Movie Review: Andha Naal(1954)

Andha Naal(That Day) is a hidden gem of Tamil, and Indian Cinema. Running only 114 minutes, the film is different from other movies of its time, featuring no songs, dance, stunts or fight sequences, focusing only on its riveting plot. The backdrop for the movie is a little known event in History, the bombing of the city of Madras(now Chennai), in South India by Japan during the second world war. The plot is a classic whodunit There is a murder, an investigation and five suspects. A sharp detective is on the case.

The movie features Sivaji Ganesan, a legend in Tamil Cinema, in a negative role. There is also another character Javar Seetharaman, playing a sleuth, who makes an impact in the film.

In the very opening scene of the movie, we see Ganesan playing radio engineer Rajan, hit by a bullet and fall to the ground, dead. Not to be alarmed, we will see a lot of Ganesan’s acting prowess, in the flashbacks.

Purushothaman Naidu, a police officer arrives at the crime scene and after some preliminary investigation, theorizes that this is a case of a burglary gone bad.

At this point, arrives the most memorable character in the movie, CID officer, Sivanandam, brilliantly played by Javar Seetharaman, a screenwriter turned actor, in Tamil Cinema. Sivanandam is a good-natured, stout pot-bellied man, sharp as a whip and dedicated to his work. As soon as he makes his entry the movie takes on a more luminous tone.

Sivanandam, is committed to his work, but on occasion, can take a step back and see humor in the situation. He has a great working relationship with Naidu and the two make a great tag team. Sivanandam first debunks Naidu’s theory that this is a failed burglary. For one thing, money was found at the scene of the crime and the amount present, matches the amount withdrawn from Rajan’s account, earlier that day.

There are five suspects that need to be interrogated. Four of them have an axe to grind with the diseased Rajan. There is Chinnaiya Pillai, Rajan’s neighbor who reported the crime. Pillai is an elderly man who is obviously going through his midlife crisis. It is revealed through flashbacks that Rajan stole Pillai’s mistress Ambujam, a former dancer.

Then there is Pattabi, Rajan’s younger brother. It is revealed that the siblings had a vicious property dispute. The third suspect is Pattabi’s wife, Hema who also hates Rajan, as she feels that Rajan did not give her husband his fair share of the property.

The forth suspect is Ambujam, the dancer, who Rajan charmed, away from her sugar-daddy Pillai. Ambujam also bears a grudge towards Rajan, for his callous treatment of her after she reveals to him, that she is pregnant, with his child.

The last of the suspects is Rajan’s grieving widow, Usha. Usha seems genuinely devastated and in a state of shock about her husband’s murder. During her interrogation, it is revealed by another flashback, that Usha who was Rajan’s college mate, had inflicted a humiliating defeat on him during adebate. After this she did not see Rajan for months, until she heard his voice in her own living room.

Rajan was trying to get her father to invest in his dream project, which was to place a affordable radio in the hands of every Indian citizen. Usha’s father helps Rajan, but Rajan’s plan never sees fruition. However, Rajan and Usha get involved in a serious relationship and then get married. Pandari Bai who plays Usha is another unforgettable character. She plays a well-educated woman in the movie. Education of women was not commonplace those days.

All the suspects except Usha, point the finger at one another. The climax of the film is yet another memorable scene, where Sivanandam hands pistols to each of the suspects. He asks each of them to imagine that he or she is shooting at Rajan, a ploy to uncover the culprit. After the identity of the murderer is revealed, director Balachander has one last surprise, before the proverbial curtain falls. Balachander got his inspiration for the plot after watching Kurusawa’s Rashomon, where each individual, observer or participant, have a different interpretation of of how an event unfolded.

Unfortunately for the film it did not get a good reception upon opening, undoubtedly because it was ahead of its time. Andha Nal has since been included in mediahouse CNN-IBNs list of the 100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time. With its short 114 minute running time, Andha Nal is a “must see”.