Kaathal - The Core Breaker of 2023

Kaathal - The Core is one of the movies of 2023 that left an ache in my heart. It's the kind of movie where you just sit and stare at the wall for hours after you finish it. I keep thinking about the pain of Mathew, Omana, Thankan and Chachan and it is something that continues to haunt me.

Mathew’s pain is something that has become part of him by living the prime of his life pretending to be an integral part of a heteronormative society. His calm and meek personality is like a dormant volcano that is likely to erupt anytime. When he confronts his pain with Chachan and Omana, we see him peeling off his outer layer of crust and showing us his core. The core, that has carried deep wounds of fear and shame of coming out and confronting his fears, all this while.

I don’t think I have seen a more compassionate and kind woman as Omana in recent movies. Despite being in a marriage that doesn’t fulfill her needs, she stays in it for years for the sake of Mathew. And when the right time comes,she prepares to end it paving a way to end Mathew’s pain too. Omana empathises with Mathew and later they become each other’s safe space to relieve the agony. Their marriage might be similar to that of many others in our society that sacrifice the lives of people in vain.

Chachan’s silence in the movie is louder than words. He realises his mistake and carries the guilt of his decisions and misjudgements in silence. Thankan also hides his agony and sees people around him enduring the same. He wants to alleviate their pain but is helpless and afraid. The suffering of all these characters that pierce their core left me wondering desperately how different things would have been for them if this was a better society. When the movie ends the story showing an ideal society, we realise how far we are from achieving it and how many lives are left to be sacrificed. Mathew and Omana’s story is a mirror that is held towards us to reflect on the people who suffer silently carrying a heavy heart without knowing when to get it out off them.

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