Karuppasamy, a widowed night watchman, lives with his sister and three nephews – Veera, Mani and Murugan – at a town in Tamil Nadu. One morning after returning from his shift, he breaks his hip in an accident. While his nephews want him to be treated in town, his son Senthil takes him to his ancestral village, to be healed by a traditional healer. Eight days later, Karuppasamy dies. His mysterious death gets Veera, an activist, suspicious.
Cast
R. Raju as Karuppasamy
Jayalakshmi as Karuppasamy's sister
SuPa Muthukumar as Senthil
Sugumar Shanmugam as Veera
Production
After making her debut feature film, Gangoobai, Priya Krishnaswamy chanced upon news items regarding the practice of Thalaikoothal in online news portals. Upon further research, she realised that Thalaikoothal, a phenomenon she had never heard of before, was, in fact, an ongoing cultural practice which enjoyed social sanction in wide swathes of rural Tamil Nadu. Concerned with the burgeoning problem of an ageing population in India, and a complete lack of social and medical infrastructure to cater to the elderly, she wrote the script of Baaram in two weeks in mid-2016, and decided to produce the film herself, under her banner, Reckless Roses, in collaboration with Ardra Swaroop. Accordingly, they approached the Department of Performing Arts, Pondicherry University, where Priya conducted acting workshops, and succeeded in sourcing the main cast. Additional roles, numbering more than 80, were played by local non-actors. The film was shot in a realistic style akin to the Dogme school of cinema, with long takes, handheld shots and sync sound. No dialogue dubbing was done. It was shot in Pondicherry and Tirunelveli in 18 days in January 2017.
Festivals and awards
Baaram premiered in November 2018 in the Indian Panorama section of the 49th International Film Festival of India, Goa. It was also one of two Indian films nominated for the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal at the IFFI, Goa, 2018. The ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal is an international competition section of IFFI that is evaluated by a jury in Paris. Baaram later won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, the only Tamil film to win at the 66th National Film Awards. It was released in Indian theatres on 21 February 2020.
Critical reception
Cinestaan gave the film 4 out of 5 stars at the 49th IFFI, saying, "Baaram is a beautifully crafted social film which will make you question your own actions and rethink your stand on the grave subject of mercy killing." M. Suganth of The Times of India rated it 3 out 5, saying, "The arthouse approach is both a plus and a minus" but criticised the characters as seeming "painted in black and white", saying, "This approach makes them mere placeholders onto which the director can hang her plot. These result in a film that makes you think, but fails to make you feel."Behindwoods rated 3 out of 5 stars stating "Baaram is a hard-hitting film on a social issue that is rarely spoken about. Try not to miss".The New Indian Express rated 3 out of 5 stars stating "However, Baaram doesn’t leave you devastated. It only tries to put a mirror in front of society demanding a self-assessment".The Hindu stated "Despite winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, by the time it winds down, inefficient scripting comes to the fore in this effort".The Indian Express rated 3.5 out of 5 stars stating "Baaram is a necessary film that underlines the age-old heinous tradition, Thalaikoothal".Film Companion stated "The director keeps her distance. Like a diligent reporter, she is interested in how thalaikoothal is organised, and what you’d do if you knew someone was killed in this manner".Sify rated 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Docu-drama".
