Kishkindha Kaandam thrills with a flowing script and admirably subtle performances

Hardly a minute passes by before you are lured into the forested world of Kishkindha Kaandam, pulled by the spells of a flowing script that hops like a city bus between a few familiar stops – a forest office and a police station, a few people and many monkeys, and a looming old house packed into the woods. The whole setup reeks of mysteries about to unravel, but not down the trodden path, it is clear from the start. A body was not going to pop up and bald detectives were not about to crouch down for clues. Yet, it thrills in an icy sort of way, keyed as it is by a very smooth script (Bahul Ramesh) and packed with some smart direction (Dinjith Ayyathan). The mysteries of this story lie among the living.

Vijayaraghavan, an underrated performer, emerges from the top of the house and down the creaking stairs like a grumpy old man who’s hard to fathom, but whose many sides lay hidden, packed and parcelled into that room of his where no one else is allowed. Appu Pillai, says his younger son Ajayan, may be a curious character to others, but to him, it was his dear dad. Asif Ali as Ajayan appears the more mature among the two men, patient as a saint with the tantrums of his father. You’d worry for Aparna (Aparna Balamurali), entering this strange world, where quietness is the norm, broken only by the ceaseless chattering of monkeys. 

But like the rest of the characters, she fits smoothly into the picture like the missing piece of a puzzle, clearly fascinated by the charms of a place that has a transistor hanging from an unreachable branch, and toys falling from even higher. The work of monkeys, Ajayan tells his new wife on a pleasant morning, the scenery so enchanting that the breeze hovering them appears to flow from the screen to your seat. Bahul, the writer of the story, has also worked behind the camera. The man clearly has magic in his hands.

The subtleties of the actors – Aparna not shrieking with joy at the wonders of nature, Asif not making loud declarations of love for her or the ageing father, Vijayaraghavan the complete picture of aloofness – draw you closer to their story, their emotions somehow more transparent without the practised overplay. Director Dinjith goes one step too far to keep it underwhelming. Barring a rare emotional scene towards the climax, there is hardly a pat or a comforting word swapped between characters, at their most vulnerable moments. In a scene where Ajayan allows a struggling teardrop to spill down his face, you’d wait for Aparna to hold him, but the couple make do with a nod.

The only cinematic luxury Dinjith allows himself in plenty is the soundtrack, the music at times thumping like a heartbeat as if the chills thrown by the script were not enough. It was nice to hear a northeastern tune, “father’s permanent playlist”, which somehow gelled with the mystic woods. 

The pace is not the same as in a whodunit but Bahul’s script is tight, helped by the editing of Sooraj ES. Not a moment is dragged, as characters flow into the picture and add to the mystery, with performances so smooth you hardly notice the actors behind the made-up faces. Jagadish, lovely and raw as he has been in films of the recent past, is entrusted with Sumadattan, a brewer of illicit liquor with secrets of his own. Kakka Ravi, springing a surprise appearance in a Malayalam film after a gap, is slowly built on. Ashokan, Shebin Benson, Nishan, Kottayam Ramesh, Krishnan and even Ashvin Matthew, who only appears on screen for calls, play their roles like seasoned hands. 

For all the thought that went into the making of the film, and even with a backstory that merits the buildup, the ending may seem a tad unfitting. But for a writer and a director who paid so much attention to so many details, this little setback can be swept under the rug.

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the producers or any other members of its cast and crew.