Kadaisi Vivasayi Movie Review: A Soul-Stirring Piece Of Cinema That Gets The Farmers’ Life Right!

In
one
of
the
most
moving
scenes
of

Kadaisi
Vivasayi,
Maayandi
(played
by
late
Nallandi),
is
seen
asking
a
question
about
the
purpose
of
life.
That
is
the
scene
that
contains
the
complete
essence
of
this
M
Manikandan
directorial
–
soul-stirring
and
philosophical,
yet
not
at
all
preachy.

Kadaisi
Vivasayi
can
be
considered
a
piece
of
cinematic
gold
solely
for
this
reason.

What’s
Yay:

The
brilliant
casting

Metaphors

Authentic
portrayal
of
village
and
farmers’
life

The
background
score
(or
lack
of
it)

What’s
Nay:

The
docu-drama
style
of
narration

Uneven
pacing

Plot

Mayaandi
(Nallandi)
is
an
85-year-old
illiterate
farmer.
He
ends
up
as
the
Kadaisi
Vivasayi
(final
farmer)
of
his
village
after
the
other
villagers
bid
goodbye
to
agriculture
by
selling
their
lands.
However,
Mayaandi
refuses
to
sell
his
land,
as
farming
is
his
only
purpose
in
life.
After
a
series
of
incidents,
he
lands
up
in
jail
for
a
crime
that
he
never
committed.

Script
&
Direction

M
Manikandan,
the
writer-director
is
back
with
one
more
stunning
piece
of
cinema,
that
discusses
the
farmers’
life
and
gives
an
authentic
insight
into
village
life.
The
filmmaker
easily
transports
the
viewers
to
this
world
of
Nallandi,
without
being
overboard
with
the
usual
“vivasayi
prachanai”
speech
or
other
cinematic
tropes.
Instead,
we
get
a
film
that
discusses
the
basic
ideas
of
life
in
a
philosophical
or
even
spiritual
manner,
with
utmost
simplicity,

The
biggest
plus
of

Kadaisi
Vivasayi
is
that
the
film
doesn’t
even
try
to
give
a
message
or
school
its
viewers.
Instead,
it
simply
puts
forward
the
ideas
through
the
brilliantly
used
metaphors
and
well-conceived
scenes,
without
being
obvious.
Each
and
every
character,
including
Mayaandi,
Vijay
Sethupathi’s
Ramayya,
Yogi
Babu’s
Mahout,
Dr.
Rachel
Rabecca’s
judge,
the
policemen
who
arrest
the
protagonist,
–
all
are
shown
as
humans.

Kadaisi
Vivasayi
almost
stays
away
from
the
background
score
at
various
points,
which
is
both
positive
and
negative.
The
absolute
lack
of
drama
and
uneven
pacing
makes
the
film
goes
into
a
docu-drama
mode,
which
might
make
it
a
difficult
watch
for
some.
But
this
Manikandan
directorial
is
worth
revisiting
and
further
reading.

Performances

Nallandi,
the
late
actor
who
has
played
the
central
character
Mayaandi
is
the
perfect
choice
for
the
role.
Vijay
Sethupathi
deserves
special
applause
for
making
a
cameo
appearance
as
Ramayya,
and
for
backing
this
film.
Yogi
Babu
makes
his
presence
felt
in
the
role
of
the
mahout.
The
rest
of
the
star
cast,
who
are
basically
the
localities
of
the
Usilampatti
village
where
the
film
is
set
in,
are
great
in
their
respective
roles.

Technical
Aspects

M
Manikandan,
the
director
himself
has
handled
the
cinematography
of
Kadaisi
Vivasayi,
and
he
has
done
a
good
job.
B
Ajith
Kumar’s
editing
is
fine.

Santhosh
Narayanan
scores
with
the
rightly
placed
background
score
that
provides
the
right
mood
to
the
narrative
only
when
it
is
necessary.

Verdict

Kadaisi
Vivasayi
is
a
stunning
piece
of
cinema
that
gets
the
life
of
farmers
right,
without
cringeworthy
speeches
or
over-dramatization.
This
Manikandan
directorial
is
simple
yet
soul-stirring
and
definitely
deserves
to
be
revisited.