Ibin Nayakam
Every social activist in Kerala’s fishing community was talking about a new action movie last month: debutant director Ajith Mampally’s “Kondal”. The director, himself from the fishing community, has made a significant mark with this film, not just for the Malayali mainstream but for a global audience. This week, the movie was released on Netflix, bringing this local narrative to the world.
As a first-generation graduate from the fishing community, deeply involved in communication studies, I’ve always wondered, much like every artist: whenever I watch a movie, where am I in this movie? Who am I in this movie? What am I to this world?
In the movies, I’ve often found myself represented in the dirtiest and most criminalized areas, cast as a side character or a villain. I was always the one waiting for someone else to save me to gain the heroine’s or society’s attention. Malayalam cinema, it seems, has never truly cared about the pain and humiliation I’ve felt after being subjected to public insults.
In real life, I had a lover in school, from the upper-caste Nair community, who proposed to me during our prime years. Many from different castes and classes have fallen in love with people from the fishing community, leading to marriages and now happily living together. Yet, I’ve never seen love stories, or any kind of interaction, between our community and others represented on screen. Forget love stories—there’s no representation of police officers, collectors, tech professionals, powerful politicians(not a pimp to the villain politician), or business people (except one who exports fishes) from the fishing community in Malayalam cinema.
Over time, I grew confused about how to make sense of this exclusion. That’s when I came across Marshall McLuhan’s theory: “The medium is the message.” If you are not part of the medium, you don’t exist. If you don’t control the medium, you won’t be treated with dignity in front of the public.
That’s why “Kondal” feels like such a significant step. It’s a mainstream film, made by someone from the fishing community in a society where this community is often marginalized.
The Movie
“Kondal” stars Antony Varghese Pepe, Raj B Shetty, and Shabeer Kallarakkal in the lead roles. While the film has its political correctness, it also exposes the beauty of the fishermen community’s culture and way of life, bringing it into the mainstream.
The Plot
The protagonist, Manuel, is a young local fisherman from Anjuthengu, a fishing village in Kerala. He cannot tolerate the injustices faced by his fishermen friends and the fish-selling women at the hands of the mainstream society. This leads to conflicts with the local businessmen and politicians.
To avoid further tension, Manuel’s family and friends suggest that he leave the village temporarily, leading him to join the big-boat fishing. These fishing trips usually last from two to four weeks, or even longer. However, conflicts on the boat, combined with the unresolved mystery of his brother’s murder, push the plot forward with unexpected twists.
The Fishing Community
Ajith Mampally’s screenplay makes ample space to portray the fishing community’s culture, beauty, and resilience. The familial psychology, community friendships, and innocent love stories are depicted beautifully. The authority and love of fish-selling mothers, and how newspapers affect their livelihoods, are also central themes. In many ways, this film reminded me of how Tamil director Pa Ranjith portrayed the Dalit community in “Madras” movie.
One of the film’s most challenging and compelling aspects is its depiction of life at sea. This is a world unfamiliar to many, but “Kondal” brings the ocean to the big screen, shifting the focus from typical Hollywood depictions like “Titanic” to the lived experiences of Kerala’s fishermen.
Technical Quality
The technical aspects of the movie are remarkable, particularly in its portrayal of life at sea. Filming on the ocean, where the water is constantly moving, is no easy task. While Hollywood often uses VFX or keeps the camera close to the boat with blurred backgrounds, “Kondal” manages to depict 75% of its story out at sea without noticeable shaking or disconnection. The film’s graphics, especially during the climactic shark scenes, are world-class.
Political Commentary
The very title of the movie, “Kondal” (meaning “sea breeze” in the coastal language of Kerala), is politically charged. “Kondal” the movie name itself is political. In the coastal language in Kerala (not malayalam), Kondal means the breeze moving from the ocean to the land (sea breeze). So the title is kind of a metaphor, a movie manufactured from fisherman’s hands to the mainstream people.
The film tackles three major social issues. First, newspapers often sensationalized headlines involving the fishing community, particularly in cases of tainted fish seized by health departments—despite the fact that local fishermen sell fresh, traditional catches. This leads to mainstream attacks on local fish selling women. The local fishermen or fisherwomen never sell these types of tainted fishes – because we are traditional and very small sellers. But because of these newspapers – people from the mainstream attack local fish selling women by accusing them of selling the tainted fishes. Whenever crime happens in a place which is far away from the fishing villages- crimes done by some rich people’s kids- newspapers put fishing community village names on the headlines- that gradually makes a very bad impression about the fishing community people.
Second, the film addresses the impact of man-made ports and roads, which disrupt ocean currents and have led to countless fishing accidents. In Muthalapozhi and Anjuthengu, where the protagonist is from in the movie, in real life 73 fishermen have lost their lives, and around 700 boats have capsized in the region. More than 700 people were injured due to these man-made changes. So you can think about the numbers from all over the kerala. All over india. Adani ports and the union government now loves to make ports and close their eyes on fishermen communities all over India. State governments like Kerala communist also now friends with Adani like capitalists is another irony.
In this movie the director uses a scene where the politician tells the fishing community people raise their voice against them when a fisherman dies due to the port , that “ stop your show off” was actually a big controversy in kerala. So the director added a scene where the protagonist and friends beat up the politicians and answer : this is the real show off, and the next show off we will show you in the next election.
Lastly, the movie touches on how drug mafias exploit young people in the community.
Criticisms
Though Ajith Mampally empathizes with his own community, “Kondal’ is still an action thriller that requires drama, twists, and action sequences. While the story addresses fishermen’s issues, the main plot revolves around a revenge story as the protagonist seeks justice for his brother’s murder. This creates a conflict between the “good fisherman” and the “bad fisherman,”. But How can you draw a bad fisherman? so he linked him with the drug dealers inside the ocean. This is now creating another stereotype that even artisanal fishermen involve big drug transport inside the ocean. And the director can’t go and explain which businessman is behind all this drug transport. Because the story will be shattered again. So the director shifts the story within people who are going to go fishing in a single boat together. These different characters end up in a conflict and what are the incidents unveiling their true nature eventually.
Conclusion
Kondal will be a good universal watch. And I love that more film makers from the fishing community come and tell their own stories. Because the medium is the message. We can’t believe anyone anymore that they will put our lives before their profit and pride when they choose to tell our stories. I conclude this article by sharing a very touching scene from the movie. At night, a conflict erupts between the villain and the protagonist, resulting in the fully healthy protagonist being tied up and thrown into the sea. A young boy witnesses this and wakes everyone. As the others are confused about what to do, a disabled man jumps into the water to rescue the hero. Swimming is difficult for him, yet without hesitation, he plunges into the mysterious ocean at night to save the drowning man. This moment is enough to bring tears to anyone’s eyes. It reminded me of how the fishermen community selflessly rescued people during the 2018 Kerala floods when many from the mainstream society were drowning.
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Ibin Nayakam is a first generation graduate from a coastal fishing community in Kerala. He completed his Masters in Mass Communication from Central University of Jammu (2022) and worked at regional online newspapers and coastal community radio for two years (2019-2021).
