KARNAN IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO HAPPEN IN 2021- KARNAN FILM REVIEW (8.5)

Karnan, a recently released Tamil film is a cinematic wonder. No words are enough to describe the execution of the movie. The synopsis of the movie will make you think that it is like every other movie 'Poor people of a remote village are oppressed by power were a fearless village guy voices against the oppression'. But there is so much more to this movie. Karnan will fill you with rage, horror, and tears.

Karnan is a drama/action movie directed by Mari Selvaraj and was released on April 9, 2021. It stars Dhanush, Rajisha Vijayan, Lakshmi Priya Chandra, Gouri G.Kishan. It is rating 8.5 in IMDb with about 10,000 votes.

Karnan is now streaming in Amazon Prime Videos

Dhanush and his versatility

Dhanush is one of the most versatile actors of India. He has this amazing ability to completely surrender to a character and portrays it so convincingly and flawlessly. From playing a schoolboy in Raanjhanaa to a father of 3 in Asuran and back to a young boy in Karnan, Dhanush has proved that one doesn't need to change his physique to fit into any character. Dhanush is both an artistic and a commercial actor. He doesn't do the movie for the sake of doing a movie, but for the story to be told.

The painful story of Karnan

The story of Karnan is very painful. A small village Puzhiakulam is so suppressed that even buses do not stop there. People have to walk to another village to board a bus. Because of safety reasons, girls cannot join colleges. With the fear of losing everything they have gained, villagers find keeping shut as a solution. But Karnan, a young and fearless boy is aware enough to know that keeping shut would only make them more oppressed. He is hotheaded and cannot stand the humiliation of the village. So he fights back every time such things happen. But villagers see it as the digging of their own graves. The situation worsens when no matter what the buses do not agree to stop, the village is continuously tagged as a 'wasteland', some men of other village grow enmity and worst of all police starts abusing their power upon them. Karnan will take you deep down to show the horrors faced by the marginalized people.

Symbols

The movie tells you so much more through its visuals rather than simply through the dialogues. By the end of the movie, you will be able to connect the symbols easily. Karnan (Karna) is the eldest son of Kunti (Mahabharata reference) who is an accomplished warrior with an exceptional ability to give his love and life to loyalty. The movie also has adapted other names from Mahabharata including Duryodhana (the village chief) and Draupadi (Karnan's love interest). From eagles snatching away the chicks to the passed-on sword, every little visual will remind you of the helplessness of the marginalized people, and picking up the weapons being the only solution to fight back.

What could have been better?

Karnan has barely given any space for criticism. No wonder the ending of the movie is as good as the entire movie. However, the movie did lack a proper closure of certain things. The movie displays two different scenes at the beginning. Even though those events are eventually talked about during the course of the movie, visuals do not return back to those scenes, lacking an emphasis on how actually those events occurred. 

However, a little criticism can largely be neglected on a masterpiece like 'Karnan'. If you are a true admirer of art, you must watch Karnan. You will not regret it. 

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