Aadukalam – an enticingly beautiful film by Vetrimaran. There’s one pivotal rooster fight which focuses on a discarded rooster. The director very cleverly places the various shades of human emotions within this particular sequence.
The players in the sequence – The Master, his star pupil, the arch rival and the discarded rooster.The bet – The master’s surrender to his arch-rival and vice-versa. Even as the master reprimands his pupil the pupil refuses to give up on his prized possession. The master walks away holding a grudge unaware of the events unfolding in the background.
The arch – rival lures the master’s favourite to a rooster fight three times. The sishyan defeats the arch rival thrice and with each victory the master looses the hold over his emotions even as ego, jealousy and agony take over.
On one hand there’s a victory celebration for the supposed heir to be. On the other hand the master’s forlorn look conveys a different meaning. The film undergoes a dramatic shift in tone with this scene. It becomes dark, brooding and uncomfortable.
The equation between the master and his student changes as the sishyan finds himself trapped in a web of deceit, lies and greed being completely unaware of the master’s true intention.
Is it just a simple rooster fight or are there multiple layers of power games played within?.
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