TW: Some Spoilers Ahead;
Kathal is a satirical comedy and Netflix India’s latest release directed and written by Yashowardhan Mishra. Intrigued by the unusual name and trailer where cops are chasing a jackfruit, I decided to try this movie, and I’m surprised that it didn’t disappoint. So many things about Kathal makes it a decent watch and a good attempt at satire.
Plot:
The film starts with Mahima, a cop who catches a wanted criminal but is not given credit. So she’s more dedicated than ever to prove her worth. In the meanwhile, there’s an MLA who has these rare hybrid jackfruits hanging on a tree which gets stolen. All hells break loose, and the MLA reports it to the police, asking them to find his rare jackfruits at any cost. The cops, a little surprised at the demand, still couldn’t do anything but obey the MLA and started a search party for the missing kathals, with Mahima leading the case. Later, the story proceeds, and you learn how it was never about kathal. Kathal here represented a lot of things.
The movie touches on subjects like caste, male ego, patriarchy, and dowry but doesn’t delve deep without making it too heavy and sounding preachy.
There is Mahima (Sanya Malhotra), the police officer in charge of the case and of a lower caste. She goes to the MLA to interrogate, and he asks her to get off his carpet, and later when she leaves, he asks his house help to clean the space she was standing in with holy water because she was of a lower caste. The film shows that blatant casteism and discrimination are still prevalent in villages today. There are other mentions of how Mahima’s love interest is of an upper caste, and his father is against him deciding to be with Mahima as he won’t eat what she cooks.
In another scene, Mahima is also trying to get her love interest’s promotion because she’s his superior at work, and the love interest is a constable. His father has a problem with Mahima earning more than her son. This scene shows the mindset that women in power are still intimidating to men and their families.
There’s another female cop who tells Mahima how she doesn’t want to get promoted as she’ll have to move places, and she can’t leave her husband and his family, as it’s her ‘responsibility’ to feed him and take care of him. She even goes home early to make guests pakode because she thinks that’s the only way to be. Through her character, we see the internalised misogyny women in small villages have who, no matter what, think that they’re supposed to serve their families alone, irrespective of the work they do outside. So their careers are just for the heck of it.
The theme is that on political power. For example, how could an MLA make the cops search for kathals when on the contrary, a poor man’s daughter is missing, but the cop sends him away because the lost ‘kathals’ are more important than a wealthy politician in power but a poor man and his daughter don’t matter.
There’s another scene where Mahima, the cop, is looking at the picture of the missing Kathals and the missing daughter of the poor man simultaneously. She’s reflecting on the system she’s part of, where there are piled-up cases of missing people, but nobody bats an eyelid unless the case is of a person in power.
The best part about Kathal to me was how every character has a story of its own, and despite being adamant and sincere in its core objective, the film never gives up its quirky demeanour. It kept the humour going until its conclusion, and that’s the best part. The writing is very balanced. It’s just the right kind.
Sanya Malhotra as Mahima deserves mention because she’s a natural. Her comic timing and brilliant acting made the movie so much fun. Vijay Raaz as the MLA was hilarious too. The casting of the films works so well.
Kathal stands true to its genre of satirical comedy and highlights issues that need to be addressed; however, the ending falls flat and could’ve been so much better. Overall, It makes you laugh, yet it makes you think hard. It’s a must-watch if you’re a fan of the genre. For me, Kathal would be a good 7/10.