Sudani from Nigeria Analysis

Sudani from Nigeria

Directed by: Zakariya

Starring: Soubin Shahir

Cinematography: Shyju Khalid

National Award for Best Feature Film Malayalam

In this consumerist, capitalist world where all that matters is money we need films like these which inspire us to love unconditionally. This story is about a Nigerian football player, Samuel, who joins a football club in Kerala managed by Majeed, played by Soubin Shahir. Soubin Shahir effortlessly fits in this character, Majeed. His diversity in acting is similar to Shadab Hosseini's in The Salesman and A Separation where the actor doesn't try hard to be different from their other performances and the diversity in their performance comes from the subtle nuances which we can't even point out consciously. This film is a journey of Majeed's character from being cold and an opportunist to being warm and accepting. He changes not because of one incident, but a sequence of he feeling angry, guilty, eventually understanding, to finally being accepting.

The title is derived from how people ignore the fact that he is from Nigeria and call him 'Sudani' and come to visit him like he is a tourist spot. The way people are portrayed in the film is what keeps the world of the film real and grounded. Language and the barrier of language is used as a tool of storytelling in this film. Majeed, speaks in Malayalam to Samuel when he wants to just vent and doesn't want him to understand what he is saying. Majeed's mother speaks in Malayalam with Samuel in spite of she knowing that he won't get it because she knows that emotions can be communicated and they clearly do. The way she cries in front of him, the way she sees him crying and the way she prays for him is all so endearing. Sometimes, we see that Samuel probably isn't getting what she is saying and he is just nodding his head. It makes these characters more human.

This film is shot and co-produced by Shyju Khalid, I checked his filmography and I'm shocked. How can a person have most of the best films coming out of the industry in his filmography? It has a realist approach in the look of the film. The songs and the background score, add to the theme of the film, whether it's the love for football, compassion towards people. The scene where they find the passport, it's so simple and surprising that you react exactly like the character who found it. The climax of the film is so heart warming, it felt like a warm hug and an ode to football, friendship and love. The last scene where Majid redeems himself, by accepting his step father works because of the body language of the actor who played the father.