Karthavyam

Karthavyam story: A tussle between a people-centric IAS officer and politicians can mean the difference between life and death for a little girl trapped in a borewell.

Karthavyam review: Karthavyam is the dubbed version of the Tamil hit Aramm which has Nayanthara in the lead role as IAS officer Madhu Varshini. A four-year-old child Dhansika (Mahalaxmi) falls into an open bore well. Varshini rushes to the area and initiates the rescue operations. As the clock keeps ticking, chances of rescuing the child get slimmer. Adding to the pressure is the villagers and parents of the girl who flock to the site and threaten to take the law into their own hands, if the girl does not survive. On the other hand is the media who turn up in their entire strength and stream the proceedings ‘live’ much to the chagrin of Madhu Varshini. Adding to the volatility of the situation is the local MLA who warns Madhu Varshini against taking into custody, the owner of the land on which the bore well is located, as he happens to be his supporter.

Confronted by seemingly insurmountable problems on all sides, Madhu Varshini takes a strong decision that could very well put an end to her career and endanger the life of the child. Will her decision stand vindicated or will it result in a tragedy? Will she play by the rules or will she follow her instincts and live up to the faith reposed in her by the girl's parents?This forms the crux of the story. Nayanthara as Madhu Varshini is adequate. She does a good job as a no-nonsense IAS officer. This is such a serious film that it is difficult to recall whether there are any scenes in which she actually smiles. Bereft of any glamour, this is a role which is entirely content-driven and Nayanthara does justice to it. Using the problem of open borewells which have swallowed many innocent young lives, director Gopi Nainar touches on a wide range of issues including official apathy, water scarcity, doctors fleecing poor people, society’s choice of role models etc. There’s one line in the film which epitomises the apathy of the officialdom. When the officers keep coming out with excuses for not arriving at the site on time, a villager responds, “When the entire media could make it here, how could you not?”

The film is narrated in the form of a thriller although the background score at times, makes it sound more like a horror flick. At times, the pathos in the film becomes so intense that one can see the audience visibly cringe in the theatre. A major part of the film focuses on the angst of the parents of the girl and the villagers. The film is very realistic and there are hardly any commercial elements. There is a lot of preaching as well in the form of Suddala Ashok Teja and Tammareddy Bharadwaj, on the current state of affairs in society. But then, this is a serious film.

There is a theory in the world of films that entertainment for the Tamil people is ‘reality depicted on screen’ whereas for the Telugus, it is ‘escape from reality’. And that could well prove to be the difference in terms of scale of success, for the film in Telugu. Nevertheless, there have been serious Tamil films from time to time, that have been received well in Telugu also and Karthavyam can easily be one. Young lives falling prey to open borewells is something that people in the Telugu states can easily identify with and if they can put up with the emotional turmoil packaged in the form of a thriller, then Karthavyam is well worth a watch. It is indeed a noteworthy effort unless serious cinema is not your kind of entertainment.