Joji, the 2021 Malayalam adaptation of Macbeth starring Fahadh Faasil, isn’t exactly a faithful adaptation of Macbeth – but it retains the main beats of the story. A strong but overbearing father character (Sunny PN as Kuttapan) undermines his son, leading to the son murdering him, but succumbing to his own web of crimes and deceit. Like in Macbeth, Joji is goaded on to plot against his father by a strong female character (Unnimaya Prasad as Bincy), as they both dream of freedom and power.
We are familiar with these beats. However, the real artistry lies in the details and treatment of the basic outline of the plot. Joji is a visual treat. That’s not the first thing one would expect – but there are a few good reasons for it. First, Malayalam cinema is generally a cut above, in terms of cinematography and framing.
Second, Shakespearan plots have been done to death – the ingenuity in adapting the Bard’s work is to be found in avenues other than story, i.e., in terms of music (Romeo+Juliet), visual artistry (Joji, Macbeth (2015)), contemporary settings (10 Things I Hate About You), or an exploration of the basic premise from the perspective of an antagonist (The Merchant of Venice).
To be fair, all of the aforementioned films (including Joji) have some combination of these elements. But where Joji really separates itself from the pack, is in establishing a mood that directly contributes to the plot. I often find it a hackneyed plaudit when people say that ‘the city/ music/ language almost feels like a character’ in the story. But you really get what that means when watching Joji.
The visual atmosphere of the film is established by widely framed establishing shots, displaying the grandeur of Kerala’s greenery, and is set adjacent to a most operatic, grand and eerie background score, which would feel out of place in any film other than this one. It’s quite a contradiction, but the film achieves a larger-than-life characterization, while staying firmly rooted in realism.
And I think a lot of that is owed to the film’s other big star – Fahadh Fasil. Man, this guy can act! It is not easy to pull off weak protagonists. The narrative and dialogue don’t aid the actor in achieving supremacy, like in other typical masala fare. A lot of the heavy lifting has to be done by the actor himself, through gestures, glances, and overall body language. And Fasil, who pervades every second of this film – even in the few moments when he is not on screen – is a master of using body language to further a character arc.
As a result of a combination of masterful acting, directing, cinematography, and editing, Joji unfolds powerfully, and has scenes of immense thrill and suspense. Take for example the scene where Joji stealthily switches his ailing father Kuttappan’s medication. This comes right Kuttappan, the supremely formidable patriarch, has already had a stroke, but refuses to pass away conveniently. In the hope to slowly weaken his annoying resolve towards life, Joji buys a bunch of pills similar to his father’s prescribed medication, and routinely keeps switching them. The framing of this scene, combined with the tense music and extremely real fear that Faasil manages to evoke, leads to an absolute edge-of-the-seat, nail biting segment.
Joji has a fair few such segments, which one could watch in isolation and still marvel at. However, a lot of the contextual details are smartly peppered in through the dialogue. Through the course of the aforementioned medicine-switching segment, which unfolds over days, we often see Joji taking to a nearby pond for fishing. There, some passers-by ask him, “Have you caught anything yet? It’s been a while, no?” And these aren’t throwaway metaphors – this suggestion returns to haunt Joji in a nightmare where he imagines having caught his father on the hook of his fishing line, right after his death. Also, while the movie is largely self-contained, it acknowledges the harrowing times in which it was filmed, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a scene where Joji has to pretend to be mournful at his father’s funeral, Bincy, the lady who has been plotting with him, tells Joji, “Joji, you have to put a mask on when you go downstairs.” It’s smart writing, and it’s all in the service of the plot. The Bard would be proud of Joji.
Movies that Move 