C/O Kancharapalem | Love That Was

Throughout my childhood, I read these lines on my school walls :

There is only one religion, the religion of love.

There is only one caste, the caste of humanity.

My 6 — 17-year-old self would have read it an innumerable number of times and never understood the significance or depth of it.

However, when I watched C/O Kancharapalem those words came to my mind and had me smiling, maybe I could comprehend it then.

The unconventional movie starts with a piece of absolutely rustic music similar to a village folk song transporting you into the rural set up of India as you traverse those muddy roads, green fields, bullock carts, rows of small cracked houses, women sitting on their verandahs sieving, constant chatter on.

You watch four tales of love unfolding — simple, harmless, pure and unconditional. Other than complete acceptance, I don’t know what else could love mean.

A young Sundaram adores his school mate, Sunita. He forces his father to buy a pink shirt for him as that’s his love interest’s favorite color. Joseph meanwhile is working for a local goon who is paid to do odd jobs. During one of his local fights, a bold Bhargavi passing by on the road yells at him for his rowdiness. However, she later ends up taking his help when she wants to protect her friend from a miscreant. We have Gaddam working in a liquor shop whose most awaited moment in the day is when a burqa-clad girl comes asking for a quarter. He walks a distance to give it to her and Saleema’s eyes, the only visible features have captured his heart. Lastly, there is a 49-yo unmarried Raju who’s working as an attendant in the local government office. A lady officer widow, Radha is transferred from Orissa and a beautiful journey of their companionship ensues.

No skimpy clothes, no larger than life locales, no popular actor faces, no peppy songs. This movie proves you need none of them to make a cinema that can be thoroughly enjoyed as it also leaves you asking for more.

It makes you uncomfortable in a manner when you see our society’s realities and realize how deep-rooted evils such as casteism are. It dumbfounds you to see how the wealthy can misuse the efforts of the needy. Irrespective of their age you realize how a woman’s choices can sometimes never be approved. You learn that if humanity had to be seen, it lay in our kind acts to one another.

The characters are emotive, compelling and convincing. The background scores perfectly match the setting. The dialogue delivery is flawless. The countryside accent and their mannerisms are definitely not replicable. The actors are the commoners from the village Kancharapalem, the local residents, the ones who make you feel you are among them, in reality, as you see it virtually. Each of these elements in their perfect balance gives this touching two and a half-hour drama the ‘must-see’’ tag.

The climax will leave you stunned. It’s put out simply as a matter of fact while you sit gasping of what just happened. You sit smiling knowing why the movie has been titled so. Director Maha Venkatesh is a terrific visionary and crafting this gem with just the natives of the village who had no history of movie-making is absolutely commendable.

In everything we have loved, there are always pieces of ourselves we leave.