Film:
Kichchaan lays bare hypocrisy of INGO child rights activists
By Jathindra
Kichchaan is a short film, which takes as its subject matter the pressing problems
that occur in our midst. A. Wimalaraj of the Eastern University is its director. Before
proceeding further, I would like to record my appreciation for Wimalaraj’s work.
Tamil Eelam does not possess a tradition of cinema that it could identify as its own.
Nor is there anything that could be identified as the cinema of Tamil Eelam in
international cinema, though there have been sporadic attempts towards achieving
this. There are political as well as non-political reasons as to why we have not been
able to do so. It is usual for most people to emphasise non-political reasons rather
than political ones for this state of affairs. They say, “The preponderant influence of
South Indian cinema has obstructed the quest for our own cinema.” This statement
is unacceptable. (I dealt with this subject in greater depth in another article. Please
refer, ‘Why we have not evolved a cinema of our own – a Tamil perspective’ in www.
appaal-tamil.com).
We cannot deny with honesty however the obstructions South Indian cinema has
placed on the growth of our own cinema. But we cannot speak about the
development / non-development of our areas without referring to the half-century of
destruction that has taken place in the Tamil nation due to Sinhala communalism.
Today, Sinhala cinema has carved a niche for itself in the international arena. In
comparison with serious Sinhala cinema, South Indian cinema cannot be considered
cinema at all.
However, we can evaluate the growth of Sinhala cinema over a fifty-year period only
after taking cognisance of the cultural damage suffered by the Tamil nation. While
the Tamil nation was engrossed in its war against Sinhala hegemony, the Sinhala
nation has developed at the Tamils’ expense. This statement does not need to be
interpreted as any disrespect on my part to artistes of serious Sinhala cinema. I am
well aware of exponents of Sinhala cinema who speak up for justice for the Tamils.
The distinction for creating awareness of, and laying the foundation for a distinct
cinematic tradition in Tamil Eelam goes to the LTTE’s Motion Picture Division
Nitharisanam. It was only after the establishment of Nitharisanam that we realised the
need for our own cinema. Nitharisanam has released a number of serious short
films. A few feature films too have been released. They mostly concern wartime
experiences. Beside these, a few serious films were released after training by
spriptnet. We also learn of commendable films that have been released recently by
the Tamil diaspora. It is against such a background that Wimalraj’s short film
Kichchaan was produced. I am sharing my thoughts on the film taking into
consideration that Kichchaan is Wimalaraj’s filmmaking debut.
The plot of the half-hour-long short film: Kichchaan (Dilakshan Mohan) is a boy
whose father is killed by the Sri Lanka army in the war. Kichchaan loses touch with
his mother when she leaves for the Middle East to rid herself of the fetters of family
life. He is now an orphan. To earn a living the boy begins to work at the university’s
canteen, a place where human rights issues are avidly discussed. But none of those
who discuss human rights are concerned about Kichchaan’s plight. He wishes that
he too like other children could go to school or have the freedom to play. The film is
about how Kichchaan’s dreams and hopes for a happy future are dashed in the
midst of an environment where human rights are passionately advocated. Wimalraj
also highlights the Vandarumoolai massacre in the film.
The coming together of different elements such as camerawork, editing, music and
plot constitutes cinema. If there are deficiencies in any of these factors the
seriousness of the film comes into question. Seen in that light, there are indeed
shortcomings in Kichchaan. For instance, there are obvious defects in the way the
camera has been handled. However, I believe, in terms of ideology, Kichchaan
brings out the politics behind children’s rights very well.
Watching this film my mind travelled to the ‘cool spot’ in front of the UNHCR office in
Trincomalee. It is at this shop personnel travelling in vehicles emblazoned with flags
of international NGOs have a cup of tea or eat an ice cream. On Saturdays and
Sundays customers at this cool spot are waited upon by two boys between the ages
of 13 and 15. Similarly, in Thambalakamam’s Puthukudiyiruppu there is an area
known as Telungu Nagar. Recently I saw two girls of about eight years, with the help
of two other girls of about 14, begging. To our international child rights advocates,
or their loyal local cupbearers, the violation of the rights of children who are forced
to beg, or work as child labourers in shops, are not important. But under no
circumstances should these children join the LTTE. Only when they do that is it
interpreted as a violation of children’s rights. There are 54 articles in the Convention
of the Rights of the Child. But the sole concern of our exponents of child rights are
children recruited for fighting. But for all this, child recruitment is a subsection of
Article 38 in the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The Convention of the Rights
of the Child that came out in 1989 states, “Parties shall take all feasible measures to
ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a
direct part in hostilities.”
Advocates and the institutions that claim to protect the rights of children intend to
use children’s rights to emasculate the LTTE. The foremost institution working in this
endeavour is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). What is both disgusting
and amazing about this is the United States that preaches to the world about justice
and democracy, is not a signatory to the Convention. But UNICEF does not object to
that. From this alone UNICEF’s politics is apparent.
What has to be bourn in mind is that those who advocate children’s rights never
speak up for the rights of the people of the Tamil nation. And there is no difference
between emasculating the LTTE and destroying the liberation struggle of the Tamil
nation.
From the perspective of Tamil politics Kichchaan is a significant contribution to
cinema. Though it might be deficient in some of cinema’s characteristic features, it
remains a significant creation in terms of its ideology. Though the matters I have
spoken about in this review might not have been discussed directly in the film, it
opens a space for such a dialogue. That, I would say, is this film’s biggest
achievement.
[Courtesy: Northeastern Monthly - September 1, 2005]