Spoilers Forward…
Among the many many moments from Puzhu that can stick with me for a protracted, very long time is a reverse monitoring shot that includes Bharathi (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and her husband Kuttappan (a unprecedented Appunni Sasi). It’s a longish single-take that tells you an entire lot about her Illam, its geography and what she had as soon as left behind. She is heartbroken that she can not spend extra time together with her bedridden mom however as she makes her method via her ancestral house, her husband grabs her hand to provide this second of unhappiness a shade of triumph. The shot reveals how there are solely girls within the kitchen and the eating areas of this home. And as Bharathi enters the lounge (which is stuffed with males), her expression adjustments to considered one of defiance as we additionally see portraits of her ancestors trying down on her and her associate.
It’s a second of pure storytelling with out the necessity of a phrase. In a movie that’s basically about heritage and inheritance, there’s poetic justice in making its greatest scene a celebration of “letting go”. Themes about “what we inherit” and “what we move on” to the subsequent era run all through the movie. On one aspect is a observe that includes Bharathi who selected to let go of her Namboothiri household to be with Kuttappan, who hails from an oppressed group. They’ve been collectively for a decade however trendy Malayali society hasn’t developed sufficient to just accept a good, Brahmin lady’s love for a dark-skinned man from a decrease caste. They can’t discover a home to reside in and it solely will get worse as a result of he’s a painter and a theater actor with no steady job.
In a sneaky apart, the movie makes a bigger level about how Malayalam cinema makes use of actors like Kuttappan. When a boy asks him for a selfie, having seen him in a current superhit, there’s sarcasm in the best way Kuttappan says, “Sure I’m the one who performed the pervert in that movie.” So when Kuttappan and Bharathi are pressured to briefly transfer into an residence that’s meant solely for vegetarians, you don’t get a great feeling about it.
It’s right here that this observe merges with Kuttan (Mammootty) and his son Kichu’s (Vasudev Sajeesh), who reside in a flat proper above the couple. What makes this transfer much more sophisticated is how Bharathi is Kuttan’s estranged youthful sister. Kuttan and Kichu too appear to be in an identical state of transition of their relationship. Kuttan is a retired IPS officer who appears to be like at his son extra like a subordinate somewhat than with real love or care (each phrases that come up in a recreation of scrabble between Kichu and his aunt Bharathi). Kichu is rising up quick and he’s across the age the place he begins to inherit not simply the privileges of his caste location but in addition the biases. He’s not allowed to eat the snacks his pals give him, not to mention play with the “thendi pilleru” (wastrels) from outdoors the constructing. There are punishments for each mistake, together with harsh ones like skipping meals or writing impositions. In one other sneaky insert, we’re informed of how Kichu needed to as soon as preserve rewriting the spelling of a phrase he’d gotten incorrect in a check. The phrase? Heritage.
The ‘puzhu’ (worm) within the title is supposed for Kuttan’s observe as a result of that is the place it develops into a up to date tackle the parable of Thakshaka, the king of the nagas, and his vow to kill King Parikshit on the seventh day. A play known as ‘Thakshakan’ can be being carried out by Kuttappan throughout this section and we see the parable getting divided into 4 chapters which might be juxtaposed with main occasions in Kuttan’s life. Aside from the apparent, clues have been laid out generously that will help you make connections between Kuttan and the puzhu. Proper at the beginning is a shot of how a boy has to tug apart a canine that’s resting in Kuttan’s parking as he drives in. He doesn’t seem like the type to decelerate to avoid wasting the canine however within the background is a torn bag of fruits the boy’s attempting to clear. When you’ve learn the parable earlier than, you’ll keep in mind how the worm lastly emerges from an apple to get to the King. And in the event you learn the parable once more at this time, you’ll additionally perceive how Puzhu can be a couple of man realising that he can not escape the ghosts of his previous (and his ancestors) regardless of how onerous he tries to lock himself up in an ivory tower.
