Roshan Mathew’s Paradise film shown at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is not about politics, but it is political.
31 Oct 2023
Cast: Roshan Mathew, Darshana Rajendran, Mahendra Perera, Shyam Fernando Director: Prasanna Vithanage
A couple who have been together for five years, have lived together and built a life together probably know a lot about each other. If not completely, then enough to come to terms with the reality of the individual. The veneer on the surface wears off, and the masks come off too. The good impression that was made during the honeymoon period of a relationship is nothing but a faraway dream. The romance might as well be dead in such relationships as well. Amrita and Keshav happen to be one such couple in the film Paradise, directed by Sri Lankan film maker Prasanna Vithanage. Initially, they seem to be on the same page about where they are headed as a family.
There is enough romance to be charming, there are grand plans, and amid all of this, there is celebration. The two travel to Sri Lanka to celebrate their fifth anniversary. It all starts off as a beautiful journey, albeit with passive patriarchy and sexism. Of course, Amrita rightfully finds it funny. It's like an inside joke that plays out in her head, one which stops her for the most part from calling it all out. A woman who is so self-aware, one who wants to be an author wouldn't be ignorant of the base instincts of humans that kick in at a desperate time. Or would she?
The key to the tale about Keshav and Amrita's life, lies in greed and empathy. It is an interesting combination, really. Especially when the background is a country that is literally and figuratively on fire because of economic crisis. Another interesting layer is the continued discrimination against the Tamil settlement by the local Sri Lankans, and to top it all of are these two tourists who reek of privilege. One is selfish and uncaring of repercussions, while another takes the moral high ground.
After a life changing moment, both Amritha and Keshav realize that they are out of sync with each other. It starts with small things, and accumulates bit by tiny bit. When everything comes to head, the payoff is truly considerate. It is because the director has chosen to rely on treating his story with realism that this payoff is more affecting. The scenes of protest, the ignorance of tourists, and the discrimination that a local community suffers at the hands of the privileged is not used to milk the audiences, but to purely establish a side of story that is often underplayed and undervalued, or entirely ignored.
This film is not about politics, but it is political. It brings to life the struggles of a relationship where doubts creep in overnight, and tales of discrimination come alive on screen mostly through looks of disbelief and recrimination. The way that Keshav and Amrita look at each other changes gradually, and as a result, the audience also sees the two of them differently. By the end, whose side you are on speaks volumes about who you are as a person than of the film itself. The film brings about this reflection of self, and of society with poignancy and that more than anything makes Paradise a winner. Definitely worthy of its win at Busan International Film Festival.
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