Kumari Movie Review

Introduction

The movie Kumari is in Malayalam. The company behind it is Prithviraj Productions. On October 28, 2022, the movie will be released. Nirmal Sahadev is the film's writer and director.

Kumari, a young woman who is married to Kanjirangattu Tharavadu, is the main figure in a story that a grandmother tells to her granddaughter. Mysterious tales of retaliation and avarice are spoken around the mansion. Will Kumari be affected by their philosophies and superstitions?

Cast

Shruti Menon, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Giju John, Tanvi Ram, Shine Tom Chacko, Surabhi Lakshmi, Swasika.

Plot

At the start of the movie, a grandma tells her granddaughter a story about a goddess who once travelled the world. She left her house since the beauty of the world entered her. Instead, she wed a mortal and gave birth to two superhumanly strong children, Chathan and Gari Devan, who didn't have either a human or a godly look. The goddess had to imprison Chathan in the mountains and Gari Devan to the ground before she could return to her abode as a result of their conflict and the ruin of the planet. People start to admire them once they discover how powerful they are and how they can be used for the sake of humanity.

The movie then shifts its attention to a small village where the conservative landlord Thuppan is notorious for mistreating the low-caste locals. Unknown to everyone, Chathan regularly encountered a tiny orphan named Chokkan, who exchanged food for gems from him. The loving wife of Thuppan, Nangakutty, spoke to Chokkan regularly and tenderly. Chokkan once forgot the mangoes he had brought while chatting with Nangakutty. Unknown to everyone, Nangakutty consumed the mangoes that the landlord believed to be wicked due to their status as outcasts. Later, while Nangakutty was feeding Thuppan, he noticed the fragrance of mangoes coming from her and recognised she had been consuming wild fruits. Thuppan made the decision to take a bath in the family pond to clean himself up since he was angry and felt unclean. Thuppan scolded Chokkan for swimming in the pond out of rage before hitting him with a rock and killing him. In his rage, Chathan cursed the neighbourhood, causing Thuppan to get ill and a hail of pebbles to fall. To break the curse and protect his tribe and people, Thuppan took the choice to contact Gari Devan.

After twelve generations, despite Jayan's advice, Kumari, an orphan who was raised by her uncles and brother Jayan, marries Thuppan's descendant Dhruvan, who has a mental illness. Chokkan lures Kumari into the jungle, but her half-sister Lakshmi, who is married to Dhruvan's brother Achyuthan, forbids her from going there for fear of angering Chathan. She adds that Thuppan had requested protection from Chathan's curse on the family from Gari Devan. Dhruvan reveals that he was neglected in favour of his brother, which caused him to become his own companion and led everyone to believe that he was mentally sick when Kumari questions him about it after seeing his uncle Velyachan and brother Achyuthan mistreating him afterwards. Additionally, he claimed that he killed his teacher after she severely struck him with a cane while he was absent from class to attend a dance performance. When Kumari realises that Dhruvan requires love and care, she begins to provide for him. Meanwhile, Achyuthan's illicit romance with Parijatham leads him to desire ownership of the hamlet.

While chasing the intriguing Chokkan through the jungle, Kumari meets Muthamma. She asks Kumari to meet her across the river so that she may take her to Chathan, who would take care of the kid, and says that she is carrying a child who is in danger from Dhruvan. When Kumari finally gets home, she discovers she's pregnant. Everyone in the family, with the exception of Dhruvan, doesn't appear happy about Kumari's pregnancy, which worries Kumari. By finding Dhruvan mutilating his two fingers to resemble Gari Devan, Kumari learns that he has intentions to govern Hamlet as its ruler.

They get into a fight when Achyuthan makes fun of him about it, but Velyachan intervenes and declares that Dhruvan will become the new landlord because he is the first person in the next generation to have a child. Later, Lakshmi explains to Kumari why she made the conscious decision to forgo having children. In response to Gary Devan's offer twelve generations prior, Thuppan had, against Nangakutty's objections which ultimately led to her suicide, sacrificed his own son to Gari Devan in order to please him. Since the family can only benefit from Gari Devan's protection and Thuppan's sacrifice for twelve generations, the ladies were not delighted about Kumari's pregnancy. As the lord of the twelfth generation, it was Dhruvan's turn to offer up his child. In response to Kumari's frightened claim that Dhruvan would never act in such a manner, Lakshmi asserts that the family males will go to any length to uphold their authority and traditions. Lakshmi also informs Kumari that Thuppan has been alive for the previous twelve generations, rotting in the attic for his transgressions. Velyachan kills Lakshmi the following morning after witnessing her telling Kumari everything.

Kumari, who is devastated, crosses the river to Muthamma's hamlet, where Chathan is revered. Kumari is then brought before Chathan, who tells her that her kid will be safeguarded. Along with a few incantations to repeat, she is given a little item to bury in her house. Velyachan begins preparing Dhruvan for the impending sacrifice, while Parijatham urges Achyuthan to go see Chathan and seek authority, but Chathan kills him. Velyachan later succumbs to a snake bite as well, and Dhruvan becomes the new ruler in his place. When Chathan's curse strikes the neighbourhood once more, the story is replayed.

