This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 21, 2015.

Director: Shanjhey Kumar Perumal

Cast: Harvind Raj, Jibrail Rajhula, Tinesh Sarathi Krishnan, Aahmuu Thirunyanam, Senthil Kumaran Muniandy, Perakas Rajaram, Kuben Mahadevan, Marup Mustapah

Rating: 4 out of 5

Length: 90 mins

Opening date: Now playing

THE early 1990s saw the steady plummeting of rubber prices and Malaysia that was once the world leader in natural rubber production moved on into an era of industrialisation. Locally-produced Tamil movie Jagat is set in this era, and the storyline highlights the real life situations and dilemmas faced by the community living in this era. The title is said to be a Tamil slang for ‘jahat’ which translates as bad.

Produced by Datuk Seri A Anandan and Myskills Foundation, the screenplay was written and directed by Shanjhey Kumar Perumal, and follows the story of a young boy growing up in the post-estate era and how his relationship with the people around him shaped him and his values. The main character in the movie is Appoy, played by newcomer Harind Raj, who was selected for the role by the director when he was shooting a corporate video at the orphanage that the young boy lives in. 

Appoy is mischievous and cheeky like most 12-year olds, but inquisitive and creatively inclined as well. He questions the norms and thinks out of the box, traits that are frowned upon by both his teachers in school and his father at home — a hardworking man who puts in long hours to make ends meet. Appoy has two other father figures in his life in the form of both his uncles — a gangster and a drug addict — who, despite their involvement in social ills, provide the young boy with a shoulder to lean on. He spends his formative years surrounded by vices which he knows are to be avoided, but the lines are blurred when his own family members are involved in them too.

The main character embodies his character rather well despite this being his first acting stint. There is little dialogue involving him, but this is probably reflective of the way Appoy absorbs all the happenings around him.

The movie is intended to document the plight of the Malaysian Indians during the post estate era and the plot is dense with themes like poverty, gangsterism and drug addiction. The way the scriptwriter chose to end the movie depicts the idea of being caught in a vicious cycle, whether it is partially by choice or purely due to circumstances.

Jagat is a movie with a social message. It explores the socio-economic struggles of the rubber estate workers who were forced to move to towns in search of job opportunities — a theme that is still relevant today in some segments of the community. Elements of humour are speckled in some parts of the movie, but all in all, it is a rather serious film with recurring undertones of social and economic injustice.