How ‘Mandela’ uses elements & objects to tell stories?
Happened to watch this recent Tamil movie ‘Mandela’ which was released in OTT that has created quite a sensation. However, I feel it would have made a much bigger impact in the case of a theatrical release also taking the fact that it was released during the precise time of TN elections.
This is strictly not a movie review. Rather, a heartful expression of the highlights of the film, breaking down some of the beautiful artwork created by Madonne Ashwin. The Nalaya Iyakunar fame director does some mindblowing work that might easily seem so non-recognizable. Astonishingly, Ashwin handles such an intense theme that talks mainly about oppression & the importance of voting with such ease and never forgets to present us with some lively humor giving us the Cho satire(Cho Ramasamy) flavor. The most important thing I loved in the movie was how he uses abstract symbolism and real-life elements as metaphors to tell stories without even dialogues. Not a new technique for Kollywood.
This technique is called Chekov’s gun concept.
Many directors have used this technique to tell interesting stories. Mandela is just filled with a lot of such ones.
Almost every character, frames, even background artists & set props have their minor story arcs. The tactic makes you predict one-line finishers & scene endings which makes the film so personal to you and I am sure each one gets a reflective feeling at the end.
It was like even the things in the movie were actual characters and has its own storyline
Let’s see a breakdown of some of my most loved elements & moments of the movie.
******************Spoilers Alert*****************
The Toilet
The first powerful element the director uses is surprising, right? Yes, it’s a newly constructed single toilet for the entire village with which the entire opening sequence is poised. Of course, the choice of element opens the scope for some laughter at the same time showing a synopsis of the crux of the movie. The brand new Toilet built by Northerners (Vadakooraans) is then destroyed during the clash between the villagers which is eventually being rebuilt by the opposite gang the Southerners (Therkoor karanga), courtesy power of Mandela’s vote.
President’s Dhoti
The small story arc of this element begins with the President noticing the dirt in his dhoti while leaving for the Toilet opening ceremony. The dirt is being taken care by his wives. The dhoti’s end comes when the President falls while peeing amidst the villagers clash.
It is then left with shit stains and is given some ample amount of screen time, probably the most intense frame of this movie to signify CASTEISM IS SHIT.
Smile’s Saloon Mirror
Mirrors have always been a go-to element for Kollywood directors be it K Balachander or Maniratnam to make scenes interesting. Here, the saloon mirror is used to make some interesting frames.
The old ruptured mirror which Smile uses initially makes a comeback after the gangs destroy his newly constructed saloon & mirror given by themselves. Yeah the Mirror says… ‘I’M BACK’ 😎
Smile’s Radio
Probably the closest thing to Smile after Girtha( Sideburns — Smile’s saloon sidekick). He sleeps with it using it as a headphone. In the end, it gets replaced by the post office passbook the next closest thing to him now 😛
The Banner
The flashy village banner during the initial sequence of the Toilet opening ceremony makes its way back as a shelter to Smile’s open saloon(his home). Sometimes even the simplest thing for one can be a valuable one for others.
Ambassador Car
The Car sent to fetch Smile for cleaning the toilet is one of the highlight elements. This important scene where Smile gets humiliated for getting into the car is a setup for a Annamalai-style comeback. Once Smile turns into Mandela and shows his value, the same car is sent to pick him up for voting.
The Uncanny Grey Hair of Thenmozhi
he intro scene of the heroine Thenmozhi(post office master) has a shot of her, wisely hiding a couple of grey hairs while combing. The shot is so beautiful and makes us wonder why this scene is repeated few times in the other sequences too. Smile even asks if he could dye her hair in return of her huge help which she refuses initially. In the end, he accomplishes this task after his realization when Thenmozhi finally accepts it.
The Post office Door
When Smile enters the post office for the first time he engages with the broken door and finds the place insecure for storing the cash. In due course, Thenmozhi then fixes the door thus fixing Smile’s insecurity.
The Stamp of Mandela
We get the huge reveal of the movie. The reason for the movie’s title gets shown in a single shot and the stamp of Mandela gives a new rebranding for Smile. 🙂 Also you obviously get the reason for the choice of the personality. The stamp also makes its way in few further shots when Mandela emotes with it. How a single stamp can change a person’s life ?
The Voter Id
Expected one. The second hero of the movie. Among the popular weapons of Kollywood’s protagonists be it Aruva, Guns or even M134 (in Kaithi) Ashwin simply creates such a mass factor using the simple Voter Id Card.
One can predict that this element is going to be vital. But the way it’s been used to create some mass sequences to depict the rise of Mandela was truly epic.
Slipper of Kaalai
It is such a beautiful treatment of this element’s story arc. Kaala is the sidekick of the Northener gang leader and often seems to remove his footwear while engaging during truffles to avoid the slipper from being torn. In the climax, when the villagers unite and Mandela brings the people together and Kaalai had to chase the person he had hired to kill Mandela, the slipper gets torn. SERUPU PINJIRCHU MOMENT……:P
The ‘Venam Pa’ Guy
We have this interesting character Esakki who has his cheesy one liner ‘Venam Pa’. He keeps using this line ironically at various junctures when he owes something to someone.
In the end, the same usage of this line marks a huge transformation of him from a loafer to a realized man.
The ‘Oru Vazhi Undu’ Guy
There is always a character/element to keep the plot moving. Ashwin uses one such character to move important scenes and character reveals.
This guy (Name unknown) repeats this cheesy one liner ‘Oru Vazhi Undu’ (There is a way) at important instances and then the story cuts to some important twists and reveals.
Hope you liked the breakdown and could relate with these elements as I did . Do drop in your comments if you had spotted few more interesting stuff in the movie :)
