In the 1950s, when the EMS government ruled Kerala, lands were given for free to the underprivileged and homeless, mostly the Dalit community, under the Land Reforms Act. But with real estate skyrocketing and Ernakulam gaining recognition as a metro city, the Dalits were forced to sell their land to the real estate mafia. 

The entire film can be broken down into three elements –

i] A saga of friendship and homeland; this element undoubtedly forms the crux of the entire film. Childhood friends Krishna (an upper caste) and Ganga (a lower caste) are introduced to violence at a very young age and over the years it becomes a part of their lives and also the reason for their deteriorating friendship. 

ii] The still persisting evils of caste-based oppression (apart from being tormented by the real-estate mafia) are thoughtfully put in certain scenes. For instance, there is a moment in the movie where a young Anitha comes to Krishna’s window medicines without stepping inside his house and is later shooed away by his sister.

iii] Evolution of a city from its lush green serene past to the concrete jungle it has now become. On his way back home, Krishna says to his Northie friend “Gauv Nahi Sheher” (Not village, it’s a city) when he inquires about Krishna’s hometown.

Rajeev Ravi’s well-crafted execution and filmmaking addon to the brilliance of the film. His visuals are realistic and unadulterated. The way his camera captures the beauty of black skin through the leading lady Shaun Romy and many other characters are not something you usually come across in a Malayalam movie.

 Dulquer Salman as Krishna in Kammatipaadam offers one of the rarest and best performance to date. However, it is Vinayakan who steals most of the show as Ganga. Debutant Manikandan also offers a spectacular performance as Balan Chettan.

The supporting casts (Balan and Ganga’s father and grandfather and others) included a bunch of actors who contributed to making the film as realistic as possible.

However, Kammatipadaam is not everyone’s cup of tea and lags in certain portions. The film undoubtedly finds its place in Indian film history and as director Anurag Kashyap claims, ‘is one of the best gangster film ever made.’