SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

(This piece is all thanks to a sleepless film buff flipping through the idiot box last Saturday night. Could resist everything except the temptation to watch Thazhvaaram a second time)

A wide sweep of rugged terrain, followed by an unshaven Mohanlal trudging determinedly up the hill. And a bird of prey looking down. Thazhvaaram (The Valley) begins on an ominous note. A Western transplanted to somewhere in the Western Ghats.

There is a brief flashback but without too many words it's clear that the hero is out for revenge. He finds a landowning settler from the plains Nanu (Shankaradi) and his daughter Kochooti(Sumalatha) and staying right next to them is his quarry Raju who's now become Raghavan (Salim Ghouse in his Malayalam debut). Raju though is not at home.

Balan (Mohanlal) goes down the hill in search and encounters his prey. He pins Raju down, and a kneeling Raju begs for forgiveness. But in the next instant, the deceitful Raju's pulled the rug from under Balan's feet. He is on top of Balan but voices nearby prevent him from delivering the final blow. Raju then pushes Balan down a treacherous slope.

Here's an all-too human hero who fails to learn from the mistakes of the past. A wounded Balan is discovered by Kochooti and is brought up to her house. As a limping Balan slowly recovers, the cat-and-mouse game begins between the two antagonists.

With an injured Balan on the defensive, Raju steps up his efforts to kill him. But luck and pluck continues to thwart him. In between, small flashback capsules bring back the past, where Raju murdered Balan's wife, when she saw him stealing money from their home. That too on their wedding night.

Cut to the present, Raju reveals his true lecherous colours to Kochooti. Eventually leading to Balan revealing the past to her. But an unaware Nanu continues to swear by Raju and Raju also succeeds in poisoning his mind against Balan.

A romantic attraction between Balan and Kochooti is subtly hinted at. But the only overt display fo affection between the two in the entire film (when Kochooti holds Balan's hand) is seen by Nanu, leading to an explosion.

Raju now has all the aces and matters are not helped by the fact that Balan is caught holding what is actually his money, which he found at Raju's hut.

But Raju knows things are getting too hot for him and when he sees jewels lying in Kochooti and Nanu's house, greed simply takes over and he runs with the booty. Only to confront a waiting Balan.

Unlike the usual Indian film though, hardly anything is said during the finale. It's matter-of-fact revenge, in a laconic Clint Eastwood-esque fashion. The vulture too is back, scenting prey.

And there's no embracing the heroine, with the hero silently making his journey back, away from the heroine and her father.

Thaazhvaaram talks to the viewer through visuals and actions. Dialogues are there only when it's absolutely necessary. But tension simmers throughout and at no point does one wish things could go faster. The background score also never intrudes. And yes, there are a couple of songs.

Also it's a brooding tale of isolation. Father and daughter isolated in a rugged, hilly terrain eagerly accepting the company of Raju. And Balan without his wife looking for deliverance from a sense of guilt, having been blind to his former friend Raju's vices. Just four characters fill up most of the frames crafted by director Bharatan and scriptwriter M T Vasudevan Nair. Two legends uniting to craft a visual masterpiece. Helped in no small measure by first-rate performances from the cast.

I would say this 1989 flick is the best and the most subtle revenge flick made in India. And full points for the way Thazhvaaram evoked a Western flick. And the way it depicted violence. There are killings, but without a blood-and-gore show. And no rape/molestation in the flashback sequences, which is standard staple for revenge dramas.

Just for the record, second and third in my revenge drama list would be Kamal Haasan's Chanakyan (Malayalam) and Amitabh Bachchan's Aakhri Raasta. Both do have rape/molestation in the flashback sequences (expectedly)