A masterpiece from God's own country

Thanks to the delightfully accessible world of OTT, never mind the 98 percent trash on offer, you occasionally make surprise discoveries that keep the faith alive in the possibility of cinema soaring to the dizzying heights it deserves to scale, notwithstanding the collective force of a large contingent of mediocre makers and takers who pull it in the reverse direction {while expressing fake angst over the portmanteau “Bollywood” that rightly defines it.}??

Having spotted Soubin Shahir in the wholesome entertainer Kumbalangi Nights, I was drawn to another intriguing title featuring him centre stage, Sudani From Nigeria, a lavish, full course cinematic meal of organic delicacies and therapeutic value.

?I can’t describe in words the sheer delight of watching Soubin unleash his talent on screen, an unassuming acting legend, way ahead of many star actors and dream merchants who stake claims to being the best among equals in the acting department.

Recently, a veteran actor of consummate skill but rustic and audacious mannerisms certified himself as a living legend ?by parroting few lines of his ‘claim to fame’ film during a live event organized by a TV channel owned and managed by a furiously debating anchor (no longer young but angry all the same, incessantly asking questions he wants his nation to know.) Both the guest and his host, hammed it up to glory, showcasing their torrential love and affection for each other in a live demonstration of poor acting.

This jamboree of cultivated mutual admiration came as a real shocker to me, even after having ingested the heavy duty sermons of a few of India’s so called perfectionist star actors in person, either in the course of media interactions or on the set conversations, and even after knowing well how this tribe peddles muddled notions, mediocre methods, and glossy theatrics on and off screen, more so in stomach-churning round table conversations hosted by their haloed film companions among hollow critics.?

Coming back to Sudani From Nigeria, there’s nothing about the film’s milieu that we haven’t seen before in global cinema. Film after film has gainfully used sport as a haunting metaphor to highlight universal truths, and yet Sudani gives us something undeniably enduring in the way it narrates the poignant tale of two poverty-stricken protagonists of starkly different worlds and distant geographies who share the same roof for significant time, thanks to overpowering circumstances, and develop a bond that transcends all boundaries and constraints.

Majeed is a small-time football club manager from a Kerala hamlet, and Samuel is one of his star performers, a Nigerian immigrant who has made it to India on a fake passport to seek a better world for his orphaned family back home, a secret that is revealed in due course, following a chain of tragic events.

Samuel is incapacitated from a nasty fall in the bathroom which makes him a liability for the team. He has to be shifted to a home, given the steep nursing home rates that the club can’t but afford. Which home is a foregone conclusion, Majid's of course, courtesy a host of factors including his lionized designation of a team manager (a native version of Zinedine Zidane by his own reckoning), compassionate nature, as also his bachelor status unlike other mates. ??

The enormity of Samuel’s tragedy makes Majeed aware of many larger truths and he finds fresh resolve to lock horns with the demons of his life and mitigate all self-created crises, prime among them accepting his warm and caring step father as a family member and reclaiming the love for his innocent, good natured mom, finally looking beyond the pain inflicted by her second marriage following societal pressures after his father’s demise. ???

There’s never a dull moment, and there’s not a trace of the usual syrupy sweetness in the truckload of predictable goodness rooted in sacrifice that the characters offload at regular intervals. Humour is the most potent weapon in the director’s armoury, and he makes prudent use of it to underscore the inherent pathos of different situations. ?

Soubin looks god sent to play browbeaten characters, given that great actors thrive on roles that call for commoners doing common things in uncommon ways. There’s no claim to greatness in his effortless performance, in the way his eyes move, or his face unleashes a Tsunami of emotions, each implicitly tailored to the occasion. No playing to the gallery, and no needless underling of pivotal moments.

He is easily one of India’s best although more than half of India may be unaware that such an actor exists in flesh and blood. Hope good actors like Rajkummar Rao, Vikrant Massey, Vijay Varma, Jaideep Ahlawat, Pratik Gandhi and Vicky Kaushal learn from a true master rather than blow their own trumpets in poorly ventilated roundtables. They can become well-rounded if they closely observe how Soubin goes about his business.

Samuel Abiola Robinson plays Samuel, or Sudu to the locals, with aplomb. I plan to watch his film 'Green White Greenand' and web series 'Desperate Housewives of Africa' to know more about this awesome actor who doesn't play football in real life.

There’s couldn’t have been a more apt title for this unforgettable film. Samuel’s club mates call him ‘Sudani from Nigeria’, given their hard-coded belief that Sudan is all things Africa (much like how South Indians are all 'Madrasis' for many North Indians)

Kudos to director Zakariya Mohammad and his team for weaving such a beautiful story which begins and ends precisely and purposefully. The concluding frame is a peerless beauty, showing Majid's pensive face from a distance, happy to have brought some colour to the black and white lives of his mom and step father while taking stock of the many battles that yet loom large. The camera also captures a wall imprint. This is the artwork Samuel has left behind as a defining motif of their Fevicol bond.

Sudani...?would have made so many yesteryear legends proud, including the Rays, Ghataks, Aravindans, Bergmans, Kurosawas, Ozus and Kiraostamis. I am sure Daniel Day Lewis will become an ardent admirer of Soubin Shahir if he sifts through the latter's body of work.

Hats off to the producers for sponsoring a project-cum-product which wins critical acclaim, not necessarily commercial name and fame.

This is cinema at its very best, scrupulously edited and superbly directed with a fit for purpose background score and poignant numbers that lend inspired company to the awesome lead players. It is not often that we see each and every support player fitting the respective frame, without a single false note or wooden expression to spoil the collage.

There’s one frame I simply can’t get out of my mind; it had a Kiarostami-like effect on me, and hats off to the great stage actor, the late KTC Abdullah sir, for the magic he spins saying “father” twice in varying tones, beautifully conveying the step father's urge to convince the ‘guest’ Samuel of his derived family relation with Majid, even more so beacuse the latter openly disapproves of it with brutal contempt.

KTC sir playing the ageing security guard is a cinematic triumph, a splendid collaboration between the actor and his director. Watch this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_8XXD9My4k where the director shares his insights on the scene and the brilliant acting.

Wish KTC sir was in our midst; I would have happily travelled to Kozhikode to meet him in person.