Paradise, directed by Prasanna Vithanage, talks to you in ways that stir something inside you, and you are left wondering what exactly caused that commotion. The ending might seem absurd to some, but the beauty of this film does not lie in the individual incidents or events but in the execution of its narrative. If I talk about the film’s story, it is quite a simple one. A couple goes on holiday to Sri Lanka, and something tragic and horrifying happens to them that changes their life completely. Now, this film could be a tragedy, it could be a thriller, but Prasanna Vithanage makes it into something that is deeply moving. The magic of this film lies in its silences. It lies in those mini-pauses when the characters are trying to soak in what happened to them. It lies in those conversations that Amritha (the protagonist) has with her tour guide and driver, Mr. Andrews. It also lies in those condescending and scornful glares that Kesav, Amritha’s husband, gives to the locals. It lies in those serene green landscapes that Rajeev Ravi, the cinematographer, beautifully captures. Also, I would like to say here that in a time when action-packed dramas are considered box office earners, Paradise is like a breath of fresh air. We have started categorizing films as ones that are suited for theater releases and ones that are solely meant for OTT platforms. I know these categorizations are based on the opinions of the masses, and that’s where I feel that we, as a country, miss the plot. The film deserved a pan-India theatrical release. Paradise is like home/soul food; it might not be as special and extravagant as a biryani, but it will definitely leave you feeling deeply tied to your most personal memories.
Spoiler Alert
Who stole Amritha and Kesav’s belongings?
Amritha and Kesav had decided to visit a hill station in Sri Lanka for their 5th marriage anniversary. Amritha was a talented writer, but she had probably stopped writing after her marriage. Kesav, I believe, ran a production house, and he was a filmmaker. He had pitched to Netflix to create an Indian version of Squid Game, and he was anxiously waiting for their approval. The couple had decided to visit Sri Lanka when the country was undergoing a crisis. There was a shortage of fuel in the country, and people were sick and tired of the electricity shortages that were hampering their business. There were protests happening in various parts of the city, but the locals didn’t do anything to the tourists. Mr. Andrews, who seemed like an extremely cultured and intuitive man, told the couple that tourists brought in money, and the country was in dire need of it. Mr. Andrews began his Ramayana tour, guiding the couple through various locations that held mythological significance and places believed to have been visited by Ram, Sita, Raavan, and other characters from the great Hindu epic. But it didn’t take long for Andrews to realize that they were not interested in knowing about these places. Kesav was elated when he got a call from the Netflix office and got to know that his pitch had been approved. Amritha and Kesav reached their resort, and they were welcomed there by the caretaker, Shree, who was a local, and Iqbal, the chef, who had come to Sri Lanka in search of work. They were extremely hospitable and polite people, and Amritha did acknowledge their gestures with great warmth. But then, that night, something bizarre happened. Two masked men entered the couple’s room, and they stole their electronic gadgets and escaped. The next day, Kesav went to the police station and filed a complaint. The officer in charge, Sergeant Bandara, wasn’t interested in doing anything until Kesav threatened to inform the Indian High Commission about it. The search started, and soon the officer took three men into custody. Those men, who came from the estate, which was basically some sort of slum area, were brutally thrashed.
What made Amritha judge Kesav’s actions?
Bandara, before taking those people into custody, asked Kesav if he was sure that they were the ones who broke into their house. Obviously Kesav didn’t recognize them, because the intruders had been wearing masks, but he felt that maybe if the police officer questioned them, they would get some information. So police brutality was inflicted upon them, so much so that one of them fell unconscious. He was taken to the hospital, where he later lost his life. The doctors were trying to give oxygen to him when the electricity went out, and he couldn’t survive. Amritha was totally against whatever was happening. She didn’t like the fact that Kesav, even after not being sure, pointed to them, and because of his so-called intuition, they got so brutally thrashed. And all that for a couple of phones, a tablet, and a laptop. Yes, the robbery shouldn’t have happened, but killing somebody over such a trivial matter was also not justified. Amritha didn’t like how her husband was just concerned about his belongings, and he didn’t care if an innocent man lost his life in the process. In fact, Kesav didn’t even come in to check on the suspect when he was admitted to the hospital. Amritha knew that the Netflix project was probably the biggest achievement of Kesav’s life, and he got paranoid because he was supposed to coordinate with his colleagues through his mobile and laptop. But still, she expected him to be a little more sensitive. Earlier, before the robbery happened, Kesav, Amritha, and others went to hunt for venison, as the former loved it. Amritha saw the beautiful creature, and she told Shree, the caretaker, to not shoot it. Kesav didn’t seem to understand the weird sympathy she’d developed for the creature. Amritha couldn’t explain it to him, but she felt a very strange connection to it as if it was trying to communicate something to her. Later that day, the deer came near Amritha’s window as if trying to tell her that it was still alive. Amritha felt a deep connection with the forest, with the trees, the culture, and even with Mr. Andrews and Shree.
