The aptly titled ‘Thisaiyariyaar,’ (Floundering, directionless folks), is a serious take on the lives of the Indian workers (labor class) working in the Gulf countries. The eight-minute short has no female actor (except for the distant voice of a mother). Those who’ve had a glimpse of the Labor camps in the Gulf or UAE, and noticed the forlorn faces of inmates as they travel in buses in the evenings from the work spot back to the camps, exhausted and worn out, will vouch for the authenticity of the milieu showcased in this short and can relate to the plight of the young men. Either plenty of homework has gone into creating a veritable ambience or parts of it have been shot in actual locations.
The ubiquitousness of people from Kerala lends further genuineness. The workers wake up early and one of them cooks the day’s food for everyone, in turns, before they leave in the waiting buses for an arduous day at the destinations of work earmarked for them. The drudgery is evident. And if it is the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia or the UAE, the unbearable heat is another factor they have to counter.
Murthy, a contract labourer, (in Sharjah?) is thrilled when his mother calls up from India to tell him that his sister’s marriage has been fixed. He’s naïve and oblivious to the fact that his mother doesn’t want him to turn up for the wedding and instead wishes him to continue working abroad as the debts that her dead husband had accumulated have to be settled. She speaks kindly but seems to have little thought for the son’s state of mind – term it selfishness or utter helplessness. Yet when the son cries out alone in anguish, it appears that he is more affectionate than the mother, whose only concern is money. “We have accepted the job for the sake of our families. We have to undergo the trials and tribulations that go with it.”
The friend’s words are poignant. Emotion is the mainstay of ‘Thisaiyariyaar,’ and its appeal would have been enhanced further if histrionics had been less. Murthy could have played it down a little. However, the actor who plays his friend from Kerala is more subdued and hence, natural.
Nothing negative
Gopi GPR, you are left to assume, is the protagonist. He is also the story writer. Along with Gopi, Sundar is credited with the screenplay, dialogue and direction of ‘Thisaiyariyaar.’
You have to give it to the team for playing it safe – the angst of a contract labourer toiling abroad is the peg and very prudently nothing negative or adverse is spoken about the working conditions there.
Whoever did the subtitling has done gross injustice to the short. Couldn’t the makers have put an efficient person on the job?
The true-to-life depiction in ‘Thisaiyariyaar’ (dedicated to gullible workers, from third world countries, who travel abroad, expecting the grass to be greener) should make aspirants pause and ponder before taking the plunge.
