Tablet

ARAVIND SIVA’s Tamil film The Tablet begins innocently. Prabhu (Hemanathan), ten years old, is getting ready for school, and our point of view is his goody boy face as he shuffles through things in his modest home. He finds what he’s looking for and is eager to get out when his mother insists on combing his hair. He goes to school and calls his friend Ramesh outside. In the few seconds it takes for the friend to answer his call, two smug-looking boys playfully tease him before Ramesh joins, and they run away from the densely concentrated areas of the school. Prabhu gives Ramesh the tablet he’s stolen from home and says it is for immunity and strength, and both can put on some weight and become strong. Ramesh takes it promptly, and during the morning assembly, he faints.