Kaaka Muttai(2015)

A few great things i wanted to share about the film Kaaka Muttai

The film's story in a nut shell is this: Two boys in a slum, who are brothers are fond of drinking yolk from crow eggs. Every now and then, they fetch a few crow eggs from a tree and gulp them. The tree is in a plot of land. The owner of the land sells the land to a pizza shop owner. The pizza shop owner puts down the tree and builds the pizza shop on the land. Where there was crow's eggs there is pizza shop now. Upon seeing Simbu inaugurating the shop, the kids get really fascinated by the pizza. They work really hard to save money to buy a pizza. After a lot of struggle and drama, when they finally get a chance to eat it, they realize that they don't like it at all.It tastes blunt and they wonder how are they going to finish it. They say their grand ma's Dosa was much more tastier.

This movie is one beautiful view on the modernization of India. The film makes a very poetic commentary on modernization by comparing it with a pizza shop in front front of a slum. A lot of people in the audience are able to connect with this comparison. which is very evident from huge commercial success of the film. Last i checked, the film has grossed 14 Cr in Box office. Remember it was made with a budget of 2 Cr. 

 Now, lets forget the abstract themes and commentaries on modernization. On a more concrete level, the film belittles pizza. I absolutely loved that idea. Because to me, pizza is too definitely overrated. Compared to a lot of Indian cuisine, it is pretty blunt and unimaginative. It is not that i don't like pizza. I would like to have it every now and then. But i think it is highly overrated and bloody expensive.    

The film may be about pizza but the core idea is very generic. The film has a slum background but the core idea is classless for us. For example, you can extend the same argument to Star bucks coffee or a CCD coffee. Compared to a strong frothy filter coffee, the Star bucks coffee is nothing but a slightly bitter hot sugar water. I think Star bucks Coffee or a CCD coffee is just as overrated as pizza. But we still pay 150 Rs for that coffee.
Sure we can have a nice chat in a coffee shop. That is a great idea but calling that coffee great is just silly. It only shows our infatuation towards foreign products and their exaggerated perceived values. Yes, a lot of foreign products are definitely good but not all of them are liked for their quality. They are just liked for their "foreign" tag.

While the pizza and the commentary of modernization is the fore front, the back drop of the film is slum life.Unlike, films like Slum-dog Millionaire, this film explores the slum life in a non-romantic and a non-poverty-porn way. It looks at slum life as life on any other socioeconomic setting. It shows the people there like every other community of people.

But it also shows how different people from slum are. It does that by showing people from slums are not any different. Only others see them differently.The films shows that every one right from the politicians, pizza shop manager,media or a random middle class citizen see the people from slum as "head counts" , "nuisance" and "others". For instance, towards the end of the film, the boys go missing. While every one is talks about "video" and "brutal treatment of slum kids" no one sheds a tear that the boys are beaten or no one actually worried that they are missing except the mother. From the politician to the media, every one wants to spot the boys asap. But no one really "cares" that they have gone missing.They all have their own personal agenda. Only their mother sheds tears that they are beaten.

Then there are few scenes which stuck with me more than others. For example, the scene in which the apartment father orders his son to come inside while his son was talking to the slum kids. I have to admit that would be my reaction too. I felt bad realizing that and the film's success is in making me feel bad and ashamed. .Also, in another scene the apartment boy gives these kids a half eaten pizza. The younger one is about to eat it and elder one gives it back. While walking away, the younger one asks "why did he give it back?". The elder boy replies "எச்ச பீஸா துண்ண போறியா?(Do you want the half eaten pizza?). That moment pretty us sums up the message of the whole film.