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Kabali: Exploring the Dramatic Structure
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Disclaimer: This work is based on my understanding and my viewpoints. It does not stand in no way as an official document or proof. The definitions are translated according to my understanding. All mistakes are mine.
Section 4 - Dramatic Structure
Section 4.3 - Structure
Narrative
There are two types of narratives involved in story telling: One, Homodiegetic Narrative where the story is told by a narrator present as a character in the story; Two, Heterodiegetic narrative, a voice which is not present as a character in the story.
Focalisation (Ref. Section 2.1 Frames & Shots) is the fundamental function which selects and passes narrative informations. It projects the events and state of affairs either through characters or through a foclising agent creating an epithetical or ironical view on the focaliser. A focaliser is an agent (as in a character) who orients the narrative representing itself as thoughts, feelings, reflections, knowledge and has its own perception on the given situation. The focaliser behaves according to the characterisation (Ref. Section 4.2 - Character Psychology).
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(Kabali as focaliser - at Chettiyar's Palace)
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(Kabali as focaliser - in conversation with Yogi)
Focalisation has four branches, (i) Fixed focalization where the presentation facts and events is viewed through a single focaliser. (ii) Variable focalization are the events of different episodes seen thorough different focalisers. (iii) Multiple focalization where a single episode is presented multiple times as seen by different focalisers. (iv) Collective focalization comes from a collective reflectors, a group of characters sharing the same knowledge over a particular episode.
The structure, then, depends on the three narrative situation - first-person narrative as told by a character present in the story (This happened), or authorial narrative told by a narrator who is absent from the story (This is what happened) or figural narrative where the story is presented through the eyes of a character (This is what is Happening).
Kabali is Homodiegetic Narrative where the story is related to the actions performed by Kabali who is also the witness to these actions and it follows a fixed focalisation where the narrative situation is figural narrative. While narrating the self, protagonist Kabali experiences himself within the story world. He is the prime character who meets or introduces the other characters, through which the audience learn about Kabali himself. Kabali is the inner focaliser who at times is the narrator and at times is a witness of his own narration. Story unfolds between this temporal and psychological narrative distance - Who am I? => What am I? - Where the temporal points to the witness and the psycology turns the events of the episodes inside the story world.
Episodes
An episode is actions put together by three parts - an exposition, a complication, and a resolution. A story can be narrated either through sequence of actions (sum of events in the story-line) or as sequence of episodes. Kabali is distributes into episodes built through individual sequence of actions.
Kabali as an Episode:
1/ Who is Kabali? (Introductory - Exposition)
2/ How Kabali reacts to the change? (Release - Exposition)
3/ Sharing his past (Confession - Complication)
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(Kabali adressing the youngsters at Free Life Foundation)
4/ Reunites with his daughter (Affection - Complication)
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(Kabali in Thailand)
5/ Finds his other half (Search - Complication)
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(Kabali wondering about his absent wife)
6/ Closes dispute (Conclusion - Resolution)
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(Kabali pronounces he is born to live and not to survive. [Wonderful black and grey background created by not allowing light to enter. The contrast is perfect].)
Each of the six divisions are in turn their proper episodes with their own exposition, complication, and resolution. To illustrate single segement as an episode:
How Kabali reacts to the change?
Kabali is exposed to the activities carried out inside a pet shop through Ameer while riding back from the prison - Exposition.
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(Kabali instructing Sampath outside the petshop)
Kabali enter the pet shop and faces Cheeni complicating even more the bitter relationship - Complication.
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Kabali throws Cheeni under his foot and resolves the issue with him - Resolution.
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Thus, Kabali narrative has its own episodes, which in return acts as one main episode in the visual narration.
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Kabali: Exploring the Dramatic Structure
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A writer had a habit of walking on the beach before he began a work. He adores the nature, its colour and its sounds, and often thinks about the limitations he, as a human, is made of while being the part of the same surrounding. He walked into the waves and dug his face inside the warm water. He admired the marvellous sea life revolving around him. He could not stay for long, he rushed his head up and gasped for air. While sucking in the air, he thought how wonderful it would be if the fishes kissed his nose and supplied him with air permiting him to stay submerged inside the water forgetting all the agony that awaits him beyond the sands.
A wise man came walking on the beach that day and saw the writer dancing near the sea shore. He laughed at the lunatic dancing alone on the beach. He walked towards the writer and as he got closer to him he noticed that the dancing man was not actually dancing, but reaching down to the shore, and picking up small objects, and throwing them back into the ocean.
The wise man asked, "May I ask you what it is that you are doing?"
"Throwing the starfish into the ocean", the writer replied.
Curious, the wise man asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
"It’s dawn. The tides are falling back. If I don't throw them back in, they'll die."
Upon hearing to what the writer said, the wise man commented with a rush of laughter judging the action of the writer to be nonsensical, "But, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
The writer picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned and spoke to the wise man as the starfish met the water, "It made a difference for that one."
(Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977))
Disclaimer: This work is based on my understanding and my viewpoints. It does not stand in no way as an official document or proof. The definitions are translated according to my understanding. All mistakes are mine.
Section 3 - Dialogues
(Note: No sociopolitical elements will be listed. Only definitions will be elaborated under this chapter.)
Keywords: discourse, quotation theory, direct & indirect speech, mind style, monologue …
The silent film (no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue) era lasted from 1894 to 1929. Since then the character's discourses, largely addressed as dialogues, make up the narrative decorating it with verbal events and words. Few events inside the story world are spoken rather than shown.
Section 3.1 – Main
An Interior Monologue joins the narration in the form of the Crab Story, when Kabali addresses the youngsters of Free Life Foundation with an explanation of logical sequence and giving them the impression of a raw experience.
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The film Kabali carries many Quotation Theory, which speaks the characters thoughts. Kabali's thoughts about his wife Kumudhavalli is shown in two different narrative structure: One, in silence (as in no speech) where he follows Kumudhavalli inside the house; Two, he speaks out his thoughts about her. After the visual treatment of his ever glowing memories, Kabali's discourse is divided into three representations:
1/ Direct Discourse: Kabali does not know how he is going to come up with the absence of his Kumudhavalli.
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2/ Free Indirect Discourse: Kabali does not address to anyone in particular, but wonders in his office surrounded by his staffs, how she would be doing if she is still alive.
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3/ Indirect Discourse: Kabali speaks to his daughter in the hotel salon about how Kumudhavalli would react when he meets her after all these years.
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Mind style is a general term for a character's typical patterns of mentation. Kabali is seen uttering 'Maghizchi' (Happi) at several instances, and the way he pronounces it clenching his teeth at Veerasekaran and Tony Lee at the Roof Top Party is a soft killer.
To relate the audience with the events in the story world, Pa. Ranjith adapts lifetime quotes and examples into his fictional space. One such dialogue is about Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar. The lines are adapted from a speech given by a prominent Tamil writer and lecturer Stalin Rajangam. He urges not to forget the book held by Dr. Ambedkar symbolising the valour of education. Through this discourse, Kabali addresses Tamizh Maran about behavioural science.
Section 3.2 – Female
The dialogues set for the female characters are soliloquy, a style of directly presenting a character's thoughts. The use of the word Black, denotes to the skin colour of the character Kabali, which Kumudhavalli, who is presumed to be coming from the majority group had followed the path of love laid by Kabali, wishes to turn herself dark by taking the paint from Kabali himself. A synonym of turmeric or sandalwood paste applied over the body. Kumudhavalli also wakes up the unconscious mind of dreaming Kabali with realisation when she answers to his worries about her.
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Yogi's discourse (and mainly actions) are based on Stream of Consciousness denoting the mental processes, the layering and merging of central and peripheral levels of awareness. Yogi is a girl turned into an assassin. She finds herself in a situation that she keeps under control. When the rabbit jumps out of the hat, she has to trap the hare to save the chapeau of the family. She then becomes, yet another time, the girl to her father, who promotes not to be scared, but immediately runs back to her father hiding under his warmth.
Section 3.3 - Villain
Veerasekaran has his own Interior Monologue where he explains how to catch a rare fish, illustrating that he is waiting for the right moment to throw his net on Kabalai.
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Tony Lee, who does not speak the same language as Kabali, is assisted by his side kicks while addressing Kabali at numerous occasion. A Narrative Report of Discourse happens when Tony Lee is unable to pronounce the word Mazhichi, and his words are mouthed out by Rosyam Nor, miming a dog.
Section 3.4 - Supporting
Ameer and Jeeva are the narrated perception of Kabali's conscious mental states. They become the indirect speech of Kabali. Ameer asks for black tea to Cheeni. He stays with Kabali when his friend is depresssed like a consious mind conversing with the unconsious mind.
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Kabali listens, Jeeva replies. At the dinner table, Jeeva identifies Marthandam for Kabali, which Kabali elegantly smiles at his own free discourse.
Section 3.5 - Others
The other characters are much of an attributive discourse, giving acts of speech involving a remark or announcement or a promise. One of the jail mate promises Kabali that he will join him for the noble cause, the lady officier introduces Kabali, while Rani asks Kabali whether he had forgotten her indicating that Kabali's memories are filled with only one woman, Kumudhavalli. Tamzh Neesan’s discourse are social, while Tamizh Maran growls due to power hunger.
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The dialogues in Kabali point directly at a (imaginary) society and its hierarchical nature. The story revolves around a dominant community which had been supressing another low lying community for years. Kabali raises his voice against such social differences and his actions liberate the minority. A minority is simply any community of people living in smaller parts, their amount forming less than half of the whole majority.
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Starting at the point of social status, beginning to erase the slavery footprint by driving into the economic upliftment on the lanes of labourer equality, Kabali says "If you think I am threatening, I will, Yes!"
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