Anjathe: The Antonym

I recommend people to watch ANJATHE once before reading this blog. It will surely be helpful. 

Note: The below interpretation is totally from my point of view.

Characters:

Sathya:

Takes a nap in an auto.

• Rogue attitude.  

 Asks Kiruba who hit him.  

• He loves his friend, and cares about him. 

Goes to the ground for pay back.

• He will do whatever it takes to cause pain to whose who hurt his friend.  

Paan. 

• Not health conscious.

Pull ups is not an easy deal. It takes lot of endurance and strength. 

• He is strong enough to take care of himself.  

Gives money to the boy in the bar. 

• He is kind. 
• He is an alcoholic.

Says, he hates to work as a Cop or do any other job.

•  Doesn't care about his life and future. 

Kiruba:

Works out in the morning. 

• Health conscious.
• Motivated.

 Asks Sathya to join the Police Force.

• He cares about his friend's life and future.    

If he is wrong, he doesn't take it in sportive way. This is the first hint about Kiruba that he is not a person who takes defeat easily.

• Easily gets frustrated.
• Unable to control his emotions.  

Comes to the Police Station to check on Sathya.

  

• Worried about his friend. 

Sathya and Kiruba have different perspectives of their lives but they have one thing in common. Friendship. 

Sathya surprised, asks Kiruba what he is doing inside the bar. Later Sathya drags him to his table to sing a song and Kiruba says he doesn't drink. 

 

• Kiruba is non-alcoholic.

Daya: 

Always checks time before committing a crime, beating a person, when beaten and before trusting someone.

   

 

 

He is superstitious. 

Want to hear it from his mouth? Let us go to 01:59:35.

Kiruba: Naa SI aaye, engappa Police'ya.

Daya   :Police aala mothama kaila paaka mudiyadha panam.  

Kiruba : Engamma naa porakum bodhe SI.. 

Daya  : Engamma naa porakum bodhu tanni thelikala. Time.

He says it. TIME.  



He uses his middle finger often. It is his habit, but the Director made it an open reference pointing Daya's basic trait, uncontrollable libido towards the opposite gender. Middle finger in modern era represents FUCK YOU, which is dick related. Daya has a second brain, his dick.

For the above dick theory there is one more evidence.

Snake tattoo on his chest. Like colours, serpent too has different meaning in different cultures.

According to Freud's classic dream interpretation theory, a snake featured in a dream represents to a male figure, male energy or how you experience your sexuality. 

Daya is a dick motivated guy. So obviously he is into rape and molestation. 

He is a LIAR. Lies to achieve his needs. The shot at 02:00:06. 

 

Kiruba: Daya naa pannadhu thappu.

Daya   : Naanum thappu pannama dhan rendu varusham irundhen. Enga, Military'la. En Officer pondati enna paduka koopta. Naa mudiyathu'nen. Ava, ava purushan kitta poye naa dhan koopten'nu solta. Suspend aayi road'la ninnen. Vazhi therla. Dho ippo Logu, Sappa.

Let us find a proof that he is lying. We jump few minutes forward and we stop at 02:03:40.

 

Cop     :  Sir oru additional information. Balasinghathuku oru thambi irukan. Paeru Thulasingham. Nagercoil station'la avan maela oru case iruku.  

Keerthi:  Yenna case?

Cop     :  Rape. 

.

.
Cop     : Thulasingham Kashmir'la Paramilitary Force'la rendu varusham irundhurkan sir. Anga avan immediate officer ponna rape panirkan sir. Semen test kaaga hospital kootitu pogum bodhu escape aayirkan sir. 

This depicts, Daya not only lies but also a pedophile.




A manipulator. He has manipulate Kiruba at various occasions and has succeeded in doing it. He saw Kiruba's weakness and turned him against Sathya. First occasion at 01:18:36.

                                

In this scene, Daya tells Kiruba that he is powerless because Sathya is a Cop and has a gun. At last, Kiruba comes down to a point where he asks Daya to give him a gun and he will shoot Sathya. 

Finally, the deal is done. Bond is sealed. Kiruba manipulated. 

Second occasion (02:14:05) where he manipulates Kiruba.

 

Daya   : Sathya kaiyala dhan saavanum'na saavom.

Kiruba: Neenga saaga maateenga.

