Jannal - redraws the new boundaries of the next society!

 

K Balachander is a master story teller and he needs no introduction and hasn’t stopped surprising us with his themes, stories and characters on the big and small screens. I have watched his productions Kai Alavu Manasu, Rayil Sneham, Premi, Kadhal Pagadai, but missed out on his tele-serials Chitthi, Anni, and Jannal. A friend of mine suggested that I watch the Jannal serial.

 

Jannal is a family story where the director shines light on the greed, money, love, and insecurity and highlights patience and family values. The characters come with hoard of expectations from each other. When they see each other’s real sidethey lose their patience, often reach their flash point, and vigorously defend their decisions driven by their ego, desire and love.

As a result of their decisions, they go through experiences, while some learn their lessons and mend their ways, but often use society as a reason to purport their decisions. It is a drama of youth vs. old; love vs.greed; tradition vs. modernity, and my way vs. highway.

Be it in his movies or serials, KB definitely gives a message to the society and his unexpected climaxes expand your horizon of thinking, understanding and acceptance. It is not an over statement to say he often redraws the boundaries of the next society.

A peek into the main characters:

Kalyani amma - very kind and giving, extrovert, wants to earn her meal, and takes the moral high ground. She is often disappointed by how society and people looks at her relationship with GK. She weaves the social fabric, but is often disappointed when the fabric catches fire because of her widowhood.

GK - child like, lively, funny, patience, doesn't seem to bother much about society or his health!

Mahesh - leaves his parents to keep his wife happy, but is disappointed when she doesn't measure up to his expectations.

Priya - expects Mahesh to be his friend and a photo copy of her father. When he doesn't let her have her way it sets the relationship on fire.

Ramya - selfish, individualistic, and is very money minded even when it comes to her father.

Balu - is away making money and is absent for most episodes, but finally delivers the punch that pushes his mother out of his house.

The youth have their definition of life, and the elderly have their definition. And conflicts arise when the try and define how each other should live their lives.

Aptly titled, Jannal provides your view of the world, but it is often a small pixel of life. Jannal is a show window. It shows how the youth are driven by money and how success and money defines their relationships. The older ones seem to over ambitious parents, who worry too much about success, future and comfort of their children and ensure that they measure up to their expectations and expectations of the society. In reality, we often we use Jannal to make ourselves look picture perfect to society watching us from the outside.

The First 15 episodes can wear your patience with clichés, and the title song, but nevertheless it lends you a leaf or more to learn. Last 15 episodes brings people together, resolves issues and redraws the new boundaries of the next society. The You Tube has all 39 Episodes and I have posted the first episode on top for reference.