THE EXPECTED AND THE UNEXPECTED DURING DISTRESS

Victor Hugo wrote in Les Misérables “There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.”

Poignant words!

The multiple-award-winning Kannada movie, "ತಲ್ಲಣ" (Thallaṇa, which translates to: “Distraught”) attempts to give a 'ring-side view' of the miseries the poor, the powerless and the under-privileged fringe endures. It showcases the systemic abuse, apathy, deceit and humiliation meted out to this stratum of society. On a different note, the flick also examines the functioning of human relationships within a community– amorphous and informal equations often trump where formal and crystallized definitions fail.

The film features the travails of Jaya, a domestic help, whose young daughter, Sushma goes missing. Jaya practically runs pillar-to-post and moves heaven-and-earth in her search with little help from the police authorities, callous and negligent as often. Sadananda, the good Samaritan in whose house Jaya works, assists her. But then, embarrassing allegations of adultery are leveled against Sadananda even as he struggles to cope up with tensions and complications within his own family.

Sudarshan Narayana, the director and script-writer, has masterfully dealt with the nuances of societal constructs and institutional malaise. He projects the good within the community that makes it resilient despite the flaws and evil therein. The movie though has a vague, abrupt and implausible ending– a loophole in the messaging, which leaves a void in the mind of the viewer.

KS Sridhar, as Sadananda, has acted brilliantly. The rest of the cast has put up reasonable performances, barring a few scenes of melodrama– it is perhaps attributable to blemishes in the screenplay. The editing, background score and cinematography are just about okay.

The movie makes for gripping drama, no doubt!

My rating, a well-deserved: 8.0 on 10!