The Amateur’s Art #51 – Kannagi

See here for what this series is about.

Note from Jose Ranjit, who sent this film to me for the blog: Within the vast genre of LGBT short films out there, Kannagi might be considered odd for a couple of reasons. One it focuses on children, quite literally. A mother, teacher and priest are all there, but you don’t actually see them. They are used as props to move the narrative forward. The second and more important reason is that it treats the adolescent discovery as is. It is not emphasized overtly and handled as a natural phenomenon – just as the way it should be and nicely weaved into a relationship drama.

It is a simple film surrounding two friends – Naveen and Kannan (played by Deepeshwaran and Praveen Kumar respectively) and what happens to their friendship as one of them discover their orientation in 9^th standard. There are no surprises here, but the emotional beats do land well. Take for example where Kannan writes his name on a book and keeps it under wraps. Or when they break into a church, you could see Naveen pick the chalice while Kannan is attracted to the thurible. Ezhil Vinod, the director, trusts his teen lead artistes with a number of close up shots and it seems to pay back.

The film starts with Naveen outlining the picture of Kannan using a pencil. The last shot is the completed portrait of the titular protagonist, but he has gone missing. Naveen could only have Kannan’s picture. And that’s possibly all we can afford when we lose someone – due to death or societal norms.  

Disclosure: I have known the director for years but not much. I would say a little more than an acquaintance but less than a friend. I saw the film after it won the best short in LGBT category at the FINDECOIN online festival.