The short story ”Varukari” written by Perumal Murugan is ”Seththumaan” which has been released in the Tamil direction by the debutant director Tamil in the production of Pa. Ranjith. Today this film has been released on SonyLiv OTT site.
The story is about the boundless affection between grandfather and grandson. At the same time, it focuses on the politics of those who despise beef eaters, who are willing to endure the pork curry no matter how many insults. Manikkam, who plays the grandfather Poochiyappan, and Aswin, who plays the grandson Kumaresan, both exhibit realistic acting. The story takes place in the year 2017 in western Tamil Nadu. More specifically, Poochiyappa lives with his grandson Kumaresan(Aswin) outside the city in a village near Namakkal. The mother, who was killed by the dominant casteists for eating beef, was dragged away by her grandfather.
Poochiyappa is working tirelessly to keep Kumarasen a well educated and bring him to a better position. He also earns money by selling baskets at the Binny Market and has been assisting Vellaiyan (Prasanna Balachandran) a farmer in the town. Meanwhile, the white man and his group want to eat seththumaan curry (pork). Seththumaan has finally developed into a work that is closer to reality with stressful scenes about the tragedy caused by their will.
Congratulations to Gem who played the role of grandfather. Sleek acting without fuss. Can’t see his acting anywhere, forgetting that he has the camera in front of him and acting so realistically. Similarly, Aswin, who plays the role of grandson, has shown perfect acting in his naughtiness, showing love with his grandfather and in the final scene. The acting of the two is the biggest strength of the film.
The cinematography of Pradeep Kaliraja plays an important role. Length shots in many places, wide angle shot at the beginning, greatly helps to bring the film closer to reality. Seththumaan as a whole is a work of art that examines food politics and caste construction.
Seththumaan – food politics and caste construction
