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Kaapa is a gangster drama directed by Shaji Kailas, a director known for his yesteryear blockbusters like Commissioner, Narasimham, The King and Baba Kalyani, and whose last film with Prithviraj Sukumaran - Kaduva - was a decent hit at the box office. Kaapa, produced by Fefka Writers Union, was supposed to be first directed by Munnariyippu fame Venu, but the former cinematographer-turned-director walked out of the film, and Shaji Kailas was brought in as a replacement for what is his most unusual film to date since Doctor Pasupathy (yup, it was a Shaji Kailas film!). Kaapa Movie Review: Prithviraj Sukumaran-Asif Ali's Gangster Drama is Engaging in Parts When Not Obsessed With One-Man-Show Business!
Kaapa stars Prithviraj, Asif Ali, Aparna Balamurali (who had replaced Manju Warrier in the role) and Anna Ben in the lead roles, with Jagadeesh, Nandu, Dileesh Pothan, Senthil Krishna in the supporting cast. Based on the gangs operating around Thiruvananthapuram, Kaapa (named after the Kerala Goonda Act) is about Kotta Madhu (Prithviraj), a gang-leader who may not be the goonda he once was, but he stills heads a bunch of men who are willing to lay their lives for him. His wife Prameela (Aparna Balamurali) is the District Collector, which makes Madhu even more powerful, and he is also eyeing to be the corporator of the city next.
Watch the Trailer of Kaapa:
We also have Anand (Asif Ali) and Binu (Anna Ben), a married IT couple who are expecting their first child, and have recently moved to Thiruvananthapuram. Here, Anand learns that Binu has a past in the city and that past involves Kotta Madhu, who had his men butcher Binu's elder brother in broad daylight right in front of her when she was a teenager. Anand also learns that Binu's name is in the goonda list, because apparently her brother's old gang is being operated under her name, and she is oblivious to it.
The reason for the above is Latheef (Dileesh Pothan), a yellow crime-reporter/editor who puts all the local crimes on Binu's 'gang' and who is hell-bent on destroying Kotta Madhu, because the latter nearly killed his nephew, who is now forced to live in Gulf in fear for his life. Whether Anand manages to clear his wife's name, and what happens to Kotta Madhu is what Kaapa details into.
You Reap What You Saw
Even though Kotta Madhu stands infallible in front of his enemies, be it Latheef's men or the cops out to kill him, he is haunted by his past - of using a kid to kill an opponent, and living in the guilt of how that crime has turned the young boy into a damaged young man. And that guilt demon is later responsible for his own downfall, as well as his questionable trust on a young man he barely knows - Anand.
The gullible Anand is convinced by Latheef, who comes to visit him during the naming ceremony of former's baby. Latheef claims that he is tired of living under the fear that Madhu may kill him any moment, and wants Anand to convince Madhu to allow them to meet for the last time so that Latheef can convince Madhu to spare him. Anand agrees and convinces Madhu to meet Latheef. Madhu, despite being mistrustful about Latheef, decides to give him one more chance. That proves to be a fatal mistake.
At the meeting point, Madhu is killed by the the same young man who he had once used to kill his opponent, and in the same way (and also being paid with a biryani both the times). Even though Madhu could have tried to escape, he smilingly accepts his fate, as he sees this as an way to escape his guilt, and he is killed in the blast, while his men and Anand look helpless.
Anand manages to get away from Latheef, who takes him away before Madhu's men harms him, and goes to apologise to Prameela at Madhu's funeral. She believes that he is innocent and lets him go. But when the police give her her husband's last possessions at the time Madhu was killed, she realises there was someone else masterminding the whole murder.
A Vicious Full Circle
Among the possessions, Madhu's ring, which he has taken away from the man who killed his elder brother, and who himself had cut it from his elder brother, was missing. Prameela realises who would be having the ring, and she calls the person who was actually pulling the strings using Latheef and the police, and even used her husband as a bait - Binu.
Binu might not be a gang-leader like Madhu as Anand was once told, but she knew what Latheef was upto and she was aware and behind every (failed) attack on Madhu. Traumatised and even briefly institutionalised after seeing her brother getting killed, the fire of vengeance has not quenched for Binu, and she saw the perfect opportunity to strike when her husband inadvertently managed to win the trust of her biggest enemy. And Anand is still clueless of what his wife has been upto. Kaduva Movie Review: Prithviraj Sukumaran Roars Mighty in this Standard-Fare Shaji Kailas Entertainer.
Prameela, who is now heading Madhu's operations and is showing to be far more aggressive than him, challenges Binu to come to Thiruvananthapuram (Anand and Binu are now settled in Aluva). Binu accepts her challenge, saying now it is time to take over her so-called fictional gang, and thereby carry forward her dead brother's legacy in the same killing grounds her biggest enemy once ruled.
Sequel Tease?
Why the ending of Kaapa did finish sorta on an opening ending promising a bloody clash between Prameela and Binu, I don't believe a sequel would happen even if that would lead to a far more interesting move. But somehow the sequel is greenlit, it would be interesting to see how Shaji Kailas, if he returned as a director, would helm a women-centric gangster drama, giving both the women far more fleshed-out roles and how Anand would react when he would realise his own wife was using him as a puppet to get someone killed. What say? Share your thoughts in the comments section on how that sequel would be, and how it can manage without Prithviraj's character.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2022 02:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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