Baaram is a social drama written, edited and directed by Priya Krishnaswamy, and produced by Ardra Swaroop and Priya Krishnaswamy herself under the banner Reckless Roses. It has Raju, Sugumar Shanmugam and SP Muthukumar playing the lead roles. The film won the National Award for the Best Feature film in Tamil in 2019.
Karuppasamy (Raju) is an old man in his sixties, working as a watchman. He lives with his sister Menmoli (Jayalakshmi), nephews Veera, Murugan and Mani. His hip is fractured after being hit by a bike and lays bed-ridden for a few weeks before his son Senthil opts for Thalaikoothal (mercy-killing) rather than spending on his medical treatment.
The film raises the question of whether mercy killing is justified, or is it a cold-blooded murder in another form. There is an ego clash between Karuppasamy's nephews and son. Karuppasamy's daughter-in-law isn't happy with Senthil bringing home his ailing father. The potential to explore the society's perception of Thalaikoothal is very well-researched and realistically portrayed on how barbaric the practice is.
While the visuals are hard-hitting, with cinematographer Jayanth's hand-held photography adding to the realism, the director treats the story as an amalgamation of a drama, a documentary and a thriller, which is where the film's problems lie. Baaram begins with the director showing us the bonding between Karuppasamy and his sister's family. Once he meets with the accident, the rivalry between the families become exposed, setting the base for a fantastic drama.
This drama is the strongest portion of the film, but it could have been explored more. Instead, the film's grammar changes immediately after the second half begins and the film switches to a documentary mode. And it is in this phase, that the drawbacks of the raw cast are exposed. The actors are fantastic, and their performances keep you invested in the story, but they look blank when someone else is uttering their lines on the screen, which causes slight discomfort.
Once the documentary phase ends, the film tries to be a thriller. In this portion, the setup itself reveals a lot, and the audience are a few steps ahead of the police investigations, thereby becoming predictable. Nevertheless, the thriller only acts as a closure, and the film doesn't bank on it to deliver the message.
The run-time of 90 odd minutes helps the film's engagement a lot, although a longer run-time could have helped in driving home the point more successfully. Amidst all these minor flaws, Baaram rides on the honesty of the content. At no point does the director resort to melodrama. Ved Nair's work on the sound and background score is commendable.
Overall, the film is a hard-hitting one with a strong social message. It has crafty camerawork and soulful music, coupled with some brilliant performances. It is honest, and the intent is right. However, the treatment stops Baaram in its quest of becoming a masterpiece.