Towards the very end, when the last few credits are rolling there are few pictures from the movie that are shown of kid Sundaram standing before Vinayaka statue followed by Joseph standing before Jesus in the church and Gaddam-Saleema walking near a Mosque followed by shot of people behind the railway crossing. Then it all came back to me. In a scene Sundaram tells his madam that he stopped believing in all the gods and now believes only in humans that can help him. Maha Venkatesh, take a bow!!! You have made a good film. Not every one can do that with the budget and the cast you had.
Coming to the movie, C/o Kancharapalem is a movie about someone you could have easily come across in your daily life, if you had stayed in a village or a town. And the new cast really helps you to get that feeling and retain it through out. Of course there are scenes where some new comers faltered acting wise but that is far negligible in respect to what this movie tries to achieve. The music is so native and helps elevate many scenes in the movie. The camerawork is perfectly in sync to the movie. The slow pace before the interval and few scenes after is a very small deterrent too.
C/o Kancharapalem is a good movie if you take it by its face value but it is an exceptionally well-made movie if you can get the subtext in many scenes of the movie. Going by its face value you have four love stories all handled very well and in a mature way. Especially the Saleema episode and old age love story are not an easy feat. Add to this there are numerous scenes that invoke nostalgia like Suprabatham in the background when Bhargavi comes out of her house in the morning, loud speaker songs going on in the night, puff, dil pasand and cool drinks party, paatala pusthakaalu etc. All the characters in the movie are very well written and if I have to pick one it would be wife of Ram Murthy, the statue maker.
If you can see through the movie and comprehend the subtext in many scenes, the movie gives you immense satisfaction. First one is when Ammoru asks Bhargavi for the reason given by her dad and she replies "Matham", I could not help but notice there is a Hindu god's photo behind her in the same frame. Was that a hint? Also when she said "Matham" my hands just got together all by themselves and clapped. It was simple yet effective writing. Next, the last rolling credits tell you the whole story in a new dimension. I suggest you all to sit through the credits and witness it. There is presence of religion and god in almost all the scenes through a song in the background or a temple or a religion etc. The pujari friend of Sundaram tells that August 17th is the best day to break the news based on the astrology and how it unfolds later is a very subtle hint at believing in people than astrology or god or religion. The ending for Saleema thread is a very good conflict between her Dharma(her way of life) and her religion.
The genius of the story-teller comes to the fore in the way he narrated Ram Murthy thread as the fifth thread heading towards Vinayaka Chavithi. That completely throws you off and helps retain the suspense. I do not want to reveal that but I am finding it very hard to contain the kick I got when I realized how that thread was used to divert our attention. And also because of the characters written or the language or the setting of the movie, it feels like our own, as in "Mana cinema" and helps us embrace it right away.
In conclusion, C/o Kancharlapalem can be watched two ways-like a common audience or by understanding its subtle subtexts. Either way you watch it, C/o Kancharapalem is still a winner. So go watch it.
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