For several minutes, the camera does not show the other child’s face. There are two children who are the subject of discussion – two little boys just orphaned after the death of their parents. The younger of them – four or five years old – looks worried, anxious, even protective of his older brother. By the time the camera finally falls on his face, the older one is riding away, adopted by a couple. He has Down’s syndrome.
Thirike, a new Malayalam film that was released on NeeStream, sets the premise in those few minutes. This is going to be the story of two brothers, bonded together by each sibling’s dependence on the other.
George Kora, who wrote the story and co-directed the film with Sam Xavier, plays the younger brother Thomas. Gopikrishnan plays the older one Sebi (Sebastian) alias Ismu (Ismail). This is perhaps the first time a person with Down’s syndrome has been cast in a full-length role in a Malayalam film.
The directors have chosen to show an alternative world, one where the person with disability gets preference over the child with none, over and over again. As children coming to an orphanage, it is Ismu who is carried gently to his bed while the younger one remains unattended, but not resenting the attention his brother gets. When a couple – played by Shanthi Krishna and Gopan Mangat – come to adopt a child, it is Ismu they take home. Even the old neighbour of their childhood home Shoshama (Sarassa Balussery) has a soft spot for Ismu and is hard on Thomas.
Growing up, Thomas becomes a baker working in a shop, with apparently no other relations except the one he maintains with Ismu. There is a young woman in his life whom Thomas spends time with only to get expensive gifts for his brother.
Thomas is not altogether a likeable fellow – in that he is dishonest with the girlfriend, he is tricky, and appears to have no remorse for any of this. But he has such unreserved love and affection for Ismu that it seems he is competing for the brother’s attention with the adoptive parents. There is a mutual dislike between him and Ismu’s adoptive mother Fathima that you can’t figure out. Why is Thomas, whom Fathima has been seeing since he was a little child – younger than her Ismu – a threat? Why is the brother a competitor?
Interestingly, Thomas who has no disabilities, appears more in need of his brother than vice-versa. He does not seem interested in anything else in life, even the girlfriend is a farce he builds up to get things done for his brother.
Although the film appears amateurish in parts, this is one of those stories where you look at the larger picture. It is not just a story involving a person with disability but also one that puts the focus on him, his likes, dislikes and choices, as against previous films where you only watch them through the other characters’ eyes. Once, when Thomas visits Ismu at his school with a cupcake, the latter asks for one more the next day. Who is it for, Thomas asks, and Ismu shyly turns away. The next day, he offers the cupcake to a girl in his class.
Gopikrishnan who plays the role appears to be a master of impersonations, going by his earlier videos on the internet. He plays his part spiritedly without the limits of a first-timer.
Watch: Thirike trailer