This short film questions if refugees are ever free
Caged by Arun Siddharth, reflects on how Sri Lankan refugees are trapped in all aspects of life.
Caged is a Tamil short film streaming on Hotstar that shadows the life of a refugee from India’s neighbor, Sri Lanka.
A Little History
Amidst a huge list of countries where its citizens consider leaving it as their highest achievement, there exists a country whose citizens want to live in its land, cherish it with love and enjoy its prosperity. Sri Lanka is a country that was torn apart due to its Civil War, which lasted nearly 50 years. They were caged in their own country.
All the factions of the Sri Lankan community faced immense losses. Families were torn apart, kids were orphaned, and women were widowed. Those who escaped did it out of force and not interest. Those who died wanted to save the rest of their family and drove them back to the nearest hinterland India.
Who is Rudra, a refugee from Sri Lanka?
One of them who escapes is Rudra, a migrant from Sri Lanka searching for comfort in India. Alas, the unwelcoming stance he faces from landlords to employers makes him wonder if he can ever be free. He is humiliated in the country he wanted to call a second home. These culminated in Rudra entering the underworld of violence and extortion.
One unlucky day, his life unravels after getting shot by his rival. He is cocooned with his aide when he begins to hallucinate about the causality of his deeds. The first voices that echo are that of his wife and daughter.
Rudra wants to transport to alternate universes.
One of them is where he leaves his past behind, seeking acceptance from his family and motherland that he abandoned in the hope of getting a better life. He is ready to accept hatred in return for the reluctant togetherness due to constrained spaces. In another universe, his rivals shoot him, where Rudra hopes to seek peace in death.
Why should you watch Caged
Rudra’s psychedelic persona is captivating and confusing, as any other person. Caged is the perfect reflection of how much we are in our decisions. There is no right decision. The outcome is decided on the situations that play out rather than our actions. Gut-wrenching culpability travels along with the entire movie for having done characters the known and unknown so much wrong.
Anand Sami has done a fantastic job emoting with stoic subtlety.
Anand’s face is etched with lines, which along with the baggy eyes paint the burden he has been carrying for years. The moment he shaves, a new man is born. The face is 5 years younger with the youth waiting to win the world.
There is also justification for the “why’s” of his decisions.
- In the hope for better living, increased freedom, and calmer environs, Rudra comes to India.
- In the hope he can also seek asylum for his family in India, he searches for settlement.
- In the hope that he would earn security, money, and means, he involves in corrupt deceptions.
The situations around him are hostile as he is a refugee from a community that is often a product of media ridicule. The protagonist, leaving a cage in search of freedom, is trapped in the bigger cage present on the frontiers of the smaller ones.
He is caged inside his mind, trapped within the different layers of emotions. He never finds a place that promises freedom, otherwise called a home.
Caged’s Minimalism Worked
The screenplay deals with the story using voiceovers and montages. The voices of his wife and daughter emanate with a realistic echo of the past. A blemish of love, reminiscent of the good times plastered with a reticent regretful smile, is on Rudra’s face. The montages never show the rivalries. Rudra shows significant indifference to being killed as a means to end his suffering.
Shot predominantly in a solitary safe shack, Caged’s production reflects its name.
Tints of yellow give the audience a feeling of looking back at their older yellowish notebook pages. What astonished me is the fact they had used similar colors with air flowing in the background to show Rudra’s redemption. Camera shots are astutely minimal, focusing on the actor’s finesse to deliver on the screen.
Caged could have done better here
I felt that the screenwriting could have been minimalistic, just like the other aspects. When we try to convey a story in a short period of 15 minutes, it gets imperative to capture the audience’s attention as quickly as possible. A simple start slowly ascending into medium complexity achieves it right.
- Caged’s parallel storylines do not allow complete justification within a short time.
- This could be a reason for the screenplay to have been a little complex for the audience to grasp.
- I also wanted to get a glimpse of the adversary. If there is a second part to this film giving a peek into the mysteries of Rudra’s past, in a longer format, I would be one of the firsts to catch it.
In conclusion, I would ask the viewer to be stable before watching Caged. It would give a balanced view. More importantly, it is better not to have preconceived notions about this short film. This can dampen the whole experience. This shook me. It was one of the rare instances where the truth was precariously published without any entitlement.
Caged is a great attempt at filmmaking. Having it hosted on a platform like Hotstar is a big launch for Arun Siddharth. Hoping to see him shoot feature films soon!
Watch our exclusive interview with Arun here!
Catch Caged here!
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About the author: Vijayalakshmi Swaminathan is a part time engineer and a full time movie junkie.
