'Hasyam' Movie Review: Pitchblack Humour At Its Finest
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A recurring gag in Hasyam involves a family anxiously waiting for their patriarch to die. Just recently we saw a similar situation in Sunny Wayne's appan. The only difference here is that it's not about inheritance, nor about being saved from a common man's bullying. It's all about selling your body after death and making decent money from it. The seller is his nephew "Japan" (Harishree Ashoka), a cadaver agent.
Now I always approach any film about death with a certain trepidation. And if you remember that this isn't the first time writer-director Jayaraj has explored dark terrain, think straight away. But Jayaraj is a director who, despite some miscalculations, comes up with something interesting, even if it doesn't always work out. It doesn't matter that these so-called "acclaimed" films don't get a lot of audiences. The man hasn't lost his mind just yet, and Khasiam is the latest proof of his ability to surprise from time to time. For this reason, I looked at Hasyam. I have to say this is his best work since Bhayanakam, inspirational work that always makes me feel good thanks to Jayaraj's unique attitude.
Yes, people die in Hosham and their bodies are collected without hesitation, but the film thrives on black irony. Some places make you laugh and where you process it all very funny. It also reminds you of your own mortality when you do it. Japan is a man constantly looking for bodies wherever he finds them. His business involves a lot of shadows. But can we really judge him when we look at his situation and his network, which includes a senior physician, a hospital assistant, an ambulance driver and, at one point, a Christian priest? Medical students are in dire need of bodies to study with. Talk about a strike. Of course everyone is desperate. Japan is under great delivery pressure. The thought of returning the deposit in the event of bankruptcy infuriates him. In one scene, he and his ambulance driver friend pick up an uncollected body that was recently hit by a reckless driver.
But Khasiam is not a lifestyle either. Yes, Japan and her family live in a modest house, but they can afford three meals a day and get a proper education for their children. One minute Japan hits the jackpot on one of his deals, he's buying a big KFC meal for his family, and the next minute he's buying delicious Chinese food. And Japan seems to be a person with a sense of humor. You rarely see him angry. even if it gets a bumpy spot now and then, it doesn't last long; somehow find a way out. Harishree Ashokan is very effective in his intended role. Sabita Jayaraj perfectly complements her role as his often supportive lover.
Even when Jayaraj asks us to accompany his characters to the hospital or ride with them in the ambulance, he always remains light-hearted. The humor comes mostly from Japan's conversations with other characters, particularly the ambulance driver and sometimes the orderly; Others have the farce mentioned, in which the “dying” pope always turns out to be a false alarm or a massage parlor employee lying in a church in Japan. One day, a priest suggests hiring a home nurse to deal with a particularly risky situation.
Jayaraj's light touch extends even to the tragic end, when it is immediately accompanied by a sense of triumph, that is for some of his characters simultaneously. The film features interesting visual effects given the Japanese house's location along the railway line. Jayaraj with cinematographer Vinod Ilampali captures some striking juxtapositions in the opening and closing shots to mark the comings and goings of a life. Hasyam is the eighth in Jayaraj's Navarasa series and I hope we don't have to wait long for the ninth.
Movie: Hasyam |: Directed by Jayaraj
Actors: Harishree Ashoka, Sabita Jayaraj, Ulas Pandalam
Rating: 4/5
