యేళ్ళ తరబడి వెదురు కొమ్మల వెంబడి పడి యే కొమ్మతో బాల కృష్ణుడు మెచ్చే మురళి తయారు అవుతుందో తెలియక తికమక పడిపోయే వేణువుల కొట్టువాడు, చీకాకులూ చీవాట్లతో చేగోడీలు, విసుర్లు కసుర్లతో అరిసెలూ, వృద్ధాప్యపు వయసు పెరుగు చిలికితే వచ్చిన మళ్ళిన మజ్జిగ దాహాలూ తీర్చుకుంటూ పొద్దస్తమానం చిర్రుబుర్రులాడే చిలకాగోరింకల మిధునాలూ, ఊరికొచ్చిన సర్కస్ లో ఇక శ్రమ పడలేని ముసలి ఏనుగు మీద జాలి పడి దానిని ఇంటికి తెచ్చుకుని, ఇక దానిని పోషించే క్రమంలో శుక్కి శల్యమైన ఒక విశాల హృదయుడి వింత కష్టాలూ.... ఈ మోస్తరులు కథల కంటే జీవితాలు అనడం సబబు. "అమరావతి కథలూ", "మా పసలపూడి కథలూ", "మాల్గుడీ డేస్", "మిట్టూరోడి కథలూ", "ఓ హెన్రీ కథలూ" .... భాషా వ్యావహారీకాల వెంబడి, ప్రాంతాలనే వస్తువుగా ఎంచుకుని, అందులోని మనుషుల ప్రవర్తనలను, వారి జీవన శైలిని ఆలంబన చేసుకుని అల్లుకున్న ఈ కథా సంకలనాలు సామాజిక సాంస్కృతిక దర్పణాలు. గొళ్ళెం తీసి, గడియ తెరిచి, గడప పక్కన నుంచుని ఆహ్వానిస్తోంది అటువంటిదో మరో దృశ్యకథా సంకలనం...పేరెన్నిక పొందిన ఆ పైవాటి పక్క హుందాగా నిలుచోదగ్గ "కంచరపాలెం వారి కథలు".
The object of the short story is the story itself. The format doesn't lend itself to be burdened by flowery prose, detailed descriptions, elaborate plot and other such smoke and mirrors acts. The page opens into the life of the subject right away and follows him and around until whatever interesting, that spurred the story in the first place, happens and it closes abruptly without the usual formalities. Short story always occupies a special place in the heart of the writers who are accustomed to making a living in the longer format. The brevity of the exercise, the preciseness and conciseness of the expression, and above all, the need for that story to be told as urgently as possible - these three things challenge mighty authors of great repute to set aside their long hands and challenge themselves in this purest of story telling art form. Here the character, however interesting and colorful, has little to no importance. And that is the reason why characters in all the memorable short stories are plucked right out of dull ordinary lives. It is not what he does but what happens to him is the driver of the story.
On a hot, muggy, summer afternoon, a barber, in the midst of a revolution, is forced to service a customer who walked into his shop, and by stroke of his luck, happens to be the commander leading the forces crushing down the civil resistance on the streets ruthlessly. A sympathizer and a part time mutineer, the barber has his razor sharp blade on the throat of the commander as he carefully shaves down the stubble. Even with his shivering hands, thumping heart and sweating temples, the barber tries his best to hide his tension as the blade makes multiple passes down the jugular. The story closes with the commander throwing a silver coin at the barber informing him that he was in fact testing the barber for his treasonous instincts and that he knew all along that the barber was part of the resistance, and that the police were waiting outside to immediately jump on him, had me made any murderous move. Does the barber rue at the missed chance even it comes at a great sacrifice of his own life, or does he heave a huge sigh of relief at how close he came to be shot down? The story doesn't say and it doesn't need to. The object of the story is revealing the mindset of a would-be killer. It reveals it and moves on. Nothing more.
అందానికి స్వచ్ఛమైన నిర్వచనం ప్రకృతి తనతో తను రమించుకుంటూ ఆవిష్కరింపచేసే మనోఙ్ఞమే అవ్వాల్సిన అవసరం లేదు. గుండె బరువు దించుకుపోయిన మబ్బులు వెళ్ళిపోతూ వెల్ల వేసిన ఆకాశం, నులివెచ్చని వేడికి కరిగిన మంచు తడి జార్చుకునే తృణబృందం, హిమశిఖరాలూ, నదీనదాలు...ఇదేనా అందం?..... అందం, కట్టు విడిన దూడ తల్లి పొదుగు కోసం దూకే రమణీయం, అందం, తన పిల్లలతో పాటుగా సాటి వారిని సైతం సాకే తల్లితనం, అందం, నాలుగు చోట్ల అడుక్కు తెచ్చుకున్న తిండిని తోటి లేని వారితో పంచుకునే గుణం.... అందం దృశ్యం కాదు, అందం మనసు.
"C/O Kancharapalem" is all heart. Right from the first frame down to its great ending, the movie doesn't take on themes, messages and values (though, it very intelligently weaves what it really wants to convey quite subtly in its narrative). It is rooted in its handful of characters and merely follows them along their paths of dreams and aspirations. There is no global or overarching grasp here. It confines itself to a small locality, but gets it absolutely right about everything in its vicinity. For a filmdom that has far moved from reality till not so long ago (though, thankfully, the last couple of years have been a slow and steady walk back to the roots), "Kancharapalem" throws open its doors to not just the sights and sounds that make up the rhythm of everyday life, but to the walk and talk of ordinary characters who pack so much beauty in their earthiness. Covering 4 different stages of lives - childhood, youth, adulthood and wisdom years - the story tracks the characters go through their chief tribulation of opening up their hearts to one other, and the dialogue written here remains true of the ages, behaviors and maturity levels; which certainly helps when the movie is populated with non-actors. The concept of multiple (intersecting) stories have been attempted in multiple genres across different languages, all underlining the butterfly effect aspect of life, but while majority of them (vedam, yuva, babel, Amores perros) aspired for an understanding of life through the aspirations of its characters, "Kancharapalem" takes a more simplistic (and an utterly clever) route of declaring the same universality (this time, of love) in a more realistic way.
The director in the writer-director deserves more applause for the execution than the writer for the concept. That which would have ended up being needlessly melodramatic in the hands of a seasoned crew - actors and technicians - the movie with a non-actor cast soars above established rules and norms of movie-making. By curbing the instinct of going overboard with the technical aspects, as is the wont in such "boutique" movies, "Kancharapalem" remains rooted in its reality, be it the incandescent lit rooftops, or the warmth exuding surroundings of school classrooms, or the fluroscent bulb dim interiors, or the sodium vapor lamp drenched street corners. For long, tamil industry (and recently, hindi) enjoyed an unchallenged fiefdom over such earthy movies, where, even with all the melodrama, the movies stayed true to their rooted characters whose trials and travails were the stuff that life of the ordinary was made up of. And throwing the first hat in that ring from Telugu, "C/O Kancharapalem" joins the proud list of such illustrious fare, without the casting, without the acting, without the glamor, without the valor .... just with the heart.
P.S. One of the characters utters what at that time appears like an unnecessary piece of dialogue about the "converted" status of his religion, only to have the purpose of that throwaway dialogue reveal quite nicely at the end. Fantastic!
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