A lifetime of being with someone may not be enough for you to fully understand them. There may be instances when you are just stunned into silence by a person’s words or actions and that’s just how it is and Aarkkariyam hinges on just this very thought. It dives deep into the skeletons in the closet, both literal and figurative. It weaves together the uncertain times of the pandemic with the uncertain ways of fate.
The movie centres around Roy and Shirley, a Kerala-based couple settled in Bombay, their journey back home to their quaint house in Kottayam in the early days of the pandemic and their life during lockdown. As with businesses all over the world, Roy’s business faces financial difficulties. Chaachan being the generous father-in-law that he is, suggests that the family house be sold so that they can weather the storm. And this is where the trouble begins.
As with the recent slew of Malayalam films, this film maximizes the one-house setting of the film drawing on nostalgia and old-world charm from its idyllic surroundings. I daresay that the film can be treated as a soft black comedy, the scene where Chaachan casually reveals that he has a body buried in his backyard made me burst out in laughter. It’s fascinating as the viewer is unsure of the veracity of what had been said. Was Chaachan telling the truth or was he pulling the leg of his son-in-law?
This film is one without heroes or villains and revolves around realistic characters. All the characters have a past, infamous ones that rear their heads occasionally connecting the present to the past: the fact that both Roy and Shirley are divorcees and the murder of Augustin. Surprisingly, the grumpy old man living alone at Ittyvira house is the most interesting character in the movie. Behind his inscrutable facade are experiences that he has locked away from people around him: of being a teacher, a father, and a murderer. Chaachan had been suffering in silence for years and the viewer slowly realizes why he is pious and why he resigns everything to God. Slips of the hand happen but whether one gets out of it or not depends on how fortunate one is. Towards the end of the film, Chaachan develops dementia, he is left with his memories of Augustin (His first son-in-law). Forgetfulness can be a blessing, but it makes one wonder, did his repentance truly save him? What does he remember and how much? Aarkkariyam!
Human Oxymoron 