                                        

 

Daya   : Sathya jeichuruvan Kiruba.

Kiruba: Indha vaati Kiruba thoka maatan.

Daya   : Sathya kaila thuppaki iruku Kiruba. 
Kiruba: En kaila oru thuppaki'ya kudu.

During Daya's first manipulation, Kiruba asks for a gun and this time he gets a gun to kill Sathya. Same manipulation, but different time and necessity. Daya, a manipulator.

The Rule:

Before we go into further detailing, we must know the hidden perspective reference. And this is my second favourite shot. 

                             

 Daya stands under the light for a while and steps forward and stands in darkness.

                                

 Logu: Namba paerla yaarukum doubt vara koodathunu dhan namma veliyave porom. Pora edathula adakama irukanum. Namma panradhu iruttu thozhilu. Namba maela light'u patta namba life iruttu aayidum.

The rule which they must follow is shown in visuals with just a bulb and a bag of darkness before Logu says it. 

Colour:

Meaning:   A visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit, transmit or reflect.

Each colour has its own characteristic representation. Different cultures follow different meanings, but we will follow the colour theory which is followed in Cinema.

RED: Aggression, blood, anger, danger, violence, passion, love, passionate and sincerity.

GREEN: Good, quietness, friendship, healthy,  fertility, cleanliness, envy, reproduction, misfortune, good luck and sympathy.

BLACK: Death, evil, fear, sadness, anger, remorse, mystery, power and sexuality.

WHITE:: Purity, cleanliness, truth, good,  peace, birth, simplicity and reverence.

BLUE: Water, peace, tranquility, cold, harmony, trust, loyalty, seriousness, depression, confidence, cleanliness and calm.

BROWN: Earth, stability, hearth(fireplace), home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity and comfort

ORANGE: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, and demanding attention.

YELLOW: Friendship, joy, happiness, idealism, betrayal, dishonesty, deceit, satisfaction, cowardice, hope, fear, uncertainty, and imagination.

BEIGE & IVORY: Unification, calm, simplicity, quiet and pleasantness.

Colour play:

This is my favourite shot in this movie. 00:19:20

While they are in the blue zone, they are serious and argue with each other. 

 And as soon as they cross the blue zone and enter the yellow zone, they stop arguing. They get calm, laugh and walk with their hands on each others' shoulder.

Colour in depth:

Remember "The Rule." 

"Namba paerla yaarukum doubt vara koodathunu dhan namma veliyave porom. Pora edathula adakama irukanum. Namma panradhu iruttu thozhilu. Namba maela light'u patta namba life iruttu aayidum."

The Rule: If you think a little deep, the actual meaning this dialogue conveys is that these criminals must camouflage themselves among the good people. So the colour code the criminals follow is totally in contrast. Being bad they are made to wear positive colours and drive positive coloured vehicles. They are bad guys clothed like good guys. 

Vehicles:

 

 

Sathya identifies Logu's voice in the scene(01:40:49) below. 

During this scene, the faceless guy makes his first appearance in total black. 

After Logu's identification scene, the criminals use negative coloured vehicles. 


The Drop.

 

 The Encounter. 

 

The Escape Plan.

Goodness saved for the last. The sole survivor gets hit by the truck that has green and yellow on it. Justice served through colour.

Costumes:

Sathya:

Being a good guy, he is shown in negative coloured shirts. 

 

 

The inciting scene. I call it "The Catalyst." 

 

Sathya is covered in multiple colours. Red, Orange and Blue. These colours cover aggression, blood, anger, danger, violence,  love, seriousness, calm  and demanding attention. Sathya undergoes all these in this scene.

Sathya becomes doubtful and starts searching for Uthra (Kiruba's younger sister) and Daya. Later when things are about to get out of hand,  Director inserts this shot. 

Sathya finds Daya with Uthra inside the bathroom. The colour plate rotating. The meaning of this shot is, the characters are going to go through a change, not only through emotions and perspective but through colours too.

Gets humiliated and embarrassed by his father in front of the public. 

After witnessing what happened to an innocent girl and the public humiliation he underwent, he decides to become a Police Officer. But you know, it's Sathya, he can't clear the tests. He obviously needs to cheat and he does. 


