We got ourselves an Amazon Firestick about three weeks back. Till then we had blissfully avoided subscribing to any OTT platform. We were TataSky loyalists and the fact that we could record any favourite program or movie was sufficient for us. Masterchef Australia forced the change upon us, as we wanted to watch the program when it aired in Australia. So we subscribed to Hotstar. Watching Hotstar on our laptop was no fun, so enter the Firestick !
Am glad a well wisher suggested we go for the Amazon Firestick instead of the Tatasky Binge that we had been planning to get. A whole host of excellent movies became available to us, all of a sudden. One such movie that we absolutely loved was the Tamil movie titled Kamali from Nadu Kaveri.
A Different Tamil Movie
In the past two decades, the Tamil movie industry has gone from bad to worse. All the movies follow a similar template – VIOLENCE, songs, lewd, double meaning statements passed off as jokes, Brahmin bashing, anti-Govt, anti-Hindu, North Indian “fair” actress, pro-Christianity and LOUD. I distinctly remember watching Ghajini during a bus ride to Tirupati. I was happy till the intermission, then the senseless violence just put me off. We have seen several movie trailers since but there are very few movies that were nice to watch.
Krishnan had read the reviews of Kamali from Nadu Kaveri and they were all glowing reviews. As soon as we got the Amazon Firestick, we started looking for this movie and realised it was being shown through Zee5. I bought that subscription and we watched the movie last week. It is indeed a different Tamil movie.
The story is inspiring and at the same time very real. Its about a young girl in a village falling for a good looking young boy who tops his school and also makes it to IIT Madras. It inspires her to study hard and get into IIT. She manages to crack the IIT exam without stepping into Kota’s coaching world.
Her troubles begin once she reaches her dream destination, IIT Madras. She assumes that the boy would just fall in love with her and things would flow from there. Unfortunately reality hits her when she fails in her semester exams getting straight zeros.
The next half of the story is about how she re-discovers herself, and not only tops her class but also helps IIT Madras win a quiz competition.
100% inspiration, no allusions to politics/religion
The movie shows Brahmin professors at IIT Madras, but they aren’t made to look like a caricature! A huge achievement in itself. Neither Kamali nor her love interest discuss about their family’s religious backgrounds. No politics is discussed in the movie. The movie simply showcases the aspirations of rural India.
It also shows how one girl or one boy can inspire a whole generation to look beyond their circumstances. It shows how someone who has travelled all over the world might want to settle down in a remote tiny village in India … and still have access to the internet !! For once India’s villages and Government schools are shown realistically.
Recommendation – A must watch movie. You have the advantage of sub titles so anyone can watch. Importantly get your children to watch the movie. They will get inspired !