Director Spielberg is known for using and reusing familial discord as a recurring theme in his films, just like Anurag Kashyap keeps returning to his masochists and Priyadarshan, to his confusions. If one were to add Tinu Pappachan to this list, they can argue that his pet theme is perhaps the idea of escape. His first film Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil was a straightforward prison-break thriller, filled with a set of quirky characters and strange subplots.
One can see a lot of that make its way into Ajagajantharam too, even though the new film is richer with a lot more flavour and even more chaos. It's only fair to look at this film as a sort of celebration of chaos because it's not even interested in telling a story. Set across two days during the peak of a temple festival, the film gives us characters, a general idea of the kind of place this is and then lets Murphy's Law do the rest.
Read the full review on Film Companion.
One can see a lot of that make its way into Ajagajantharam too, even though the new film is richer with a lot more flavour and even more chaos. It's only fair to look at this film as a sort of celebration of chaos because it's not even interested in telling a story. Set across two days during the peak of a temple festival, the film gives us characters, a general idea of the kind of place this is and then lets Murphy's Law do the rest.
Read the full review on Film Companion.