He goes to his uncle(Minister PA) and pulls the necessary strings. He helps Sathya to cheat. He is in red.

 

  Red shirt. Sathya gets into his old self (cocky) after passing the exam.

 

 Jumps to goodness, both inside and out.

 

The below mentioned scenes are the only scenes where Sathya wears negative coloured costume after officially becoming a Cop.

Sathya identifies who Daya is. 

 

Sathya's first encounter.

They kill Sappa. 


Sathya comes back to positive colour.

Kiruba:

Kiruba doesn't fall under colour change. He has a direct representation of what he does. Though he falls into darkness, he is still good at heart. He is on a rampage because he couldn't digest Sathya getting the SI post by pulling strings.

 

This is the scene where everything about Sathya and Kiruba is to change. Daya and Kiruba are in the same colour, a matching reference that signifies Kiruba will join Daya. 

 

 

The Change:

Kiruba fails. Wears Grey T-shirt. Grey represent sadness. He is sad about not passing the test.

 Kiruba returns to his regular self. Lavender. Grace and elegance.

 

Public humiliation and embarrassment. Black. 

 

Kiruba wears dynastic red colour shirt when he is made to collect the ransom(shit getting deeper). Kiruba and the car are in the same colour.

He is still in the same red while they kidnap these two girls. Kiruba comes to his breaking point in becoming a criminal. He is made to wear dynastic red.

What happens when he breaks?

Till this scene Kiruba was in a confused state. He finally decides he has no other go, but to escape with these guys and be with them.

He wears beige colour shirt. Beige represents unification. He is unified with Daya.  He is now a criminal.

This is a proof for the above mentioned point. At 02:56:23 he steps on muck.

Uthra : Operation'ku aprom appa unna yenga'nu kaeta, naa yennane solradhu?

                      

Kiruba: Saethula erangiten'u solludi.

Good meets evil. Good becomes evil.  

Keerthi:

A honest Cop.

This guy is the father of the girl who was kidnapped first. After the second kidnap, he is asked to identify the caller's voice to confirm whether it was the same person who kidnapped his daughter. He tells the Cops that it was the same voice.

First development in this investigation. A step closer to the criminals.  Keerthi is in black.

Keerthi comes back to be being covered in good. 

Daya:

Do you remember The Rule Logu says? Yes you do. Daya under the rule, he is always portrayed in positive colours. 

 *The background score for this shot is awesome and haunting* 

 

Daya wears a negative colour for the first time when he makes Kiruba collect the ransom.

 

 And during his first manipulation. Black.

 

The first prediction that Daya is going to die. He is in black. Red light. Smoke. He looks up. All these fall under death.

 

 He returns to The Rule. He is in white. 

 

Daya in red. Red symbolizes violence and blood. The second prediction that he is going to die.

His watch stops ticking. A believer in time has his own time stopped. Third prediction for his death.

Gets killed in the presence of yellow.  Again, evil executed in the presence of goodness.  

 

Daya  dead, lying on the ground. So is the money. We can interpret this shot in many ways. You won't take anything with you after you die. Blood money never stays, it kills.

Logu:

This guy is a strict follower of The Rule. He is always in white.

 

Logu gets killed. You might wonder where is the yellow presence.

 

There you go. Yellow here is in light form.  

Sappa:

Always covered in good. 

 

 

 Sappa also has yellow presence.

 

The yellow reference:

Sathya comes to beat Logu. You find a guy spraying yellow paint.

  

After Sathya finds out Logu's true identity, the Cops arrive at Logu's shed to arrest him. The same guy is spraying yellow paint. 

This might be the reason for the yellow presence during the criminals' death. 

 

Uthra:

She is not just a supporting character. She is the actual catalyst in the catalyst scene that I mentioned in the beginning. Daya lays his eyes on her. Molests her. Sathya beats him. Sathya's father humiliates him. He goes to his uncle and pulls the strings and becomes a Sub-Inspector. Uthra is the dope.

She is always clothed in goodness. 

 

The only time she gets clothed in a bad tone(RED) is when she gets molested by Daya. We must note that Daya dies wearing a RED kurta. 

The handcuff connection:

Uthra handcuffs her brother Kiruba.

This could be a reference that Kiruba might be arrested or chased or even killed by the Cops.

