Ka Pae Ranasingam Review: A Poignant Drama with a Thought-Provoking Narrative!

It has been a while since a big star cast movie got released in Tamil and this week, Ka Pae Ranasingam starring Vijay Sethupathi and Aishwarya Rajesh debuted on ZEE Plex through a pay-per-view model. The premise of the movie is about the struggles faced by a wife to get her husband’s corpse back, who died overseas during his job.

The death of her husband, who is known to be the voice of the people and fighting for what they deserve, hits everyone emotionally hard, and how this incident turns into an issue is the base of the movie Ka Pae Ranasingam, directed by P. Virumaandi.

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The storyline of Ka Pae Ranasingam kicks off with Ranasingam (Vijay Sethupathi), a Chemical Engineering graduate, who follows his traditional family job of detecting water resources in their village. He also stays in the good graces of all the villagers by being the front-runner in solving their problems. Eventually, Ranasingam meets Ariyanachi (Aishwarya Rajesh), who is also from his village, falls in love, and subsequently marries her.

With an intent to lead a financially stable family life, Ranasingam leaves for Dubai for work through an agent and unfortunately passes away in an accident. With an urge to get his corpse back to his village, Ariyanachi tries everything possible, and whether she is able to see her husband back or not is the emotional storyline of this hard-hitting movie, with a runtime of nearly three hours.

The entire film revolves around the title character Ka Pae Ranasingam, played by Vijay Sethupathi, with or without his screen presence, and even though it seems like an extended cameo, the writing and his performance register his presence throughout the runtime. Sethupathi excels in his character by being real, replicating his real-life personality, and makes an instant connection with the audience member through and through.

The most significant character of Ka Pae Ranasingam and, to an extent, the primary lead of the movie is Aishwarya Rajesh, and, once again, she impresses in a credible role with her mindblowing performance. As a fun-filled teenager, a responsible married woman, a mother to a child, and as a suffering wife after her husband’s death, she manages to showcase a handful of emotions in the movie. And through her natural performance, she manages to transfer every sentiment of her life to us as Ariyanachi stands tall in the long list of best characters she portrayed to date.

Journalist Rangaraj Pandey as the Collector and Ramdoss as the councilor were decent as the supporting cast. Director P. Virumaandi taken an emotionally hitting story and blended the prevailing issues of the society decently and also presented them in an engaging manner avoiding the propagative feel.

P. Virumaandi also stands out as a writer along with by Shanmugam Muthusamy with his decent yet powerful dialogues that are utilized masterfully in well-made scenes. The portion of the movie where a celebrity’s death gets ironically compared with Ranasingam’s allows us to think deeply about the importance given to human life in the public.

The parts in the second half where Ariyanachi bursts out of frustration resembled the mindset of me, as a viewer at that point. The lovable and painful bonding between Ranasingam and Ariyanachi was registered very well and helped the story flow better alongside the relation between Ariyanachi and her sister-in-law.

Beginning from the title card of Ka Pae Ranasingam, Ghibran’s soulful music and Vairamuthu’s powerful lyrics sets up the mood of the story. And throughout the movie, the music stands out as immense support for the narration withholding the nativity. The brownish color tone visually transports the feel of the dryness and the water scarcity problem dealt in the premise, and with a collaborative effort of a gifted technical team, the movie looks very rich on-screen.

Discussing the drawbacks, mid-way through the movie, the narrative got monotonous with the scenes around government offices. The lethargic handling of the government officials was realistic but felt a little overdosed, which was an unavoidable factor in this film. Furthermore, the pre-climax portion felt a bit dramatic, but with a relieved feeling that Ariyanachi’s problems came to an end, the overwhelming climactic portion felt a bit less bothersome. Above all, the runtime was a problem from the very beginning, as it gave a tiring feel by the very end.

Surprisingly, for the first time in this pandemic era, an OTT premiered movie stumped me with its emotion, and a theatrical release could have garnered a more appreciation for the story. The film seriously addressed the problems of industrialization in a village, and the lives of the workers living overseas, especially in the Middle East, is a mess. It also made us think twice about the unassured overseas jobs and being a story based on real events it registered a severe concern.

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Topics such as protests, government oppositions, and farmer’s problems that are explored multiple times before in other films, worked really in this movie due to its close-to-reality presentation. The discomfort and the agony felt throughout the movie makes us realize the worth of our lives, humanity, and family bonding in many places.

Overall, Ka Pae Ranasingam is an impactful movie that makes you feel heavy-hearted most of the time, and the emotional climax will surely add more pain to your heart and the overall experience. It’s a moving drama you should not miss watching for its thought-provoking intent and stellar presentation. Watch ‘Ka Pae Ranasingam’ on ZEEPlex here.

Rating – 3.75/5 | Grade – B+

Images via KJR Studios