Android Kunajappan Version 5.25
Written & Directed by: Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval
The opening scene of the film gives us the theme of the film, it is a human vs robots themed film where the robot is fascinating and exciting at the start because it does all the boring, mechanical tasks but creates trouble later because, well, it's a robot after all. Later sometime into the film, you realize it not only explores the human vs robot theme but also, Her-esque themes like loneliness and finding companionship in an AI device. This film is an example of how concepts, ideas or themes can be revisited with a fresh outlook. As S.S. Rajamouli said, 'I copy a lot of scenes, but I make sure that I enhance them to the next level. It is wrong if you copy something and present it as it is or if you degrade it, but I try to elevate the material that I take from.'
Android Kunjappan is set in the rural landscape of Kerala, it starts with the tonality and pacing of all good Malayalam movies, soothing, laid back and slice of life. The humor of this film is so refreshing, it doesn't present the cringe-worthy jokes that people usually do in films but it in turn makes fun of that cringe. Bhaskaran Poduval is a grumpy, stubborn, conservative old man, yet that doesn't make him unsympathetic because that's how most of the old people are. They have lived most of their lives a certain way, and if you try to challenge their sacrosanct belief system that they had their entire lives, that won't work. But, once you manage to convince them of something then they start to believe it with all their heart which is what happens when his son Subramanian leaves him with a robot to nurse him while he is at Russia working. According to Blake Snyder, the author of Save the Cat, once the premise of the film is presented the hero should have denial at the beginning and the hero should eventually clear all the doubts about it and enter the mission. Here too, as soon as Bhaskaran is given the robot, naturally, he doesn't get it. Slowly, he starts to enjoy the company and more than anything the robot doesn't question him back which conservative Indian parents hate.
The scenes in Russia didn't work for me, there is nothing unique about the woman character other than her mixed nationality. This isn't a complaint, it is good that those scenes were not given more run time. They give a sense of closure to the world, so they can't be skipped. They could've been done better.
Some things don't work in the film, like sometimes the events happening in the film look unrealistic which wouldn't be a complaint if not for the grounded tonality of the film. Sometimes, the dialogue of the robot seems too convenient especially in the last scene where it starts talking about how it is not to be loved and that it is just a machine. When the robot grabs the neck of his son, by activating self protection mode, it gets so interesting but when the old Bhaskaran manages to get the hand off when Subramanian couldn't it feels contrived. The rules of the world are not clear, which can sometimes work like how it gets suddenly exciting when it grabs his neck but it would've worked on the larger picture if the rules of the robot world were clearly established, like in Shankar's Enthiran. The passion with which the character wanted to take revenge on the robot, also didn't seem convincing to me.
I was shocked by read that Bhaskaran is played by Suraj Venjaramoodu, who is in his 40s playing someone who looked like he was in his 70s. Everything was perfect, the voice, body language, facial gestures and there was not a single clue that something was off. The cinematography by Sanu Varghese John is beautiful in portraying the landscapes of the village, but there was no sense of contrast in the visuals of Russia and those in the village. It felt like his son was somewhere nearby, the way his visits were shown. If those visuals had some contrast in terms of color or the lighting then maybe that distance would've been more evident, at least subconsciously.
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