 At the end, again she handcuffs him, which makes him unable to escape. He gets killed.

  Finally everything comes true. Kiruba gets arrested, chased and gets killed by a Cop.  

 All the girls who get kidnapped wear positive colours. 

After being kidnapped, we find a photograph on the wall, one girl in red and one in black. Guess their fate planned this a while back.

The Antonym:

We are entering the real purpose of this blog. These two are consecutive scenes that occur in the beginning. 

Int. Sathya house - Morning

Sathya's father  mocks his wife for putting an omlette in Sathya's plate.

Sathya's father speaks highly about Kiruba and COMPARES Sathya with him. Sathya shouts not to COMPARE HIM WITH KIRUBA.

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Cut to:

Int. Kiruba house - Same time

Kiruba's father tells his wife to put an omlette in Kiruba's plate.

 

Here, Kiruba's father demeans Sathya.  

 

After Sathya becomes a Sub-Inspector, the entire scenario is changes.

Kiruba's mother speaks highly about Sathya and asks Kiruba to do some work.

 

Kiruba shouts, asking not to COMPARE HIM WITH SATHYA. 

 

Both families get their condition interchanged.

The Refusal: 

Though Sathya lives a thuggish life , he refuses to shake hands with Daya.

The Acceptance:

 

  Kirubha accepts Daya. Shakes his hand. 

The death threat:

In this shot, Kirubha says he will shoot Sathya after becoming a Cop.

Later, Sathya is the one who becomes a Cop and shoots Kirubha.

 

Physical and characteristic attributes:

• Sathya clothes like a rogue. Kiruba clothes like a gentleman.
• Sathya has a beard. Kiruba doesn't.
• Sathya has uncombed hair. Kiruba always has combed hair.
• Sathya drinks. Kiruba doesn't.

After fate takes it course:

• Sathya clothes neatly. Kiruba clothes like a rogue.
• Sathya is clean shaven and combed. Kiruba has a beard and uncombed.
• Kiruba starts drinking. Though Sathya comes to the bar after becoming a Cop, he is not shown drinking.

During SI test:

Kiruba gets properly examined. 

Sathya doesn't. The examiner increases the chest size. 

 

Writes sincerely. 

 Writes insincerely.

 

The interviewers drink tea.

 

Here, the interviewee drinks tea. 

 

This is why I titled this blog as Anjathe: The Antonym. Everything from characters to colours, emotions to happenings, occur in the opposite manner.

Bad guy becomes good. Good guy turns bad.  The insane family's situation turns peaceful. The peaceful family becomes insane. Bad guys are covered in positive colours.  Bad guys drive positively coloured vehicles. 

Here is the final touch. Kiruba, a good guy, gets introduced with sky as the background.

 

Kiruba dies as a bad guy with ground as the background.

This is what I call the Midas touch. 

Now let us take a look at the Director 's use of elements. As I have studied only Mysskin sir's Anjathe and Pisaasu, I will show you the similarities between both.

Whenever people go searching or to investigate, you will find a yellow car.

Usage of red and green elements in a frame. This is just an example. Watch the movies again, you will find a lot. 

 

Ice factory.

  

Black bike. He also uses auto rickshaws, red, black and white cars.

 

Centipede.

  

The manja paati.

   

For further details, you can take a look at my Pisaasu blog. It will help you get a clearer picture.

http://nirmalsudarsana.blogspot.in/2015/02/trying-to-get-inside-mysskins-head.html

People say that Mysskin sir should make movies that can be understood by a layman. It is not a wrong suggestion, but people should know there are hundreds of Directors who make layman movies. Very few take movies a step further, an intellectual level. There is nothing wrong in making movies which has deeper connection and meaning.

One must remember, clichéd movies don't become history, movies that are made of out care and love become history.  As an aspiring Filmmaker, I know how hard it is to make a movie with such intricate details and structure.  Mudi pichikum.  Thala vedichidum.  It would be great if audience appreciate him, instead of questioning his methods.

Movies like Anjathe makes Tamizh Cinema proud. Mysskin sir might hide his eyes behind his coolers, but never fails to share his vision.

        

~ Nirmal S. Sudarsana

(I didn't dig Anjathe like I dug Pisaasu. I know I would have missed some hidden meanings and references. If you find anything, please share it.)