Kayo Kayo Colour? (2023) Movie Review

Life is, after all, an investment of time. There were days when a drop of water would seem like a fortune to meddle, and a clump of rice is the ultimate shopping mall list item that gratifies the hunger of humankind. Within a country’s planetary lies a family with a platter of wonders awaiting to resonate within our senses. In Kayo Kayo Colour (Which Colour?), Razzak lives with his family in a Muslim neighborhood in Kalupur, in the city of Ahmedabad.

His wife takes care of all the domestic concerns while his children, Ruba and Faiz, climb their own ropes to reach their motive for the day. We have his wife, who starts her day spring-cleaning the house and waking up her kids while settling all the house chores on time.

Everyone in the family is moving to attain something out of their to-do list, which sets up a slow marathon race among themselves to enforce their energies to brand their plan precisely, including Razzak himself. The act of Razzak having an argumentative fissure with his wife, who advises him to work, carries a dense mass on his shoulders, summarising the contemporary state of employees who have to go through an unhinged work-life to receive their respective bank notes.

The country’s state affects the inflation rate among middle- and low-income communities, bringing the demon of struggles to their doorstep. Razzak plans to buy an auto rickshaw as his new work companion to unravel into his innovative world of earning, which soundlessly pinches his wife to reroute her plans.

The adjacent ambiance of the village is covered with the splendor of the Muslim community embracing their everyday life, where the luminous voices of children exulting with joy fill the air. Director Shakrukhkhan Chavada opens the portal of segregating the coats of adulthood and adolescence under one roof through the Razzak family in this film, nominated for the Rotterdam Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival this year.

Rays of the golden sun reflect on the kids as a momentary state of being carefree when responsibilities levy on-field games and confectioneries. Ruba, who was told to buy a few grocery items for her mom, gets struck by cravings after witnessing a man drinking a cold carbonated beverage along the sunny path of Ahmedabad. The cost of the beverage seems to shed tears from her pockets, which instantly becomes her unfaltering motive of the day which reminds us of the film “The White Balloon” by Jafar Panahi, offering the same gesture of a kid’s journey to have a drop of fulfillment. On the other hand, Razzak’s wife complains about the uproar of grocery prices with her friend, which gets stitched on the wall as the talk of the day among them.

The black-and-white atmosphere nurtured in Kayo Kayo Colour? channels a spectrum of unraveling the small world of a family filled with principles and dedication. The focus goes right into a kaleidoscopic view of exquisitely preserving Islam’s teachings. Layers of infusing the many wonders of Islam are reciprocated through religious classes among the kids who excel in recitations and memorizations, along with the greetings of their family members and neighbors to welcome them with grace. The abstract upbringing of the future generations to fully educate themselves in their own religious bubble spreads evenly in them without any uncertainty.

The shift of the family also goes right into the grandmother of Ruba and Faiz, who visits her daughter (Razzak’s sister). Perhaps one of the most imperative aspects of social influence and stigma swims along the shores of this scene, slicing the cake of connectivity. Questions like “Should every family member advocate an individual’s career choices? &“Can the merit of money be perceived contrarily by different layers of the community?” spin like gold wheels across the house of Razzak’s sister.

Director Shahrukhkhan seamlessly projects a diverse set of themes by analyzing the rich and poor in this zoomed interaction, from the choice of games the cousins play to the construction of ideas presented by Razzak’s sister. There isn’t a right direction that can shift the audience to elect, as the limelight of the segment lies on the power of human nuances.

A special ovation goes to the sound designer, Bigyna Dahal, who kept the film’s soul on the right note. The sound of rickshaws honking and the crystal-clear note of stepping on the pathway of shop lots circulates a grounded feel of being transported to Kalupur virtually.

Troops mastering the knack of perceptions can be riveted by the characterization of Faiz, who seems to be an unsought example within his circle. Living with his sisters and her extended friends has made him heartened with the games they play, which contradicts the eminence of his male friends, who despise him the moment he is called to return home. Faiz is a modern-day exemplar of being in a socially challenged community that condemns a person’s choice of life if it is taken out of the box of typicality.

The film’s title, “Which Colour,” schemes a metaphorical interpretation of witnessing different shades of personalities living in the same family. Razzak’s family lives in an equipped home that offers more than just shelter, as it is a paradigm of life filled with opinions and concealed solace. A pleasant family that bears the serenity of life despite the bumpy rocks that knock them while searching for their respective torchlights. Director Shahrukh ingeniously conveys his ultimate memo that there is zero divide between families of diverse religions, as the warmth felt within Razzak’s family is wholly indistinguishable from the rest of the world’s communities.

The sessions of having dinner with family members, the concern given to the ailing individuals, and the hearty meals prepared by loved ones are all contemporary in the associated world of the human interface. However, thunder might just sneak out of the clouds when we least expect it through an unfathomable political agenda that might diminish the sun’s rays.