Bloody Beggar review: Kavin powers an ambitious and quirky madcap ride that hits a few bumps

Mr B has an acerbic tongue, and lives with Jack, a fellow shabby and homeless kid, who is scrupulous and honest. Within the first few minutes of the film, Sivabalan establishes the contrasting nature of these two characters. In fact, initially it felt like a Mandela redux or even the origin story of Abhiyum Naanum’s Ravi Shastri. But that’s not what Bloody Beggar is all about. It isn’t a rags to riches story either. It is simply a story about a man who understands there is more to life than just existing. And how does the universe teach him this lesson?

He is placed in a palace with members of the bourgeoisie class, who hope to receive the Rs 300 crore bequeathed to them by the family’s patriarch, Superstar Chandrabose (Radha Ravi). But there’s a catch. The man has an illegitimate son, who returns to claim the lion’s share of the property. But there’s a catch. The heir apparent returns to the house only to find himself at the receiving end of a nefarious plan. But there’s a catch. Mr B finds himself as the new heir apparent. But there’s a catch. The family members are not just quirky and weird, but are equally dangerous and ruthless. You get the gist, right? Right from the time Mr B finds himself in the unlikeliest of places, Ready or Not, Bloody Beggar takes us on a gory, funny, thrilling, and surprisingly poignant ride. 

Bloody Beggar is a film that is built on the characters. Of course, they are all caricatures, and each of them sell the outlandishness of their roles like it’s nobody’s business. They are unlike anything we have seen in Tamil cinema, and just like Mr B, we too take some getting used to their eccentricities. Of course, it helps that nothing is normal in Bloody Beggar, and Mr B finds himself in one abnormal situation after another. What do you do when an aspiring method actor roleplays his superstar grandfather’s characters, and these roles become crazier, weirder, and dangerous as the night progresses? What do you actually do when a javelin champion uses the javelin as a killing machine? What do you actually do when the spear of a ‘knight in shining armour’ is used as a weapon to kill a distressed damsel? What do you actually do when electric lamps, kitchen utensils, condiments, an aquarium, pieces of clothing, ornamental plants, and sporting goods are used as weapons to kill? And no, it isn’t a John Wick kind of a situation. And yeah, there is a ghost. All you can do is have a perennially shocked response to everything, and Mr B’s wide-eyed look of incredulity is perfect for the happenings of Bloody Beggar. 

Here’s the Bloody Beggar Trailer:

The quirkiness is dialled up by quite a few notches thanks to Jen Martin’s wonderful score. However, some of the quirkiness overstay its welcome, and some don’t realise its full potential. But there is never a moment where Bloody Beggar isn’t trying something. Sivabalan anchors all these random occurrences with the backstory of Mr B, which involves a twist of fate. It is the emotional core of the film, and in these portions, we are emotionally invested in Mr B’s life, and understand the reasons for his actions. And we also see the growth of Kavin as an actor. He manages being nonchalant, resolute, unnerved, vulnerable, disinterested, furious, pragmatic, and romantic in a character that is clearly the toughest challenge of his career. It is on his shoulders that Sivabalan mounts the film, and Kavin lifts it up with his compelling performance. The other pillar of support of Bloody Beggar is Redin Kingsley, who gets his best role since Doctor, and manages to bring a new shade to his performance that was getting increasingly one-note, and borderline annoying. But this heft isn’t given to the other characters, and we are just left to be shocked about the depths they’d go to. Probably, that was the point. They are always greedy, and this time, greed isn’t really good. 

Nothing in Bloody Beggar is random, and everything is connected to everyone, and everyone pays the price for their actions. It is a world that is defined by its needs and desires, and not by right and wrong. It questions our sense of morals, and the film is a scathing satire on the growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots. The film also asks an important question — Does good really beget good? We might never know the answer for the question, but it makes us ponder about something more pertinent. What is our proverbial last straw? What would make us stop trying and resort to existing rather than thriving. At one point in Bloody Beggar, a character says, “We need beggars to remind ourselves of the extremes of the world. We need to know what to do to not end up like them.”

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Of course, they are on the lowest rungs of the social ladder, but almost every one of them has a story. A story that no one wants to hear. A story that is never told because no one asked. A story that is buried under the burden of self-pity and the pains of neglect. A story that sometimes needs a bloody outlet. A story that needs to be heard to remind ourselves of the extremes of humanity, and what not to do to make others end up like this. And even if all this isn’t what the author (read Sivabalan) intended, and it is just the case of ‘curtains are just blue’ even then Bloody Beggar has the potential to draw you in with its quirks even when it leaves you grasping for a breather amidst all the cacophony and chaos. And yours truly just hopes Kavin continues to keep, I mean… be the refreshing change.