When the world shut down in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people weren't fighting an invader that they could see. This invader could not be fought with weapons, could not be blocked by walls, and could not be destroyed completely. This miniscule organism permeated and held the entire world hostage. But this was not the first virus to plague India or the world. Aravind Siva's The Tablet, explores another virus that still holds people hostage, societal exclusion. Especially, societal exclusion of patients of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In an emotional directorial debut, Aravind ditches sympathy and chooses to empowerment as a central theme of his engaging story.
Director: Aravind Siva
Cast: Raichal Rebecca, Hemanathan
Prabhu (Hemanathan), a 12-year old living with his single mother Kayal (Dr Raichal), passes on what he thinks is an immunity tablet to his friend. Unbeknownst to him, this innocent act opens a can of worms, including his mother having to rearrange everything in their lives to travel to Chennai, for a routine checkup and to get a new prescription for more tablets. Director Aravind doesn't use big moments to drive the emotions and small moments to fill the time in between. Aravind uses each and every moment to slowly reveal parts of Prabhu and Kayal's story. When Kayal is walking back home after work along with her colleague, the pair get ice creams, and Kayal's colleague reaches out to take the ice cream in Kayal's hand. But instinctively, Kayal quickly pulls her hand back, shocking both of them. In a small moment, Kayal's ingrained perspective of the taboo nature of HIV, is expressed with great depth.
Aravind's writing is superbly elevated by the technicians working on The Tablet. Cinematographer Vinoj Kaveri uses a single camera set up for the entire film, and furthermore captures the entire film with static shots only. Still, every frame is interesting. During a key scene in the film, Kayal and Prabhu are spending some time together. Prabhu is enjoying the environment, but Kayal is still, grounded by her worries. The scene is shot from behind the actors, with a scenic environement surrounding them, and masks the actors expressions with silhouettes. While the characters do not have any dialogue we are able to understand them without any extra additions to the scene beyond the camera and the sound. The Tablet also uses live sound throughout the film. But the sound doesn't distract you from the perspective of the camera and fits in seamlessly. Using the cinematic craft to the fullest advantage made The Tablet an intriguing watch.
While cinematic craft is rich in The Tablet, the film also derives great advantage from superb performances from Raichal and Hemanathan. Kayal has to carry the burden of having to keep the fact that she and Prabhu are HIV positive. Be it moments of happiness or sadness, Raichal never fails to add the weight to each of her expressions. Even with minimal lines the actor is able to convince the audience of the importance of every scene. On the other side, in his debut, Hemanathan moves you with his portrayal Prabhu in all his innocence. Prabhu, like the audience, understands the seriousness of his illness, as the film progresses. But like the old notion that goes, 'children understand everything', Hemanathan also portrays empathy with great zeal. The Tablet doesn't have too many characters, but spends lots of time with each minor character.
The objective of The Tablet isn't to preach for pity. But it is a small episode that negatively impacts the lives of two people who doesn't have much resources to go around. The smallest of a person's daily routines are impacted adversely, to the point that their entire day is changed. But with all such emotional scenes, the film continuously shows how Kayal and Prabhu are able to stand on their own two legs. With The Tablet, Aravind Siva creates an engaging film that moves away from pity and actively chooses empowerment.