Spoilers ahead…
Rohini and Shraddha Srinath star in a social drama where so much more could have been done with the narrative and the characterisation.
The crux of Deepak’s Witness is this: a teenager can be a terrific swimmer, a lifeguard at a pool. And yet, because of his caste/community, this talent of his is seen as something that will make him a good manual scavenger. Parthiban (Thamizharasan) is that teenager. He lives with his mother Indrani, who’s played by Rohini with her characteristic conviction. The screenplay places them in Semmanjeri and contrasts this locality with Adyar, where the residents of an apartment complex need their septic tank unblocked and cleaned. The other contrast is that these residents are the type who say “snanam” for a bath, and propose doing a “homam” for cleansing themselves of bad vibes and sin. The sin is the death of Parthiban. And we wonder: How did this college-going boy – this lifeguard – from Semmanjeri land up all the way in Adyar for this particular job.
You can read the rest of the review here:
https://www.galatta.com/tamil/movie/review/witness/
And you can watch the video review here:
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Raj
December 10, 2022
Hey BR. Could you also review the movie Rathasaatchi, which is on Aha Tamil. I plan to watch it and have been hearing good things about this movie.
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hari prasad
December 11, 2022
Also , that Pettaikaali series produced by Vetrimaaran which many say has shades of Aadukalam
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shaviswa
December 11, 2022
I watched this today and agree to every point you made. I still found it very disturbing and felt that the government and the society that we live in needs to invest in infrastructure that ensures manual scavenging is eradicated. Felt my heart go out for Rohini throughout the movie and that I feel is the movie’s success.
This is definitely worth a watch. And warning for those who are not aware – can be quite disturbing.
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shaviswa
December 13, 2022
BTW the movie changed tone and became a communist propaganda. And the way it reduces every problem in the film (the problem that the boy faces, that the architect faces at work, that she and her mother faced at the apartment) are all attributed to just the caste factor. Seemed to be an agenda driven film than honest film making.
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