Kadaisi Vivasayi movie review: A satire wrapped in a socio-economic commentary

OTT movie Kadaisi Vivasayi movie review

Manikandan, who is also credited with the cinematography, paints the film with unmistakable authenticity and lends impeccable rural touch.

But the heart lies at the protagonist - the last farmer standing at the crossroads of modernity and tradition. He is frail and weak but solidly witted and straightforward.

He firmly believes that agriculture can save humanity and idolizes the 'mother' paddy seeds.

Nallandi performs without a hint of affectation and infuses life to the narrative. Unfortunately, he passed away before the release of the film. There are other threads that run in parallel the film's core plot - we get to see Vijay Sethupathi, who is also the executive producer of the film, and John Babu in short but impactful parts.

The Tamil film-maker takes a giant leap in casting non-actors to bring out the striking realism in the film's milieu.

Manikandan worked with real ragpicker boys in his acclaimed debut of 2014,Kaaku Muttai.

It’s a simple story told with full heart without resorting to blood and gore, that we witnessed in last year's critically acclaimed Jai Bhim.

Interestingly, Manikandan played a victim of police atrocity there.

Final Words

There are some parallels between the film's narrative and Ramrao: The story of India’s farm crisis, the most recent book of journalist Jaideep Hardikar, which sheds light on the farmer suicides.

We actually see Mayandi in a similar predicament. He is cajoled by a dubious shopkeeper for sowing genetically modified tomato seeds that produce seedless yields but he denies his attempts.

The book had ended on a positive note; the film too ends with positivity. The reality is of course darker and grimmer.

I go with 3.5 stars for Kadaisi Vivasayi.The film is streaming on SonyLIV