After the suspect died in the hospital, the locals got violent, and they demanded justice. They vandalized the police station, and Kesav and Amritha had to be kept in police protection. Sergeant Bandara came with them to the resort to be with them through the night. Amritha and Kesav were eating dinner when they heard a gunshot. Kesav mockingly told Amritha that the hunters probably had killed her deer. I believe that was where Amritha really felt bad, and she left the dining table because she didn’t want to lose her temper. Before arriving at their resort, Amritha asked Kesav if he didn’t feel responsible for the suspect’s death, since he was the one who had identified him without knowing if he had actually committed the crime. Kesha did not show any remorse, and that probably made Amritha judge him. She had stayed with him for five years, and probably she hadn’t seen him so unempathetic in his approach. All these things cumulatively made Amritha feel restless, and she felt helpless as nobody seemed to care about things that affected her so much.
Why Did Amritha Kill Kesav?
Just before Amritha and Kesav were escorted to their resort by Sergeant Bandara, they saw the same deer, which jumped right in front of their car. He stared at them, as if telling Amritha that she shouldn’t go back to her resort. Sergeant Bandara drank a few pegs of the locally manufactured whiskey, and he conceived a theory in his mind. He told Kesav that the robbery was an inside job, and that Shree and Iqbal had allowed the thieves to come in through the window. Poor Shree was traumatized, and he didn’t know how to defend himself. The cop started bashing him, and he looked to Kesav and Amritha for help. Amritha shouted and told Kesav to make the cop stop. But Kesva didn’t interfere. Shree, realizing that nobody would help him and that probably the cop will kill him the same way he has killed the other man, picked up his rifle and aimed it at him. But just then, Bandara heard some commotion outside, and he went outside to find out that the angry locals had arrived at the resort. They started pelting stones at Bandara, and he fired from his assault rifle at them in defense. Somebody threw an axe at him, and though he didn’t succumb to his injuries, he fell unconscious. In a moment of panic, Kesav picked up the gun and started shooting at the mob. Amritha shouted at him to stop with his madness, but he didn’t listen because he was also in a state of shock and probably too scared that he would be killed. Then something happened that nobody expected: Amritha, who was holding Shree’s rifle in her hands, shot Kesav with it. She fell to the floor, not fully understanding how everything transpired so quickly and how her anniversary took such a nightmarish turn. Later, at the police station, Mr. Andrews told the officials that Amritha didn’t intend to kill her husband and he just came in between accidentally. But he also knew that it was not the truth.
Probably Amritha killed her husband because she couldn’t stand to see so much injustice happening in front of her eyes. She pulled the trigger reflexively. Otherwise she couldn’t have done such a thing in her life. She knew from the beginning that Kesav had no clue about who he was incriminating through his testimony and whether they had actually committed the crime or not. He just wanted his laptop, and he didn’t mind whatever the cop did to retrieve it. Probably Raavan had woken up from his slumber (the folklore that Mr. Andrews believed in) and saved a few Lankans. Amritha was obviously traumatized, and she went back to India not knowing what she would do next and how she would make peace with whatever had happened. She knew that even if she tried talking to anybody about it, they wouldn’t buy her story. Yet the people who lived it, she knew for sure, wouldn’t be able to forget it ever.
