The film has some excellent performances. It’s lead actors — Dinesh and Kayal Anandhi — are just perfect. Both actors complement each other so beautifully that one can’t help but think of how cute they look together. The last film that these two acted together was Visaranai, a critically- acclaimed monstrous hit. And if all goes well, this film too might go Visaranai’s way.

Anandhi, in particular, is just adorable. She has a charming face and a disarming smile. Her soft demeanour hides her tough spirit and determined nature well. She plays this character of Sittu with such grace and elegance that one gets the impression that she is just being herself.

Dinesh as Selvam does a splendid job yet again. Be it expressing righteous anger at being exploited by his boss or being gentle yet firm with his girlfriend when she tries to slyly get him to change his profession, Dinesh is outstanding.

Munishkanth as a cleaner who is desperate to get promoted as a lorry driver is equally impressive.

The film has some really refreshing music from a newcomer called Tenma. The background score in particular deserves special mention because it enhances the mood on screen. It captures the soul of the scene and ensures that you take note of the emotion that the sequence is trying to convey. Tenma seems to have put his heart and soul into his music and it definitely adds immense value to the film.

Kishore Kumar’s camera captures the action as it happens and gives it to you in a manner that makes it most convenient for you to watch. A lot of thought seems to have gone into where the camera must be placed for each scene. Sometimes, it is an aerial shot to give you a bird’s eye view of developments and sometimes, it is a low angle shot to show you the intensity of the scene or the sequence. The close ups are only for those actors who can hold the screen space without goofing up. In short, Kishore seems to have known what he must be paying attention to and he’s discharged his duties well.

Irandam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu might not be as deeply moving as Visaranai but it certainly makes one aware of a major problem pertaining to purchase and maintenance of arms and awakens us to the deep disparities that exist in society on the basis of caste, community and class. This is a well made meaningful film that is certainly worth a watch!