Sakhavu Review - A Dummies Guide to Communism in Kerala

Sethumadhavan

There’s this moment in Sidhartha Siva’s Sakhavu (comrade) where Sakhavu Krishnan (Nivin Pauly) is waiting to meet his adversary Garudan Kangani (Baiju), the right hand guy of the tea plantation manager who exploits the workers. Its night time and as the booming voice of Krishnan calls out to Kangani, an enraged Kangani asks Krishnan to come out in the open and not to stay in the darkness. To this there’s a fitting reply from Krishnan as he says that it’s Kangani who is standing in the darkness and not him, it’s a goose bump inducing mass moment without going overboard. And if this description does not convey the actual essence of the scene, don’t be disappointed as watching it unfold on screen will most certainly impress you. Sakhavu is a full-fledged look at communism as a way of life and how it runs so deep in the psyche of many a Malayalee. But thankfully the message is not conveyed in a dry fashion, the film is certainly a commercial entertainer.

Krishna Kumar (Nivin Pauly) is a youth communist leader who is keen to adopt as many short cuts as possible to move up the political ladder. He is a wily, practical individual who is supported in everything that he does by Mahesh (Althaf Salim), another party worker. One day his life faces an unexpected twist in a fashion that he would have never expected. Krishna Kumar lands up at a Government hospital to donate blood for a patient who is about to undergo a surgery. It is only much later that he comes to know that the patient is Sakhavu Krishnan, a veteran communist leader and social worker who seems to be extremely popular thanks to all his good work over the years. As the day slowly progresses Krishna Kumar goes on to know the life story of Sakhavu Krishnan, the various ups and downs that made him a force to reckon with and his work which made him earn the respect of all kinds of people. The tale constantly moves between two time zones, symbolizing the past when Krishnan was an active communist leader and the present through the eyes of Krishnan.

At the very outset it is made quite clear that the film is a positive tribute to communism and its principles, Sidhartha Siva does not mislead the viewer in this aspect. Beginning with the voice over of Krishnan (before the opening credits roll) and right till the very end Sakhavu is all about the communist way of life. But then this could perhaps be a deterrent for someone who’s not so much fond of political dramas. The other problem with the writing is that the proceedings get a little slow at times, the length of 164 minutes only making it appear slightly stretched. Also Sakhavu Krishnan is projected as someone who is an ideal leader who could do no wrong, a little unreal in a way. Thankfully this is balanced by the portrayal of the more practical and realistic Krishna Kumar. The film gets its period look (especially the 1970’s) quite right, the choice of locations and George C.Williams’ cinematography being put to good use by Sidhartha Siva. Prashant Pillai’s music works in sync with the flow of the film.

The casting choices are effective, Althaf as Mahesh provides some laughs while the women don’t get to do much, this includes Aparna Gopinath as Krishnan’s daughter, Aishwarya Rajesh as Krishnan’s wife, Gayathri Suresh as the nurse who’s the school junior of Krishna Kumar. Of the others Binu Pappu as the ex –cop and Krishnan’s foe turned close friend and Sreenivasan as the doctor treating Sakhavu Krishnan leave an impact. Nivin Pauly is fantastic as he manages to carefully portray both the contrasting characters in a manner that makes one nearly overlook the issues with the film. Despite the proceedings turning a tad too grim at times Nivin manages to keep us hooked to the screen. Sakhavu is not an extraordinary film, far from it but then it’s a film which does not mislead the viewers and has quite a few things going in its favour.

Bottomline:

Sidhartha Siva has made a successful transition from making offbeat award winning films to mainstream commercial entertainers and that too with a popular star in the lead. Nivin Pauly’s spirited performance is more than enough reason to watch the film.

Rating: 3/5