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| film Oru Vadakkan Veera Gatha |
The way a story is told is as
important as the story itself, only if not more, no matter how amusing the
subject matter. Even a great story could go down the q-trap if not narrated in
a way appealing to the listener. There are several narrative techniques used in
literature and films, which in order to hold the interest of the reader or the audience,
employ various elements to set a sequence of events in the plot to do justice
to the overall story. ‘In medias res’
is one such technique that is as popular as is effective. Latin for “in the
middle of things”, this is when a book or movie starts in the middle of the
story creating curiosity, and the bygone events are filled in through
flashbacks or verbal accounts. There are several films in Malayalam that begins
in medias res, where we are thrown
right into the middle of action and the root cause of it all comes out only in
time. Following is a list of such movies that brilliantly employ this non-linear
narrative technique, scrambling the time sequence in ways beneficial to the story,
and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are better or worse than each other as
movies in whole, but only in their effectiveness in having started in medias res alone.
15. Thirakkatha 2008
screenplay: Ranjith
Thirakkatha concerns a search into the
life of a yesteryear acting sensation called Malavika who apparently disappeared
from public view while at the peak of her career. When the movie begins, the
image of the actor is long forgotten and the main narrative that records the
quest for her whereabouts runs parallel to the chronological rebuilding of the
actor’s turbulent earlier life.
14. Oru CBI Diary Kuruppu 1988
screenplay: S.N. Swamy
One of the all-time popular investigative
thrillers in Malayalam, Oru CBI Diary
Kuruppu directed by K. Madhu opens with the discovery of the bloodied dead
body of a young housewife called Omana and advances through the particulars of
the difficult investigation of what easily could have been concluded as a
suicide but is eventually reasoned as not.
13. Sadayam 1992
screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
When the movie begins, Sathyanathan is already
in prison having committed four murders including that of two young girls. Sadayam directed by Sibi Malayil explores
the series of events leading to the ridiculous crime and how the retelling affects
the position of the vengeful prison doctor who is also father to one of the
victims.
12. Mumbai Police 2013
screenplay: Bobby- Sanjay
The accident in the beginning that impairs the
memory of ACP Antony Moses happens immediately after he supposedly solves the
murder of his dear friend. But now in order to find those answers he has to
once again piece together from his ailing memory all that lead up to the
fateful accident. The narrative structure of Mumbai Police is what especially
helps to make it a taut thriller.
11. Kathavasheshan 2004
screenplay: T.V. Chandran
The unofficial probe by a woman into her
fiancé‘s suicide for no apparent reason forms the narrative spine of T.V.
Chandran’s Kathavasheshan. The non-linear
account of his past life weaved together by her journey through its myriad
characters is what gradually unravels the difficult reasons that drive a sane
man to take his own life.
10. Ozhimuri 2012
screenplay: Jeyamohan
A fifty five year old woman files for divorce
from her seventy one year old husband in a case that seems far too ludicrous
given their age and the passive temperament of the woman. As the trial
proceeds, the marital life of the two unravels at the same time attempting to reason
the plea for separation. Madhupal’s Ozhimuri
is as clever in narrative as it is with the subject matter.
9. Nirakkoottu 1985
screenplay: Dennis Joseph
Ravi Varma, a convict on death sentence for the
brutal murder of his wife, escapes prison right before his day of execution. He
then recounts the events to the victim’s sister, a journalist who had
previously published articles about the murder incriminating him, but turns out
to be misinformed. Ravi Varma’s murky past also lurks in the background as a
threatening character through the better part of the film.
8. Utharam 1989
screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
The movie opens with the mysterious death of an
up and coming poetess. An investigation into the reasons that ushered this happily
married young woman to death takes us way back to her past that leads to
shocking revelations with twisted consequences. Taking the form of a detective
thriller, the two halves of Utharam
are laid parallel to each other in narrative sequence.
7. Panchagni 1986
screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
In the opening scene set in prison, Indiira is
on a hunger strike to buy parole in order to go meet her ailing mother. It’s
through her bitter experiences and taunts while on parole that we get to see
glimpses of her past life, most of which are joined through verbal accounts and
rumors eventually arriving at its shocking conclusion that wouldn’t have been as
effective had it not started in medias
res.
6. Kamaladalam 1992
screenplay: A.K. Lohithadas
A major part of the tragedy in Nandagopan’s
life including the violent end of his wife is over by the time the movie
begins, and he’s already a raging alcoholic wreck. The image that the society draws
of him gradually appears to contradict the person that he is, and his past, in
addition to the fancy of the wags, comes to life in his own vivid retelling to
his protégé in time.
5. Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha 1989
screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
Here the present and the past are not just
separated by time, but also by the diametrically opposite perception of the
central character Chandu. The views of popular culture is what represents the
present, and the past narrated by Chandu himself unfolds a series of unheard-of
details that shows him in a new light boldly rewriting history.
4. Swapnadanam 1976
screenplay: K.G. George
The main plotline in this psychological drama unfolds
through the psychiatric probing of the central character whose descend to
madness is rationalized by his difficult marriage and his sorrow over a lost
love. A very experimental approach at the time of its release, Swapnadanam is one of the pioneers in
non-linear narrative technique that begins in
medias res.
3. Adwaitham 1992
screenplay: T. Damodaran
Mysterious spiritual leader and celebrated god
man Swami Amrithananda who arrives on a peace mission to Kerala begins to
receive death threats. His complex past narrated in flashbacks revealing the
true nature of a completely contradictory character inside the guru’s divine cloak,
is interspersed with the desperate security measures taken to thwart the impeding
danger making up an intensely layered narrative.
2.Yavanika 1982
screenplay: S.L. Puram Sadanandan, K.G.
George
When the movie begins, Aiyappan is long gone,
missing or murdered, and the investigation into the case is what gradually reveals
the sheer size of this shady character’s iniquity through numerous accounts
of people who knew or dealt with him when he was around. The scrambling of time
sequence works very well with this genre always keeping the viewers' curiosity
on edge.
1.Parinayam 1994
screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
Parinayam is the perfect example of a
film beginning in medias res as it
starts right at the middle. First there is a series of events that illustrates
the ritualistic trial of a widow that got pregnant outside of marriage, and
then there is the part that leads up to the mysterious pregnancy. The movie is
structured in such a way that both halves are enmeshed into each other pushing
the limits of engagement.
A few other films that also begin in medias res worth checking out are…
Rakuyilin Ragasadassil 1986 screenplay: Priyadarshan
Paleri Manikyam 2009 screenplay: Ranjith
Kalapani 1996 screenplay: T. Damodaran, Priyadarshan
Manivathoorile Aayiram Shivarathrikal 1987 screenplay: Fazil, Jagadish
Amrutham Gamaya 1987 screenplay: M.T. Vasudevan Nair
non linear?
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