Dhruvan believes someone is working against him and has allied with Chathan when their house catches fire. He then marches his thugs into the jungle. He murders Chathan's supporters, but his henchmen force him to turn around when the environment warns Chathan is coming. Just before she dies, Muthamma admits that Kumari is the one who is planning an attack on him to protect her child. After confronting Kumari and making the case that it would be his responsibility to kill his child for the tribe, Dhruvan locks her up in a chamber. When Jayan, Kumari's brother, arrives to take her away, he confronts Dhruvan in the fields for mistreating her. However, Dhruvan murders Jayan, leaving Kumari inconsolable. When she has no other option, Kumari runs across Thuppan, who hates himself for all the issues he has caused and asks her to pray to the goddess that Nangakutty once worshipped but that he ignored since he was attempting to speak to Gari Devan. She finds the goddess' idol and a dagger that she has only ever seen in her nightmares before.

After giving birth to a healthy boy, Kumari tries to leave with him, but Dhruvan ambushes her and takes the baby away to be sacrificed. After contacting Gari Devan to accept the sacrifice, Kumari confronts Dhruvan and Gari Devan with the dagger from the goddess idol when she gets back. To honour his promise to Kumari and finish the fight he had started earlier, Chathan also appears and joins in combat with Gari Devan. While Chathan murders Gary Devan, Kumari kills Dhruvan against her will and saves her kid. Several years later, Kumari, who is now the village landlady, is seen observing the neighbourhood. It is revealed that her son was the one who heard Savitri, Dhruvan's mother, narrate the story for the first time.

Review

Who doesn't enjoy listening to bedtime and grandma's tales? Every Malayali would have at least one sentimental memory of participating in these story-telling sessions that engendered indelible images of right vs. wrong, evil vs. virtue, and culture and customs. In fact, these tales and myths have been crucial in shaping Kerala's modern reality, which has even given rise to certain horrible acts like the sacrifice of human beings for wealth and peace.

The principal character in the film, Kumari, appears in a story that a grandmother tells to her granddaughter. It describes a tranquil village with the Kanjirangattu family as the head family, which is close to the Illimulam forest. It also describes the offspring of a goddess who chose to leave heaven and dwell in the world and who were born as "Chathanmar"?people with peculiar traits. Kumari, an orphan raised by her uncles and brother, marries Dhruvan. As Kumari becomes used to her new family, she also comes to see how the locals are misled by magic and religious belief. The second film by Nirmal Sahadev is a fantasy thriller that is reminiscent of classic granny stories. The movie also transports viewers back in time to films like Manichithrathazhu because of Kumari's resemblance to Ganga and music that is also reminiscent of Manichithrathazhu and Anandabhadram. With the help of Abraham Joseph's expertly created images, which are the ideal fusion of lights and colours, the film is able to transport viewers to these fantastical realms.

The movie has a fantastic flow because of the sharp editing. However, the conclusion lacks impact due to repetitive graphics, terrible Chathanmar imagery, and a subpar performance by the main character.

Aishwarya Lekshmi does a fantastic job as the lead. She gets praise for taking on the challenge and giving the joyful, perplexed, afraid, and fearless Kumari her best shot. She fails to capture the character's passion at the climactic phase, which she found to be a little difficult. Surabhi Lekshmi and Shine Tom Chacko are responsible for the film. Shine portrays Druvan, who changes from a subservient, selfish young houseboy to a horrible, greedy occult practitioner and thampuran. He makes us think of Kuttan Thampuran from Sargam. Surabhi, who portrays a different occultist, gives a spellbinding performance. She effortlessly transforms into the part, occasionally leaving the audience wondering whether it's all genuine.

Movies are works of art. Regardless of the damage and the subliminal semiotics it creates in people's minds, it could be delightful if viewed as art. But in order to do that, the movie requires material that can see past the ancillary narrations. The story, screenplay, and language for the movie were written by Fasal Hameed and Nirmal Sahadev. They fail to add that element, the most crucial one, to a technologically excellent picture. The plot is retrograde and old-fashioned, which once more offers society a misleading impression of the outside world.

Knowing that child and human sacrifices are still often performed in India as gifts to appease the gods is worrisome. The National Crime Records Bureau reports that there were 68 homicides connected to witchcraft in India in 2021, six of which included minors, and six incidents of human sacrifice. Regardless of religion or monotheist or polytheist belief systems, animal sacrifices are highly prevalent in Kerala.

Box Office Review

The movie "Kumari" had a budget of about 5-6 crores, and it made up to 1.16 crores at the box office.

Public Rating

6.4/10 - IMDb

3 /5- Times of India

FAQs

1. Is the movie Kumari worth seeing?

Overall, a watchable film that is enjoyable in the cinema.

2. Is the tale of Kumari true?

A tale from the Vadakkan Aithihyamala, a collection of ancient stories from north Kerala, served as the inspiration for the director and scenarist's latest film, Kumari.

3. What genre does Kumari fall under?

Kumari falls under "Thriller Genre"