Review: Karthik Subbaraj’s ‘Dorothy’ has to be seen to be believed
· Scroll
Tamil director Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy is set in 1995, in a village in Madurai where caste lines are thickly drawn, family honour is paramount and ascribed roles are rejected only on pain of death. The equation between Subbu and Karthi is forged in a cauldron of moustache-twirling masculinity.
Visit salonsustainability.club for more information.
Subbu (Sananth), the son of the moneylender Veeraiya (Muthukumar), and Karthi (Rishikanth) becomes fast friends despite differences in caste and social status. The foundation of the bond that begins in childhood and endures into adulthood includes a love for movies and Bruce Lee fandom.
Subbu is the martial arts expert as a child, saving Karthi from bullies. Boys never cry, Subbu keeps telling Karthi.
Nothing can possibly come between us, the buddies shrug. A mutual acquaintance laughs in response, having seen more of the world than these young men.
That something has the force of a tsunami, destroying all that Subbu and Karthi hold dear. In a typical film, that something is usually embodied by a woman, who can be relied on drive a wedge between best friends.
Dorothy (Keerthy Suresh) enters Subbu’s household as his sister-in-law and charms both Subbu and Karthi. Dorothy doesn’t only have an unusual name.
Amidst the seething machismo and normalised violence, Dorothy soothes like a balm on open wounds....