'Seththumaan' review: A hard-hitting take on food politics

Last year, three Tamil films, Manikandan's 'Kadaisi Vivasayi', Vinothraj's 'Koozhangal', and Tamizh's 'Seththumaan' earned great appreciation at reputed film festivals. 'Seththumaan' dropped on Sony Liv recently. The other two films are also streaming on the platform.

The film is based on a short story by eminent Tamil novelist and writer Perumal Murugan, who is also credited for the screenplay. The narrative touches on caste politics with a deeper look at conflicts in food consumption habits. The culture widely governs the nature of one's food, and in India, there have been quarrels and killings in the name of food.

'Axone' is a 2019 film streaming on Netflix that looks at how a community from the Northeast experiences difficulties amidst the residential area in Delhi in preparing one of their main dishes that gives out a pungent smell.

'Seththumaan' starts with an intense sequence picturised through a motion animation. It shows a burning down a Dalit locality because they had consumed beef. Further, we see the mob brutally beat a man to death. The deceased man's pregnant wife is also seen breathing her last while delivering a male child. The gut-wrenching title animation ends with the newborn orphan being held by his grandparent.

Director Tamizh cuts away from the animation and reveals the two main characters of the narrative, an old man Poochi and his grandchild Kumareshan. They are seen walking through rugged terrain, connecting this duo to the character of the grandparent and orphan we see in the animation before. At its core, the film is about the inseparable bonding of the duo.

Poochi dreams of a better life for his grandson, knowing it's only possible through proper education. While most privileged children are seen going to reputed schools either by private van or car, Poochi carries his grandson on his shoulders to a government school with temporary teachers. This social imbalance is clearly established through montage shots. When not with his grandson, Poochi is seen spending time working for Vellaiyan, a local landlord. Occasionally, he meets with Rangan, a hot-headed guy who owns a pigsty.

Poochi has loyalty towards Velliyan not because of the hierarchy but because the latter had offered him food and shelter during difficult times. Velliyan is lenient to Poochi; their equation is rather complex than simple. Vellaiyan has a sworn enemy in his brother Subramani and misses no chances of picking up verbal and physical fights, even for the slightest matters.

Rangan is always seen fighting for non-discrimination, and equality. Vellaiyan and Rangan represent two extremes of the social strata. The former is a privileged person in the town whereas the latter is someone who works in a filthy place. Perumal's story brings these two extremes closer as Vellaiyan craves "Seththumaan", a pig.

The film shares its title with Nagraj Manjule's directorial debut, 'Fandry' (2013, meaning pig in Marathi). One can draw parallels between the movies with respect to their commentary on casteism. However, the pig, shown as a matter of disgust in 'Fandry', becomes savoury in 'Seththumaan'. There is quite a contrast in the hunt for the pig in both films. The films share the underlying tone of humiliation and helplessness suffered by the marginal.

The ending shot of both the movie evokes the same rage and feeling, the ugly side of humanity. The sequence wherein Vellaiyan and his gang search for a healthy and clean pig, the conversation between Poochi and Rangan in the tea shop, and the arguments between Vellaiyan and his wife are the highlights of the film. The reference to Ram Nath Kovind being elected as President of the country brings in the reality of how a well-read Dalit man being the topmost person in the country.

Perhaps that is the path that Poochi wants his grandson Kumaresh to follow. The film does not follow the usual pattern of the privileged class oppressing and discriminating the under-privileged. Even if the fight is among the elite, the underprivileged can become victims for no fault of theirs. There is this consistent unsettling feeling while watching the film. It is like sitting on a timebomb.

The music and background score by Bindhu Malini is subtle yet powerful. The film adopts a particular form of cinematography. The shots are captured handheld, and there is a lot of destabilisation in the images. The shots are long and distant from the characters, giving the camera an observant sense. It takes some time to get used to this style. The cast is all fresh, which helps the audience remember the characters more than the actors.

The film has very raw performances. Tamizh, impressed by the works of Perumal, wanted to make a film based on his story. He approached Pa Ranjit for camera rentals but the ace filmmaker came on board after listening to the script.

'Seththumaan' is streaming with English subtitles. Dubbed versions are in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi. It's best to watch this in the original language, Tamil, as the dubbing quality is underwhelming.

(The author is a film enthusiast and consulting curator at BIFFES for 'Cinema of the World' section).