Meiyazhagan / Sathyam Sundaram: Incognitive Distances

Star Cast: Karthi, Arvind Swamy, Sri Divya, Devadarshini, Swathi Konde, Saran Shakthi and Rajkiran
Cinematography by Mahendiran Jayaraju 
Edited by R. Govindraj 
Music Composed by Govind Vasantha 
Produced by Jyothika & Suriya
Directed by C. Prem Kumar 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back and live as that 8 year old kid you always miss? He never worried about tomorrow, always believed in making friends, expressed himself openly, and was endlessly curious. The bonds he made were pure, and it’s hard to disconnect from him. But we lose that self to the world and destiny’s strong currents that lead us to unknown shores. In the necessity to adapt and grow quickly, we lose that adept believer and become cynical. When we try to gaze at our true self at some point in life, we always try to hold the finger of that 8 year old to guide us back and break the shackles to once again be reborn as OURSELVES. Meiyazhagan/Sathyam Sundaram is quintessentially about that 8 year old hiding inside us.

Spoiler Territory

People often make fun of me for trying to find mythological connections or at least shedding light on such parallels. Meiyazhagan has an answer for me … “Idellam Porkaalam, Glorious Past (It’s our history)”. No, I am not saying that mythology is our true history, but the belief in mythological stories and idols is a part of our history. It is our art of speaking in metaphors that these mythological stories lend to. For example, if a friend is playing double games or playfully trying to raise a small conflict between friends, we say “Stop being Narada“. If a couple appears to be understanding and lovely despite all their differences, we call them, “They are like Ardhanarishwar Parvati Parameswaralu”. If a lady looks glowingly beautiful, we term her “Mahalakshmi” and if a guy charms a women easily, we call him “Krishna“. If we start running behind “Superman”, “Batman”, “Spiderman”, and “Hulk” references it is not wrong but we shouldn’t be unaware of “Hanuman”, “Bheema”, “Arjuna” and “Rama” as well. I’m not claiming to be a heritage protector or culture savior, I’m just expressing my love for these stories that survived thousands of years and which still offer a lot of life lessons if we carefully heed them.

Can a movie just be about nothing yet everything? When I watch a film like Summer 93 [2017] or a film like Andala Ramudu [1973], I wonder why we never make them anymore. As kids, our lives might have drastically changed in one summer season, one trip to our grandparents’ village, or even a vacation to some faraway location with parents or friends. Whenever we open some old albums, we are thrown back into those memories, and we tend to write memoirs to our lost soulful self. What if some time traveler offers you a blue pill or a red pill and takes you back to those days with the knowledge that you can change nothing? I guess we all would like to enjoy and relive those moments for as long as that pill can offer us time, the most precious gift ever. Like an invisible snake in our backyard, time has been taking everything from us while we tie up that childish bull away from all eyes. Only we can tame it, but we neglect it due to fear of being “unlikeable” and “incomprehensible” to the new surroundings that keep building walls within. Meiyazhagan asks us, why don’t you try to unleash it? Why are you afraid of that snake, and what would you lose if you relive those memories with such close people again at least once a year? I wonder what answers I should give.

This film is a self-help guide that motivates us not to lose balance between soul and necessities. It tries to awaken a conscience that always asks the right questions with honest intentions. Take the scene where Arvind Swamy is standing outside the house he left 22 years ago. He wants to go in and feel every brick once again, but he can’t. The bus conductor doesn’t want him to get up, but he wants to be socially polite and respectful. The conductor opens him up by talking about his father and the bond he shares with his headmaster. Throughout the journey, he realizes how cynical he has become and advises him not to lose touch with his roots. At the wedding, everyone is waiting for him, and they have even sent people to bring him, but he is in a rush to leave and doesn’t want to enjoy their genuine care and love. He just wants to escape from himself so much that heartbreak haunts him rather than those memories. He needed someone to awaken that happy self in him, and there enters our Meiyazhagan.

You wish for someone so pure and simple around you, maybe not that nosy but that lovely and lively person. They would never leave you alone, they would push you to be silly and stupid, yet they give you all the reasons to get in touch with that raging bull within, who is ready to explode. As Meiyazhagan coaxes Arulmozhi to stay with him, even we are transported to a past that we always tend to prefer to enhance our beautiful furniture as photo frames and designed interiors as cupboard fillers or a safe we would never open. Even before that, we get to meet a person who is still in love with that old Varman, who finds solace in one genuine gesture of asking, “Why don’t you join to eat?” Her life has been so devoid of such genuine care and love that she immediately feels recognized and respected. There is no lust in that wish but genuine love that she longs for. And we see an uncle who is longing to meet him and his old best buddy. Man, their conversation, my eyes are moist even when I remember it. What has life taken away from them to really be in tears without thinking about not looking macho enough or grown up enough to hold it all in? Maybe their 8 year old woke up with just one “hello.” Observe the camera movements here, a documentary filmmaker would be happy and proud to submit them to any award event.

