162.Kingdom

Kingdom: Definitely one of the best Korean shows ever made.

Language: Korean
Genre: Drama-Horror
Director: Kim Seong-hun
Writer: Kim Eun-hee
Stars: Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doo-na, Kim Sung-gyu, Ryu Seung-ryong

As part of the global expansion, Netflix has opened its doors wide to storytellers of different cultures. One of the latest results of that initiative is the South Korean TV Series: “Kingdom”, which is set in the beautiful Joseon period. Adapted from the web comic series ‘’The Kingdom of the God’’, The show is Directed by Kim Seong-hun the man behind the 2016 film Tunnel and written by none other than Kim Eun-hee, who wrote 2016's police procedural “Signal”, one of South Korea's highest-rated dramas of all time.

Storyline: Set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period, Kingdom follows the story of a prince, who becomes embroiled in a coup/political conspiracy and is forced to embark upon a dangerous mission to investigate a mysterious plague spreading across his country. The truth threatens the kingdom when he discovers that it is an atrocious epidemic in the form of undead who rise at sunset seemingly and become inactive during the sunrise. Now things seem to hang in balance by a thin thread of hope to survive.

This show takes a new approach by setting the zombie drama in the backdrop of a period show. Unlike your typical Korean drama that tends to play it safe for the local censors, Kingdom is brutal with its decapitations and violence. The mini plots during the showcase of zombie disease spreading are done well without holding back in its disturbing level. Apart from its well written screenplay and perfectly handled direction, “Kingdom” catches the viewer’s attention with its amazing cinematography, beautiful costumes and locations, top notch action scenes and wonderful performance from the whole cast.

On the whole it’s a well executed zombie drama set in the backdrop of Joseon period. The only negative I felt was that the six episodes don’t quite tie up the story which leaves the audience hungry for more and makes them to wait eagerly for the next season. 

161.Peranbu

Peranbu: A masterpiece that happens so rarely in Indian Cinema.

Language: Tamil

Genre: Drama

Directors: Ram

Writer: Ram

Stars: Mammootty, Sadhana, Anjali, Anjali Ameer

In life we all have come across those people who find it difficult to cross the road. Who always needs a hand to get through their daily life. Who cannot do things we do. Those people face a lot of such problems in their daily life. Ram’s latest outing Peranbu takes on the lives of these humans in the society, who want nothing but acceptance. The same humans we always tag with the term disabled.

The plot revolves around ‘Amudhavan’ a father, who has recently taken custody of his spastic daughter ‘Paapa’ and events that follow in their life. Paapa is the representation of the disabled community, while Amudhavan represents the 'normal' human.

Director Ram has taken up a story that very few films have taken and presented it in a way that Tamil Cinema has never seen. There may have been a lot of films about differently abled person, but I don’t think Tamil cinema ever had a Peranbu which talks about the sexuality and sexual life of a differently abled person which makes it really unique. The story is narrated in chapters and each one has a reference to nature, aiding in making us understand that sexuality is among the most natural things and there is nothing wrong in dealing with it.  He also shows the difficulties that a caretaker has to undergo while raising a differently abled child. Another beautiful thing about Peranbu is that each and every character has flaws, which is why everything looks realistic. You don't have someone doing over-the-top things, and you don't have someone who is 'The Villain'. Ram paints a picture of the society on the whole, and leaves the rest to us, to identify where we stand.

Coming to performances, after leaving the theatre one could easily understand why Ram was persistent about casting Mammootty as Amudhavan. No one else could have pulled of such a complex character so convincingly like him. The film brings back the Mammootty we have been missing lately. Sadhana, who had won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist, has given an outstanding performance as 'Paapa' the spastic daughter, and it is hard to imagine anyone else in her shoes. Anjali as Vijayalakshmi a character that is neither positive nor negative brings out the helplessness beautifully. Anjali Ameer as Meera has also done a wonderful performance her character arc is a gem.

On the technical side, Theni Easwar's frames are oe of the major highlights of the film, its very rich and beautifully blends with each scene. Yuvan Shankar Raja;s music is another plus point. The musical scores complement the scenes very well and attach the audience emotionally to the film. Kumar Gangappan's art direction deserves a special mention, especially because of his eye to detail.

Overall Peranbu is a movie which happens very rarely in Indian cinema and a movie which can be showcased in front of world cinema. Ram tells us that the differently abled community doesn’t need our sympathy to survive. We must realize that they are as normal as anyone. Walking out of Peranbu leaves you with a feeling that is too hard to digest, yet gut-wrenchingly beautiful.