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Film review:
To become Vidu
The dreams that we are trying to make true are really not ours. They
are dreams of others which are blindly followed by us as grasshoppers go
after the light. To receive our value in the society we adopt the worthy
characters and try to be them. Is this solely ‘us’?
The social context leads individuals into different destinations
which they do not expect ever to be and this results a kind of
psychological conflict which Vidu experiences. He wants to go to school,
he wants to be like a normal child; but his illegitimacy hinders his
dreams. The psychological conflict in him explodes into pieces of words
while he is on a tree with a FM microphone in his hand. From the
beginning of the film it is shown that Vidu is not a normal child. He is
a student of society, nature and life.
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Saumya
Liyanage as the politician |
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Thanishka
Vimalaratne as Vidu |
Then the knowledge, experience and insight in him cannot be expected
from the children in his age. This makes his psychological conflict
stronger and it leads him to run after his dream and that is why he
decides to go to school by wearing a stolen uniform and does an English
speech saying “I have a dream; dream that I want to share with you”. It
is a genuine dream unlike the dreams we have.
Though it is a story of a child that is told, the film can be read
via various facets. The political truth in it is very interesting to be
analyzed and also the social reality of people’s life and their changing
psychology is strongly depicted as we can see in Handagama’s early
films. The politician in Vidu represents the stagnating political system
in any country, any time. He abandons his love for his success in his
life, but again he cheats his love for advantages in his life.
This is clearly shown when he goes to Vidu’s mother’s home asking to
let Vidu do a speech in the political meeting; by saying her that they
were together in beach sometimes ago suffering with the burdens of life.
Here he tries to move Vidu’s mother and get her permission. It is very
clearly depicted how these opportunists even do not dare to get
advantageous of others’ emotions for their benefits. He does the same to
Vidu. Knowing Vidu is his own flesh and blood he does not do anything
for the child’s well being, but tries to make use of his talent for his
advantage. In contrast it should be appreciate the impartial nature of
Vidu’s principle, not becoming submissive in front of the politician.
Vidu’s mother’s character has a very powerful role in the film that
touches various corners of the life. She is cheated or abandoned by her
former lover with an illegitimate child and she does not have a proper
income. But she extremely loves her own son and does mean jobs to
survive. But she has a kind of strong personality. The politician with
his own words says that she is proud and does not like others to help
her to live. This shows us one truth that; though it is said that the
women are helpless without others assistance Vidu’s mother’s iron
personality (with helplessness in it) makes it false.
She wants to make his son’s dreams true. She represents a group of
women in this society. When Vidu is kept inside by the politician she
comes at his gate and bang the gate cursing him and at last leave seeing
Vidu is escaping. At that point the politician says that she thinks that
she is like Paththini Amma, which is very ironic. That is a way that
many people in our society consider the women. They do not delay in
pointing finger towards the women but, having bigger faults in them.
The psychological status of different characters in different
situations is very interesting and at the same time they are woven
intelligently. Vidu’s mother, the politician, his son and Vidu’s
principal’s daughter are among the strong characters who try to tell
their own stories while Vidu says his own story. Thus the motion picture
is creatively used by Handagama to extract the gist of the meanings in
them.
Then Vidu is no longer a children’s film. What it gives to the
parents will make them to think twice about their children. Yes, the
children have their own dreams; they have their own value in this
society. Give it to them. If a strayed child like Vidu can find his
position in this society why other children cannot find their own
position in this society without the help of spiderman, superman or
Harry Potter?
- Madhubhashini Rathnayaka
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