As we get introduced to our Meiyazhagan, we are immediately offered Bajji snacks with a local delicacy. Tell me honestly, did you not want to grab a bite from that plate? Later, we get a callback to the brother-sister bond. That girl who wanted to move with Varman came to life as soon as she saw her brother again. She is not interested in the marriage that begins a new chapter, but she wants the incomplete old chapter to continue its existence. I can’t express in words the feeling I got watching her get her wish fulfilled on the spot. While he wants to rush away again, she doesn’t let him. The director finds the fun part in it and also the emotional weight it holds. A brother should be able to send off his sister with all the respect, but…! I genuinely have no words to describe it. While our Meiyazhagan stays an annoying companion to Arulmozhi and a nameless, forgotten relation, he doesn’t care about it. He wants to spend a night with Varman, and he gets his wish.

Also Read: 96 – A dip in pure Ganges of Nostalgia

Their conversations show us why the bond is beautiful and how it kept building over the years without Varman knowing about it. Yes, he did not want that cycle as it would have burdened him with the memories of the place he wished to forget. But that cycle created whole new opportunities for the person it had been handed over to. Without consciously trying to help someone, he did change their lives. And Meiyazhagan never forgot that gratitude. That one night is a desperate attempt for him to make that lost connection back. We can see even Arulmozhi being his old self. He is not the 40-45 year old city boy but a simpleton villager there. At the same time, Meiyazhagan embodies the spirit of the land and its people, weaving their stories with the legendary tales of the warrior Karikalan. Each year, he dedicates time to honor and pray for the souls lost in the war, a testament to his deep connection with the past. As we forge bonds with our family, village, and community, we are reminded of the historical figures and the sacrifices they made for the betterment of our homeland. Meiyazhagan’s reverence for history and his commitment to preserving these memories highlight the enduring impact of those who came before us.

I loved the character of Sri Divya in this film. She is a teacher but she never tries to lecture. Yet she managed to give us all a lesson in being ourselves. She accepted her “Man” as he is. She wants him beside her, misses him but still doesn’t impose herself on him. She is not scared of the snake or bull as she always wants to be in the “Present” with her “Man”. He couldn’t see her cry and bought her ancestral home for her. She doesn’t intervene in his happiness but always tries to be a part of it and even a cause of it. Observe how proud she is of the Bull’s performances in the competitions. She refers to the bull as her husband’s kid, yet she isn’t envious of their bond. A secure and happy woman who doesn’t want to share her sorrows. Now observe the stark contrast between her and Arulmozhi’s first cousin. An insecure, longing for love woman in a relationship wants someone to care for her, while a secure, happy woman is “okay” to let her husband have his “happy time” with others too. She doesn’t sleep until he returns and she is happy with him singing wholeheartedly. And on top of it all, she is the one who suggests he give money by taking a loan against her jewelry. Can you get a better relationship lesson? 

Looking at all the love this couple is pouring into his empty heart, and even the gesture of naming their child after him, he is unable to comprehend how to return the favor. He is even unable to recall his name or their relationship. Guilt-ridden, he doesn’t want to face him with “crooked” means. He wants to be as genuine as the love he has been receiving. The Arul we met on the bus might have just asked for his name from others like he did during the marriage. But after looking at the bond he unknowingly shares, he ran away with guilt, leaving behind his soul. The metaphor of “sandals and chappals” represents the same. He wanted to unburden himself again by leaving those chappals behind like his “cycle”. This time he couldn’t, he genuinely wanted to reciprocate and wished for his good health and luck. Even the flower vendor outside the Temple teaches us compassion. She doesn’t know him, but she wants to share his pain. He is completely lost in his guilt, like a puppy that ran away from home. She understood it with one look and wanted to comfort him. He could have easily asked her about Meiyazhagan’s name, but he did not. I will talk more about his guilt a little later. But this woman’s compassion is the last nail in the coffin that is waiting to bury his depression forever. That’s the power of compassion.

Once Arulmozhi remembers his “Potato” and how he influenced his #cousinslove by being the leader of the pack, the final wall built by him is shattered to pieces. He immediately rushes back to meet his Potato, not because he misses some good aloo fry or curry but because this aloo has all the nutritional values to cure him from every depression and insecurity. Those sequences made me remember my bond with my cousins. Prem Kumar carefully crafted a heart-touching film with his novelistic approach. He cared for the craft without showing off. For example, when the sandals change, the genuine love and compassion of Meiyazhagan finally kick in. More than the beer, it is the goodness that fills his heart, making it heavy. This kind of writing deserves special mention. Additionally, Prem closed the thread of Arulmozhi coming back to his roots with genuine happiness rather than any sort of baggage. In a way, Prem made it a therapeutic session, to say the least. The VFX, the SFX, the background score design, the way restless Karthi goes around his house walking and talking over the phone, he just wanted to bring a slice of life onto the screen and he did so. Yes, the runtime could have been crisper, and a few extensive conversations could have been more concise, but his command of characters is impeccable and unrelentingly great. Karthi and Arvind Swamy, along with all the others, lived in their roles. Kamal Haasan just gave life to emotions in the climax with his emphatic voice and Govind Vasantha, along with the lyricists, did their job in complimenting Prem. If one summer vacation can be life-changing and all that can be captured in a movie, that is Meiyazhagan. Don’t miss it!

Theatrical Trailer:

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