Kaa: The Forest

Kaa: The Forest Movie Synopsis: A wildlife photographer, a man who works as a forest guard and a henchman’s lives are intertwined in this film, in which the characters fight to be alive.

Kaa: The Forest Movie Review: There have been many antagonists in our cinema who have turned out to be unintentionally funny. The newest addition to that list is Victor Mahadevan from Kaa. The makers have conceptualised him as a formidable character, similar to Christopher in Ratsasan. Certain decisions taken by the makers in the way Victor Mahadevan has been presented are truly irksome. They constantly have him mention his full name throughout the film, even right at the very end. If the makers thought that the villain repeatedly mentioning his name would be a good touch, they were painfully wrong about it.

The second half of Kaa is comparatively better than the slow-going first half of the film, in which nothing noteworthy really happens. The cat-and-mouse game truly reaches its peak in the later half and these moments manage to be intriguing. The cinematography and the sound design manage to convey the eeriness of the setting. Kaa is one film where the way the moments are captured is many steps ahead of what is being captured.

The spookiness of a film, which revolves around multiple people fighting for their lives, is effectively conveyed. But if we go beyond that, the screenplay is all over the place. The flashback with which the film starts gets a callback at the end. But rather than giving us a clearer perspective about what took place, the callback leaves us confused. This particular moment seems convoluted rather than effective.

None of the actors in Kaa make an impact. Andrea Jeremiah has an incredible screen presence but she is weighed down by the inconsistent screenplay. Her character, even though intriguing on a basic level, isn’t really given a chance to become anything more.