Kadaisi Vivasayi Movie Review: A Soul-Stirring Piece Of Cinema That Gets The Farmers' Life Right!

In one of the most moving scenes of Kadaisi Vivasayi, Maayandi (played by late Nallandi), is seen asking a question about the purpose of life. That is the scene that contains the complete essence of this M Manikandan directorial - soul-stirring and philosophical, yet not at all preachy. Kadaisi Vivasayi can be considered a piece of cinematic gold solely for this reason.

What's Yay:

The brilliant casting

Metaphors

Authentic portrayal of village and farmers' lives

The background score (or lack of it)

What's Nay:

The docu-drama style of narration

Uneven pacing

Plot

Mayaandi (Nallandi) is an 85-year-old illiterate farmer. He ends up as the Kadaisi Vivasayi (last farmer) of his village after the other villagers bid goodbye to agriculture by selling their lands. However, Mayaandi refuses to sell his land, as farming is his only purpose in life. After a series of incidents, he lands up in jail for a crime that he never committed.

Script & Direction

M Manikandan, the writer-director is back with one more stunning piece of cinema, that discusses the farmers' lives and gives an authentic insight into village life. The filmmaker easily transports the viewers to this world of Nallandi, without being overboard with the usual "vivasayi prachanai" speech or other cinematic tropes. Instead, we get a film that discusses the basic ideas of life in a philosophical or even spiritual manner, with utmost simplicity.

The biggest plus of Kadaisi Vivasayi is that the film doesn't even try to give a message or school its viewers. Instead, it simply puts forward the ideas through the brilliantly used metaphors and well-conceived scenes, without being obvious. Each and every character, including Mayaandi, Vijay Sethupathi's Ramayya, Yogi Babu's Mahout, Dr Rachel Rabecca's judge, the policemen who arrest the protagonist, - all are shown as any other human being.

Kadaisi Vivasayi almost stays away from the background score at various points, which is both positive and negative. The absolute lack of drama and uneven pacing makes the film go into a docu-drama mode, which might make it a difficult watch for some. But this Manikandan directorial is worth revisiting and further reading.

Performances

Nallandi, the late actor who has played the central character Mayaandi, is the perfect choice for the role. Vijay Sethupathi deserves special applause for making a cameo appearance as Ramayya, and for backing this film. Yogi Babu makes his presence felt in the role of the mahout. The rest of the star cast, who are basically the localities of the Usilampatti village where the film is set in, are great in their respective roles.

Technical Aspects

M Manikandan, the director himself has handled the cinematography of Kadaisi Vivasayi, and he has done a good job. B Ajith Kumar's editing is fine.

Santhosh Narayanan scores with the rightly placed background score that provides the right mood to the narrative only when it is necessary.

Verdict

Kadaisi Vivasayi is a stunning piece of cinema that gets the life of farmers right, without cringeworthy speeches or over-dramatization. This Manikandan directorial is simple yet soul-stirring and definitely deserves to be revisited.