Kaakee Circus review:

In ZEE5’s new series Kaakee Circus, set in a place near the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, Munishkanth plays Anbuselvan, a jailer who is nearing retirement and who believes that reading books would reform convicts. On the other hand, his subordinate, Arjun (Subash Selvam) has a more stringent approach to law enforcement—one that involves metering out severe punishment. Arjun does not believe in his superior’s more peaceful way of dealing with prisoners and potential convicts because he feels that cops have a greater, more direct purpose and role in society. It has an interesting premise. Unfortunately, however, the series is more content with a surface-level exploration of the theme and more busy offering gags reminiscent of standard television entertainment. This strict adherence to genre pleasures holds Kaakee Circus back, even as it provides mild entertainment with plenty of chuckle-inducing moments and an array of memorable performances.

The plot is quite straightforward. Someone steals coins from the Hundi at the police station, which the officers hold sacred due to a belief that the deity Kannagi once ordered a cruel jailer not to punish prisoners severely. Since then, the officers at the station have been keeping money in the Hundi, only to give it away to a Kannagi temple in Kerala once every year, and treating prisoners rather kindly. However, the theft situation finds Arjun and his superior in compromised waters and the stakes go up when the higher-ups question their efficiency. After all, how can they protect the public if a burglary happens right under their nose?

Writer- Director: Ameen Barif

Cast: Munishkanth, Subash Selvam, Rajesh Madhavan, Abdul Lee

Kaakee Circus is replete with comedic bits, which are hurled at us at a rate of knots. There is a business-minded coffin maker (Abdul Lee) who keeps an eye out for deaths in and around his area. It becomes poetic justice when he goes behind bars in an accidental death case. Some of the jokes revolve around the coffin manufacturer character, and while his track detracts from the main plot, it is hard not to laugh with many of these moments. A hilarious track involves two working-class women who make YouTube videos out of anything and anyone. It is refreshing to see a series set in a rural area providing women with some agency in the plot, although they are here mostly for comedic relief. There is also a fascinating track involving a thief and the cat and mouse game he plays with the cops. In an interesting turn of events, the man behind the burglary at the station also turns out to be a service provider. There are also two parallel romantic tracks that offer insights into the mindsets of cops and criminals, albeit fleetingly.

Kaakee Circus juggles with all these characters and ideas, and while its narrative never stagnates or strives for momentum, the series is nimble when it comes to exploring its interesting arcs. Sometimes, you get the impression that it is somewhat confused about what it actually wants to be. For example, Arjun walks into a potential crime scene with bravado, channeling his inner ‘Durai Singam’ and even making an indirect reference to Suriya’s mustache-twirling police officer from the Singam franchise. Elsewhere, we get a backstory explaining why Arjun wanted to be a cop in the first place. And oddly enough, he goes through ‘egg-on-his-face’ scenarios in his pursuit of the perpetrator. Are these sequences supposed to be funny? Do the makers realise that some of these take away from the layers of the character? We are not sure they do, because Kaakee Circus wrestles with a jarring tone. There is clearly an element of action-comedy and satire here, but the series does not highlight these enough because the more slapstick-type comedy overwhelms them.

It is way more surefooted when it comes to Munishkanth’s character as compared to Arjun. It helps greatly that Munishkanth retains the essence of the character while ensuring that he does not go overboard with comedy. His deadpan humour and expressions are priceless, especially in moments where Anbuselvan beams with self-pride for his books for the convicts. There is a hilarious payoff to the jailer’s book-reading dictum that offers insights into the kind of horrors that he might have been subjected to during his term. On the other hand, Subash Selvam delivers an earnest performance, portraying Arjun as a dignified cop with a stop-at-nothing attitude even as the comedic gags threaten to take the sheen off the character. Rajesh Madhavan also does what he has long been doing in Malayalam cinema—making us laugh with a straight face while bringing the odd poignant layer to his mostly one-note character.

Ultimately, Kaakee Circus is a curious case of what ifs and might-have-beens. The series bursts to life with actors nailing the eccentricities of their characters. However, with themes having much bigger scope for deeper exploration, it feels like a minor disappointment when it remains satisfied with low-hanging fruit, showing cops and convicts in the circus show that law enforcement tends to be on occasion.