REVIEWS

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  Directed by Nishad Kattoor Arthur is a story of vengeance of the protagonist named Arthur who takes revenge against all the injustice done towards him. The story begins with Dr. Simon coming to the village to join his job at the clinic.  Here he searches for Arthur Villa from an old Anglo Indian who can be seen with a weird and scary doll and burying something. The old man tells the whole story of the film to Dr. Simon in later part of the film. The film is an amalgamation of horror and mystery. There are certain scenes which are a bit mysterious. Some of the scenes we witness are quite horrific. The old Anglo man narrates the whole story to the Dr. Simon while having drink in the evening. Many years ago, Arthur came to the village clinic for aborting his child on the insistence of his wife although he was reluctant to do so. After losing his child, he went mad. He transformed into a maniac. And then he cunningly took over his wife’s property and killed her. Afterwards, he bought the clinic and started appointing doctors who had an expertise in the field of abortion. He ran all of these sheer illegally. There was no law at all. Then he used to kill those doctors who helped abortion. The old Anglo Indian man stores scary dolls after cutting out their heart part as per the promise. Then the old man offers Dr. Simon to eat a Scary doll’s shaped cake for dinner. To quench his curiosity, Dr. Simon went to the graveyard in the climax. The old man followed him. And the film ends. The plot of the story is neatly woven and organized. The film maintains the symmetry thoroughly. The film retains the mystery till the end. Coming of Dr. Simon to the village where he finds out the Anglo Indian old man is burying something and becomes suspicious of the fact. Here in the clinic Dr. Simon met with a nurse who gives him cautious warning. The introduction of the scary dolls is an instrument of mystery and horror. The old man buries all the fetuses after abortion to complete the funerary ritual of the incomplete souls. He also keeps the heart part of the scary dolls which relevant to the story of the film. He performs all these tasks for the sake of promise to the ‘old bugger’ as he asserts to the Doctor. There are two graves; one is of Arthur and other is of the doctors he has murdered. It means the doctors are target of his vengeance. Like the short films of other writers, Nishad Kattoor also introduces only few characters. Among them there are only two main characters i.e. the old Anglo Indian and Dr. Simon. The role of Nurse is too short yet so much of importance. Her dialogue for the Doctor intensifies the mystery for the viewers. Although the leading character is Arthur, he is not present in the film. The old Anglo Indian acts as the mouthpiece of Arthur who promised him to maintain the journey of justice. The writer compares the nipping of the budding flower to abortion of the fetus from the womb to glorify the value of life. The tone and the sound effect of the movie are phenomenal and rightly go with the storyline. The sound effect at the beginning is full of horror. The cinematography is also brilliant as the story takes place in Arthur Villa with two graves in the yard. A tone of mystery plays on from very starting till the end. In the film, the old man’s appearance with grayish hair and moustache and beard is well equipped.  His attire is well fitted to the background of the story. The film ends with a question whether Dr. Simon is killed or not. But as the story indicates we can assume that Dr. Simon is also becomes prey of the promise. Above all, the movie can be seen as a protest against the evils of society. Nishad Kattoor, the writer and director greatly portrays his idea and view in this film with brilliance. I would give 4 out of 5 to the film. I am eagerly waiting for his next works to come in the future.