Filmmaker Nithin Lukose’s debut directorial venture Paka (River of Blood) premiered at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and I was fortunate enough to watch it – thanks to our friend Mr Suresh Nellikode.
Paka is a tale of a river where the spilled blood of two warring families flow – akin to the rivers and streams in many Indian villages, where hatred, jealousy, bitterness and blood flowed with the water. At times the waters carried a corpse or a severed limb. The warring factions can be well described as the Pandavas and Kauravas of Mahabharata, where there is no winner. Interlace it with a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ like romance between two lovers from the warring sides, it’s a complete story to narrate.
Paka is set in Wayanad, Kerala, is a gripping and fast paced story of revenge which gets inherited over three generations. The irony is that the acidity of revenge increases with each passing generation. The modern generation, the educated and worldly aware one, appears most acidic.
The movie ends with one side discarding all the weapons of revenge in the very same river and the other side diving deeper into vengeance, hatred and revenge.
Though natural sounds have been used all through the movie, the score composed by Faizal Ahmed adds value to the climax. Camera work of Srikant Kabothu brings out the natural beauty of the hilly terrain and the tropical forests of Wayanad. Arunima Shanker’s editing is crisp and it ensures a fast pace for the movie. The only flaw is in non-synchronisation of sounds of the band and chenda melam (ensemble of drums) during the church festival.
The cast needs a special mention as most actors were common people from the villages of Wayanad, who faced the camera for the first time. Basil Paulose and Vinitha Koshy have done a great job as the lead pair and the debutantes Athul John as Paachi, Jose Kizhakkan as Kocheppu, Joseph Manikkal as Varkey have exceeded expectations of raw newcomers.
The film has short with crisp dialogues and comes with English subtitles. This will facilitate better understanding of the movie by all.
The word Paka in Russian is an informal way to say goodbye. Russians often say paka paka meaning bye bye!. The very same word Paka in Malayalam denotes hatred. Paka is a village in southeastern Estonia. In Japanese Paka means a hooded jacket. The Maoris of New Zealand use the word to denote a white man. In Swahili, Paka means a cat and in the computing world its an acronym for Password Authenticated Key Agreement. What a contronym!!! A dichotomy among languages!
Kudos Nithin Lukose for an excellent movie. Paka deserves its selection for the TIFF this year and is a must watch for all.
REJINCES 