Adrishya Jalakangal review: Conveys the after-effects of war with a magical realism

Dr Biju Kumar Damodaran is back with another powerful movie, Adrishya Jalakangal (The Invisible Windows). And this time, through his venture, he asks a pertinent question — “Is war relevant?”

The movie has been released at a time when the world is watching the Israel-Gaza conflict and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine’s affairs.

Adrishya Jalakangal also gains importance as India and China have been at loggerheads for some time over border issues.

Now, with much delay, let’s check what the Malayalam film is all about:

Synopsis

Adrishya Jalakangal starts with the police picking up homeless people from the streets and putting them in prison. It is shown that the administration is expecting a war.

Tovino Thomas’ nameless character enters the scene. He is kept in a mental health hospital after being picked up from the streets by cops.

However, after his release, he heads back to the shelter where he used to live. He is into electronics and has electrical equipment at his makeshift house — an abandoned train coach at a railway station.

As he returns to the train coach, he finds a sex worker  (Nimisha Sajayan) taking shelter in the coach opposite his. She, too, is a nameless character in the film. This reminds us of Dr Biju’s Perariyathavar (2014), which featured nameless characters.

Another key aspect of the movie is that Tovino speaks to the dead. He also works as a helper in a nearby mortuary.

He claims that the dead started talking to him only after he was admitted to the mental hospital.

The dead people talk to him about war and its after-effects on the common people.

Tovino and Nimisha’s characters initially dislike each other but become friends as the film progresses. They also turn guardians for two children who lose their grandfather. What happens next is worth watching on the silver screen.

Adrishya Jalakangal has an open ending as the director allows the audience to make their assumptions.

Also Read: Tovino Thomas’ ‘Adrishya Jalakangal’ trailer released

War and love

The most used dialogue in the movie is against the war, but the director makes no direct reference to the ongoing or recent (war-related) events in real life.

However, the audience does get a hint that Adrishya Jalakangal is talking about India’s strained relations with China and Pakistan.

An arms and ammunition factory is operated near the train coach where Tovino’s character lives. He learns about a gas leak in the factory from a group of workers and that it will pose a big problem if the manufacturing unit is commissioned.

The director uses magical realism here, as these workers are all dead, and this is a smart way to convey the message that war is not an option at all.

Characterisation

In a scene, after a conversation with the dead, Tovino’s character imagines the security personnel and senior officials of the factory reading books and organising a concert.

Basheer (Indrans), a writer, dies after being shot by the fascist forces, while music director Biji Bal appears as a musician.

They both talk to Tovino and send a strong message: “No War”. Their conversation hints that books and music are tools to end the war as they help spread knowledge and love. Interestingly, Tovino’s character is a music lover.

Similarly, Dr Biju gives importance to the women’s characters in his movie. In a scene, Nimisha’s character says, “It’s my body and mind, and I will decide what has to be done with it.”

Also Read: Nobody is committing a crime by making films: Tovino Thomas

Tovino and Nimisha excel

Tovino Thomas, as the nameless character, is exceptional. He played a gipsy for the first time in his career. His body language and conversations are apt.

Nimisha Sajayan, as the sex worker, delivers a notable performance. Her subtle expressions as a sex worker and as a strong-willed woman are clapworthy.

At one point, the director conveys that a person’s character is not defined by one’s job but by one’s deeds, which is apt in the case of Nimisha Sajayan’s role.

Indrans, as Basheer — a dead writer, plays an important role but has nothing much to perform when compared to his previous films with Dr Biju.

Final take

Adrishya Jalakangal is an exceptional movie that talks about the after-effects of war from the point of view of the common people.

(Views expressed here are personal.)