‘Fahadh Faasil’ and the frightening darkness of the Malayali mind
The rise of Fahadh Faasil as an actor is directly proportional to the descent of the heroic virtues that once ruled Malayalam cinema
It is not coincidental in starting this piece with a quote by American YouTube personality TJ Kirk (the freethinker who turned anti-feminist): “In an evil society a villain is the hero, because only the villain can speak the truth.”
We have a new villain in our midst. He is also our hero. His name is Fahadh Faasil. Sorry, not the man, the characters he plays.
For someone who banished himself to nowhere after a disastrous debut, Fahadh has made the most sterling comeback in Malayalam cinema.
From nobody to somebody and now, what the heck, ‘the realbody’.
He is touted as the Jack Nicholson of Malayalam cinema, for his broody, moody roles. He might as well as be Hannibal Lecter, in person, and people would still love him.
Fahadh is a gifted actor — absolutely, sir, and his rise to stardom with an array of grey-shaded characters timed well with what is called the ‘new generation’ cinema in Malayalam: films that challenged stereotypes and crafted their own idiom.
This new idiom might not be palatable to all, especially the older generation, but is feted by Kerala’s youth.
Now with a crossover [non-nuanced subtitle-fed] audience, thanks to Netflix and Amazon Prime, Fahadh’s stature ranks with that of actors like Om Puri and Naseerudheen Shah — India’s towering performers who were not bogged down by conventional character sets.
But is Fahadh Faasil that versatile after all?
Is Fahadh as an actor that versatile?
No one questions his acting chops. But unlike actors such as, say Mohanlal or Dhanush, does Fahadh transcend his own physicality to become characters that stand out in every other film?
Typically, what you see is a continuum, an almost repetitive take of Fahadh the actor. So much that if you mix his roles to create one potpourri of a film, you will see the same Fahadh-ness.
On the other hand, nothing can take away the raw intensity of his character sketches. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum or Annayum Rasoolum, for example, are brilliant essays by the actor — almost referral points, above which he now seems to be hardly rising.
He is also the go-to actor for roles of societal misfits and mavericks — as have been defined in say Artist, 24 North Kaatham, Kumbalangi Nights and Carbon. And it is undisputed that no young actor in his league has an ouvre as outstanding and distinguished as Fahadh.
But as the actor in Fahadh matures, you see more of the same of him, in not too distinct shades. For example, let us take a Trance, an Irul and the recent Joji, his three recent movies. There is the same Fahadh in all, almost a disturbing vein of repetitive oneness. There appears to be that finite bandwidth of Fahadh into which he is sinking in.
The mass of greyness
Fahadh Faasil claimed his place in Malayalam cinema’s new wave with Chaappa Kurishu. His mark of brilliance was evident in Pramani, his comeback film, but he had to play some conventional roles before he could stand-out. And he did that with the suave Arjun of CK, which won him a state award as supporting actor.
He was the new face of the modern villain, socially accepted and amoral. Very soon, Fahadh Faasil meant Bermuda shorts, broodiness, almost stoned-stares and a tonne-load of evil — selfishness, avarice, you name it.
In films like Red Wine, you see that rare idealist, the young man who stands for something, but such roles did little for Fahadh, who would find success after success in characters that were ruthlessly ambitious, self-absorbed, and rebellious, often without a cause (as in Joji).
Characters in perverse streaks
Fahadh has been most at home in characters with perverse streaks and those that abound in greyness — be it 22 Female Kottayam or even Lal Jose’s Diamond Necklace.
His attempts at comedy, while well-received by youth, were largely stretches of pale imitations of actors who walked before him. Think Indian Pranaykatha or Njan Prakasan and think Mohanlal. (BTW, even in the teaser of the upcoming drama Malik, you see a trace of Mohanlal in Unaroo.)
But Fahadh brought a strength even to his rather glib performances: His ability to be absolutely not self-conscious, not be bothered about star-image or actor-ego. Something, no other actor in his league can claim.
(Think for a minute: Will any young actor in Malayalam cinema today — not those sidekicks and supporting actors — the heroes dare to mouth the expletive Fahadh uses in Joji? And isn’t it a tragedy that on final count a film must be marked in history for this one-line-expletive?)
Where Fahadh has not been in conniving characters and has attempted to play to the gallery, such as in Mariyam Mukku, the film falls flat. That is not to fault him.
That could also be because, as he said in an interview, he does not pick roles but “I look for a movie with a role. I always look at every option in the cast before I pick mine or that is offered to me. Sometimes I am wrong and most of the times I may be, but I have only done what I have loved.
Fahadh is not the typical hero today’s generation wants. He is the villain they arguably see in themselves. And in it, they probably see the disturbing truth — that there is a frightening darkness that seems to have enveloped the Malayali mind.
One that will root for the ruthless uncouth Joji (taking away with it the saccharine goodness of the Joji that Malayalis loved — the Joji by Mohanlal in Kilukkam).
A mirror to the society
If films indeed point a mirror to the society, are Fahadh Faasil’s characters a true sketch of a diabolic mindscape that has gripped Kerala?
One that does not root for virtues but for vices…
One that does not care for feel-good near-utopian ideals but see life for its starkness and voids?
A mindset that finds characters mired in devilishness more endearing…. and those disturbed personalities who do not bat an eyelid to kill in cold blood, as the new heroes?
With Fahadh Faasil and his grey roles, the idealistic hero we were so used to is nearly dead. Maybe Alphonse Putharen will bring him back for us with Fahadh’s next, Paattu.
The idealist are the kind of heroes that directors such has Vineeth Sreenivasan celebrate: the suffering, sacrificial, family-driven, loyal, respectful, good Samaritans, naughty but not sly — the sort that made Nivin Pauly a romantic heartthrob.
Fahadh will be a misfit there. He never wanted to be typecast. But his profusion of grey roles has already cornered him. He is now the quintessential anti-hero… the villain who is hero to many.
If that is character sketch that Kerala’s young people want to root for, what JB Kirk said is not far from the truth: We live in an evil society where only the villain can tell the truth.
ENDS
