Kathi Kappal

Kathi Kappal (English: Paper Boat) is a 2008 Tamil thriller film written and directed by Dinesh Selvaraj. The film features Anoop Kumar, Meera Vasudevan and Poornitha in lead roles, with Chandrabose, Thalaivasal Vijay, Prem, Thennavan, Jayaprakasam, Sakthivel and Vinoth Kumar playing supporting roles. The film, produced by V. Bhakta, had musical score by Sree Sai and was released on 25 July 2008.

Plot

Set in 1988, the notorious forest brigand named Veeraiyyan abducted a former minister and hold him captive in the forest of Kodaikanal, to release him Veeraiyyan demanded a ransom of 3 crores. Chandrabose (Chandrabose) and his police squad (Thennavan, Jayaprakasam, Sakthivel, Vinoth Kumar) killed Veeraiyyan but they could not save the former minister and in the process, the respected doctor Pari Vallal (Prem) was shot dead. Pari Vallal worked in a remote village to exercise his profession. He met the orphan Sara (Meera Vasudevan) who grew up in a church and she decided to assist him, they fell in love with each other and got married.

In 2008, during the annual death ceremony of Pari Vallal in Kodaikanal, an injured Joshua Prakash (Anoop Kumar) appears and proclaims to be the dead doctor Pari Vallal in his previous birth. Sara, Pari Vallal's widow who now lives with her adopted daughter Kabini, is astonished and could not believe it. The inhabitants who think it was a practical joke beat him up and tie him with a rope to control him. The next day, Mallika (Poornitha) comes to the village and claims to be Joshua Prakash's wife. After getting married to her, Joshua Prakash claimed to be Pari Vallal and told that his parents locked him in a room for 12 years. The villagers first cannot believe him, but his perfect recollections of Kodaikkanal and its inhabitants baffle many. The psychiatrist Elangovan (Thalaivasal Vijay), Pari Vallal's brother, then interviews him and confirms that Joshua Prakash is Pari Vallal. Annoyed by her husband's eccentric behaviour, Mallika decides to leave the place but Joshua Prakash confesses that he loves her and he wants to get a hold of the money hidden by Veeraiyyan. The police commissioner Chandrabose and his team track Joshua Prakash down and abduct him in a cabin in the wood. They force him to show the place, they then find the dead body of Thennavan and Sara with the rifle threatens to kill them.

In 1988, Chandrabose, his squad and the brigand Veeraiyyan were in fact partners in crime. Chandrabose and his squad then double-crossed Veeraiyan and killed the former minister, Veeraiyyan who tried to escape was shot in the back. An injured Veeraiyyan begged Pari Vallal to save him and told him the place where he had hidden the money but Thennavan killed Pari Vallal and Veeraiyyan died due to injuries.

In 2008, Joshua Prakash reveals that he is not Pari Vallal's rebirth but the son of the former minister who was killed by them. With Sara, he has planned to take revenge on Chandrabose and his squad. Joshua Prakash and Sara eventually kill them, Joshua Prakash then tells her to keep the money. The film ends with Joshua Prakash and Mallika adopting Kabini and leaving the village.

Cast

Anoop Kumar as Joshua Prakash
Meera Vasudevan as Sara
Poornitha as Mallika
Chandrabose as Chandrabose
Thalaivasal Vijay as Elangovan
Prem as Pari Vallal
Thennavan as Thennavan
Jayaprakasam as Jayaprakash 
Sakthivel as Sakthivel
Vinoth Kumar as Vinoth Kumar
W. Afsar Babu as Police Commissioner
R. Karthikeyan
Kottai Perumal as Chinnadurai
Sathyandra
Ayyappan Gopi as Church Father
Rail Vijayakumar
Rathnaraj
Apeksha
Baby Prahasitha as Kabini

Production

Director Dinesh Selvaraj, erstwhile assistant to Mani Ratnam and son of writer R. Selvaraj, made his directorial debut with Kathi Kappal. Actor Anoop Kumar, who did a small role in Vattaram and was a qualified dancer, was selected to play the hero alongside Meera Vasudevan and Poornitha. Music director Chandrabose played the role of a crooked cop whose role was also said to be significant. Dinesh Selvaraj mentioned that keeping the genre in mind, he shot a romantic song in a graveyard.

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Sree Sai. The soundtrack features 5 tracks with lyrics written by N. Annamalai. The audio was released on 12 April 2008 in Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai. Director Mani Rathnam released the first copy of the album that was received by director N. Lingusamy. Director P. Bharathiraja also attended the event.

Reception

Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and said, "It's a pretty short movie but the predominant feeling you get when everything's over is that it could all have gone much better". Behindwoods.com rate the film 0.5 out of 5 and wrote, "Entire cast performs very unnaturally and it is an uphill task for the audience to get involved in the film. Some of the scenes which are expected to be spooky turn out to be contrived and fall flat. Besides, it is also very difficult to tolerate the buffoonery in the climax sequence". A reviewer from Nowrunning.com rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and stated, "What sustains interest in the film are the scintillating background score by Sri Sai and Abdul Kalam's splendorous celluloid visuals of Kodaikanal". Another reviewer rated the film 1 out of 5 and wrote, "the film has failed in all ingredients and it will not be long before it will bite the dust".

References

Category:2008 films
Category:Indian films
Category:Tamil-language films
Category:2000s Tamil-language films
Category:Indian thriller films
Category:Indian films about revenge
Category:Films shot in Kodaikanal
Category:Directorial debut films