Ananthan Kaadu review: Murali Gopy swallowed an encyclopedia, now we’re paying the price

Ananthan Kaadu Movie Review & Rating: “The most honest form of filmmaking is to make a film for yourself,” thus goes a quote widely attributed to Sir Peter Jackson, renowned for creating the Lord of the Rings movies. Among the current crop of Malayalam screenwriters, I would say Murali Gopy pens the most “personal” scripts; he essentially writes for himself. However, the issue is that he often writes solely for himself, without the slightest thought that it is for the eventual consumption of others. Sure, artists like Rick Rubin may have said that “the audience comes (only) last,” but that doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t exist at all.

I am not suggesting that screenwriters should be swayed by audience sensibilities or craft scripts with people’s preferences in mind. Nonetheless, to jot down whatever comes to mind, however one wants to, and then put the onus on the masses to like it no matter what — simply because it has hit theatres or “a lot of effort has gone into making it” — is unfair. Ananthan Kaadu is essentially yet another film where Murali Gopy has engaged in intellectual peacocking and expects people to be “awed” by it.

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Much like many of Murali Gopy’s previous scripts, Ananthan Kaadu is packed with references to real-life scenarios and socio-political issues. However, this time, the hollowness in his writing leaps off the page, largely due to director Jiyen Krishnakumar’s absolute cluelessness and a subservient adherence to the script, as if it were a holy text.

The action drama not only draws parallels between the lives of the Eelam Tamils facing oppression from the Sri Lankan government and those belonging to socially oppressed communities in Kerala’s capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, but also maintains that individual villains will keep cropping up until the system itself is dismantled and its brain is shattered.

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Vetrivel Kumaran (Arya) is an Eelam Tamil revolutionary who has led several uprisings. As one of the most wanted militants in Sri Lanka, Vetrivel flees to Kerala in the late 1980s to lay low for a while before striking back. In Thiruvananthapuram (also referred to as Ananthapuri), he is looked after by Krishnankutty (Indrans) and his men, including Thankaraj (Murali Gopy).

Once notorious criminals with about 40 cases to their names, Krishnankutty and his gang now lead a rather peaceful life, but aren’t ready to bow their heads before anyone. However, following IG Sampath Rao’s (Sunil) instructions, they agree to take up one last mission after learning it’s for Chief Minister KK Menon (Vijayaraghavan). This, however, changes the lives of Krishnankutty and his men, as well as Vetrivel, forever.

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In a way, it can be said that Ananthan Kaadu deals with the same topic as director Rajeev Ravi’s magnum opus Kammatipaadam (2016): how the elite and the powerful create criminals for their agenda and eliminate them once their needs are met or when they start talking back. However, what Ananthan Kaadu lacks is a soul. The biggest shortcoming of the screenplay is its lack of genuineness. Ananthan Kaadu is not about the characters or even Ananthapuri; rather, it’s about the many topics it attempts to address.

Not that the script has addressed any of them adequately either. But more than focusing on the characters or the overall growth of the story, Murali has concentrated on including as many references to real-life incidents and socio-political issues as possible, making them appear like footnotes rather than integral emotional components of the movie. Worse still, even the dialogues are substandard, and almost every character sounds as if they are delivering a TED Talk, but in Thiruvananthapuram slang.

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Although the number of metaphors and allegories per scene is significantly lower this time compared to the writer’s previous works — with the most notable example being the ridiculous Theerppu (2022) — Murali’s penchant for sounding as if he is the smartest in the room has stripped Ananthan Kaadu of its mere essence altogether. While the movie presents a handful of characters, even their dynamics are never properly communicated, mainly because there aren’t enough moments to explore them, and the few that do exist are wasted.

Unfortunately, none of the individual moments have managed to elicit the desired emotions due to the extremely poor writing, staging and the even more deplorable performances. For instance, there are two sequences in the movie showing brutalities committed by uniformed officers — one in Jaffna and the other in Thiruvananthapuram. While such moments have the potential to tug at viewers’ heartstrings easily, particularly with the opportunity to insert graphic depictions of violence, both sequences in the Jiyen Krishnakumar directorial fall flat.

Ananthan Kaadu features one of the worst editing jobs I have seen in recent Malayalam cinema. (Credit: Instagram/@mini.studio_official)

Murali Gopy’s contempt for leftist organisations is evident in Ananthan Kaadu as well. However, this time it appears to be included solely for him to bash them further, as the story would have unfolded in no different way had those characters been engaged in literally any other job or followed any other politics. Not only does he portray leftists as those suppressing people’s religious beliefs, but also as traitors who would go to great lengths for their own gain. It is interesting that Murali adhered to this rhetoric after the L2: Empuraan (2025) fiasco.

Ananthan Kaadu opens with eminent poet Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer’s famous lines: “Namukku naame panivathu naakam, narakavumathupole (We ourselves build our own heaven, and hell is also just like that).” While the essence of these verses aligns well with the story of Thankaraj and men, the same cannot be said for Vetrivel, since the history of Eelam Tamils shows that it wasn’t the case for them. This raises an interesting question: did the makers choose to present the verses at the start simply because one person found them profound, even though they did not fit the narrative?

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Since Murali Gopy tends to write “politically charged” scripts that focus more on the themes they wish to discuss than on the storytelling itself, it is crucial for the director to grasp the essence of the writing to avoid a disjointed film. This is where Prithviraj Sukumaran succeeded to an extent in Lucifer (2019), as did Arun Kumar Aravind in Left Right Left (2013). However, Jiyen Krishnakumar fails miserably in this regard, almost making one wonder if the movie even had a director during its production, given the mediocre-to-shoddy execution evident throughout.

Ananthan Kaadu features one of the worst editing jobs I have seen in recent Malayalam cinema. Particularly annoying is the unnecessary and pointless use of fast cutting, especially in action sequences and the appalling climax, which detracts from the overall experience. While B Ajaneesh Loknath’s background score elevates the movie to some extent — particularly during the (poorly executed) fight scene leading up to the interval — the songs are forgettable.

If there’s anything worth praising, it’s Ranjith Kotheri’s production design, as his department has made considerable efforts to establish a turbulent bygone era in the respective locations, ensuring that their idiosyncrasies and uniqueness are intact.

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The performances, even from veterans and renowned actors, are simply unimpressive in Ananthan Kaadu, leading one to wonder: did any of these artistes actually want to do this movie, or were they made to do it at gunpoint? Also, what was the rationale behind casting well-known faces in even the most insignificant and minute roles?

Ananthan Kaadu movie cast: Arya, Indrans, Sunil, Nikhila Vimal, Murali Gopy, Regena Cassandrra

Ananthan Kaadu movie director: Jiyen Krishnakumar

Ananthan Kaadu movie rating: 1 star