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The unkind spirit of Nature

Yuddham Sei (யுத்தம் செய், Wage War, Tamil; 2010)


Nathuram Godse, in his appeal, stated in a very articulate and verbose manner, his justifications of gunning down an icon who is considered the Father of the Nation in a most violent way. He said that violence has been rife throughout man's history to change his path of his journey of life.

Nature is also not a bed of roses but a path paved with thorns. It is cruel and does not give preferential treatment. Its fury has no boundaries and its purpose unexplainable, from a practical viewpoint.  

Like that evil lurks amongst us. In every corner we turn to, there is potential danger from Nature or from people itself. It is just a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, by chance. The tide rises to all the ships, not selectively. Or is an elaborate scheme of things in a dice throwing game of the puppet master? When bad things happen to good people, we say it is an act of God, karma, fate or plain unlucky. Others would insist that God has different plans and wants to test your faith! It is for us to accept and not to question.

It is interesting that a character in the film is named Judas Iscariot. In the scriptures, he is vilified as a traitor for his betrayal of the Son of God for a mere thirty silver coins. On the flip side, this act was a necessary evil if He were to save humanity. In 'Yuddham Sei' (YS), Judas, however, stays true to his friendship and does not spill the beans till the very end.

YS is not your typical Tamil movie fare. It is a crime drama which unfolds in the fashion of most Tinseltown or Hollywood police and robbers' whodunnit. The suspense slowly builds up with random cases. You wonder at one time what is actually happening and that the ending would be something unbelievably patched up to draw the story to a close. Surprisingly, it did not disappoint.

Severed limbs start appearing in cardboard boxes in public spaces sporadically. Pressure mounts on the police to get to the heart of the matter. Intriguing and gross as it is, a brooding cop JK (Cheran) is assigned to deal with it. JK has a deep-seated sadness within him. His sister had been missing for three months and despite being in the police force has no leads to her whereabouts. She is also presumed to be dead.

JK's close rapport with the City forensic pathologist unveils the potential victims of the limbs. He, with his team, like peeling layers of an onion, slowly unravel a web of dirty old men with an insatiable appetite for snuff-show and S&M action. If someone is willing to pay, anything can be arranged.

YG Mahendra, who is mostly known for his wise-cracking, sometimes incessant, talk is seen here almost in a zombie-like automaton of a grieving father and a killer machine! A good watch.
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