'Bison Kaalamaadan' review: Mari Selvaraj's strongest work since 'Pariyerum Perumaal'

First off, if you belong to the camp that's tired of "oppression, depression, and suppression" movies, then you should stay as far as away as possible from Mari Selvaraj's latest feature, Bison Kaalamaadan. It's not for you. You're better off watching something else instead. Because this is yet another uncompromising work from a filmmaker who returns to form with a blistering tale that's as uplifting as it is heartbreaking. It has no qualms about putting its protagonist — its hero — Kittan (Dhruv Vikram), and almost everyone else, through the wringer.

Suffice it to say, Bison Kaalamaadan is filled to the brim with emotions. It subjects you to uncomfortable and occasionally surreal imagery before transporting you to a warm, comforting terrain. It torments you before it rewards you. It is to Mari Selvaraj what Sarpatta Parambarai was to Pa. Ranjith. It's the former's most "feel-good" film. I'm using double quotes because even when a smile finally appears on your face, you know how many hard-hitting moments you had to endure to get there.

It's only apt because for a lion's share of its runtime, Mari Selvaraj takes us so close to the state of mind of not just Kittan, but everyone close to him who is rooting for his survival. Selvaraj transplants us to a land that's visibly wide and spacious, but makes you feel as claustrophobic as when you're caught in a lift crammed with ten people. It's a land that doesn't allow you to feel big or important. It makes you feel miniscule and insignificant, and Selvaraj often frames Kittan in vacant spaces to suggest these ideas.

Bison Kaalamaadan is populated with numerous characters of different dimensions; some are fully formed, others not quite. There are those who are blinded by caste pride, who cannot be expected to turn a new leaf. There are those who have wandered too far into the murk that they cannot be expected to turn a new leaf even if they wish to. Many sacrifices will be made, most of them with blood, either directly or indirectly. And would it be really a Mari Selvaraj film if women and animals don't bear the brunt of venomous men conditioned by indoctrinations of generations that came before?

As someone who believes that the filmmaker's debut feature, Pariyerum Perumaal, is his best, I'm inclined to call Bison Kaalamaadan his best since that one. There's the feeling that I might revisit this at a later time, provided I've once again mustered the strength to sit through all its difficult pieces again, and conclude that it's my favourite Mari Selvaraj film. There are many reasons for this feeling.

Perhaps it has to do with the epic scale of it. Perhaps it has to do with some familiar and favourite actors who have earlier appeared in some of my favourite Tamil films, and are playing different versions of the characters they played in them. Perhaps it has to do with how it explores the idea of putting aside differences and taking the hand of someone you've perceived, until that point, as the "enemy", to forge your path to victory. Perhaps it has to do with how Bison Kaalamadaan evokes the world of films like Vada Chennai, Asuran, Gangs of Wasseypur, Nayakan, Satya, and, of course, the aforementioned Sarpatta Parambarai. Bison Kaalamaadan feels like it's cut out of the same fabric as those films. Did I feel it’s Mari Selvaraj's biggest film yet? Undoubtedly.  

The actors, in parts big and small, are all in top form. Dhruv Vikram is electrifying as Kittan aka 'Bison', a role that requires him to be both vulnerable and aggressive in the right places. There are moments where he displays the admirable streaks of his father, moments in which I took great delight. Pasupathy gives it all to the part of the father who has seen way too much and doesn't wish to see his son experience the same fate that befell those who attempted to aim for the same objective.

The lead female cast members are solid, too. Rajisha Vijayan as the elder sister who has taken the place of the absent mother; Anupama Parameshwaran as the woman who defies conventions when pursuing the man she is in love with.

Bison Kaalamaadan is further elevated by two formidable actors in the form of Lal and Ameer Sultan, playing rivals constantly baying for each other's blood, but also portrayed as men with a considerable share of respectable qualities which can salvage someone's life even when they're in a position where they cannot dream of doing the same for themselves.

What makes this entire canvas even more wholesome is Nivas K. Prasanna's score — mournful when it needs to be and rousing in moments of triumph. Cinematographer Ezhil Arasu K conjures up a strife-ridden landscape from a bygone era that feels stuck in time.

And before I forget, props to the sound department, too. One particularly unnerving sound effect involving an old man on his deathbed recalled a similar sound effect from Karnan with a pregnant woman. Fortunately, despite occasional strange writing choices, like that one scene where Kittan suddenly appears "possessed" and "superheroic", Bison Kaalamaadan doesn't feel as self-indulgent as the other example. I left the theatre shaken, stirred, and extremely satisfied.

Film: Bison Kaalamaadan
Director: Mari Selvaraj
Cast: Dhruv Vikram, Pasupathy, Rajisha Vijayan, Anupama Parameshwaran, Lal, Ameer Sultan
Rating: 4.5/5

Movies Review