Fully Loaded Laughter Riot: Revisiting M. Manikandan’s Aandavan Kattalai (2016)
As I gear up for watching M. Manikandan’s latest film Kaidaisi Vivasayi , it is a good time to revisit one of his previous films Aandavan Kattalai (2016). To Gandhi and Pandi, two unemployed men in their thirties from a village in Madurai, London is the utopian space that holds the key to their happiness. Both of them are convinced that all their problems will be solved if they are able to land in London once. One of the main arguments against this brilliant film is that Gandhi’s priorities suddenly change after meeting the theatre instructor at The Stray Factory, lovingly called ‘Master' by his students and staff members; and that by the end of the film, he completely loses sight of his primary goal of clearing his enormous debts. Gandhi’s loans, then, become what B...