Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi Gundu begins by telling us that there are several bombs dumped in the sea that may reach our shores anytime. Yet, the title of Athiyan Athirai’s film (produced by Pa Ranjith’s Neelam) translates to ‘The last bomb of the Second World War’ – as if there’s only that one unexploded bomb left for us to find. It appears to be a contradiction but if you think about it, the title makes complete sense. The remnants of war are still within us, all around us, and any of these could be the last bomb that you witness, before it shatters your world.
Attakathi Dinesh plays Selvam, a lorry driver who works for a scrapyard owned by an abusive boss (Marimuthu). It’s normal for the workers to be slapped around, their wages delayed or denied, and for them to lose their limbs or even their lives. But unlike the others, who keep their heads down because they have to, Selvam is a bit of a rebel – especially when drunk.
Dinesh is superb as the fast talking Selvam who bristles with indignation but knows he mustn’t lose his eyes on the prize. He has an emotional connection with the lorry he drives and wants to own it someday. The lorry, interestingly, is called ‘Maayavan’, another name for Vishnu, the god of preservation who intervenes to set right the balance between Good and Evil when Earth is on the verge of collapse. And it falls upon Selvam, in this story, to play that cosmic force.
There are two storylines in the plot – one about the bomb that can explode any minute, and another about the opposition to the love between Selvam and Chittu (Anandhi). As in Pariyerum Perumal, Anandhi plays a young woman from a dominant caste whose family is hellbent on “saving” her from the undesirable relationship. But unlike the naïve Jo of Pariyerum, Chittu is aware of what her family is capable of, and fights back every which way. When she strides out of her house in the beautifully shot ‘Iruchi’ song (‘Maavuliyo’ is another favourite), you feel goosebumps rise in your skin – when caste and family honour are inextricably linked to women’s bodies, how else can either be dismantled if the rebellion doesn’t begin with them?
She isn’t the only memorable female character though. Tamil cinema is fond of demonising the media, but in Gundu it is two Left-aligned female journalists, Tanya (Riythvika) and Sugi, who have the courage to speak truth to power. It is through them that the idea of forming a sangam (union) comes to Selvam who, by virtue of being the hero, would have otherwise been patronisingly mansplaining such heavyweight ideas to the women in the average Tamil film.
Just over a month ago, we had Kaithi, another well-made film about a lorry driver and his sidekick who must make a dangerous trip for a larger cause. And here, too, we have a similar pair – Selvam and Puncture (an amusing Munishkanth) – who find themselves pushed into a mission against their will. The affectionate chemistry between the two keeps us entertained all through.
Athiyan brings the two conflicts together, both of them sown by humans who came much before them, making the audience question the pointlessness of it all. I did wish, however, that the conspiracy behind the bomb had been fleshed out more. John Vijay plays the usual leery, sneery villain but we get only a hurried explanation for what he’s after and why. The connections needed to be drawn out better. The ending looks abrupt, suddenly taking the turn of a documentary film to dump a message on the audience when the rest of the film was doing it so artfully.
Tenma’s background score is brilliant, building suspense and emotions only when needed and not trying to unnecessarily manipulate how we must feel about each scene. The inclusion of folk arts – in the soundscape and visuals – too works well, telling parallel stories to the one that we’re watching.
Gundu ultimately wants to say ‘Make love, not war’. At one point in the film, we’re shown a shot of a temple and a mosque turning into rubble, as a consequence of human actions. If the gods are useless in the face of such violence, who then can change the course of things? Who will remember the words of the Buddha? It’s left to us, Athiyan seems to say, to take on the role of Maayavan and fight on till that last bomb is found and defused.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.