Social issues and the need for social movements: What does Mollywood say?
Vikruthi, Android Kunjappan and The Great Indian Kitchen
In this episode of the Rebel movie geek, we will discuss an actor who has marvelled me with his acting prowess in conveying intense film characters of depth and nuance: Suraj Venjaramoodu, an actor who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. His three films mesmerized me with their societal overtones reflecting on social media frenzy, callousness towards disability, ingrained social evils, generation gap, patriarchy, and religion.
Suraj Venjaramoodu. The image is taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Vikruthi (Mischief) [Available on Amazon prime]
Suraj stars in this movie as a person with hearing and speaking disabilities. He does his character with such finesse that he made me cry with immaculate expressions. Imagine a film character who conveys all his emotions and dialogue with their facial expressions and body language. It is hard to portray such a character, but Suraj was so smooth in his portrayal that there was little scope for the reality of him being a non-disabled person hitting you. Surabhi Lakshmi’s (Elsy) chemistry with Suraj’s character (Eldho) was flawless. Surabhi’s performance was clear as crystal with Suraj’s oscar award performance. Yes, you heard me, he has done an oscar award performance, and I would have given him an oscar if I was on the oscar jury for Suraj’s performance as Eldho.
Emcy Joseph’s direction was brilliant, but Soubin Shaheer’s performance as Sameer fell flat due to the actor’s inability to portray emotions. The climax scene was intense and hard-hitting, which worked only because of a flawless Suraj doing his job with perfection. Soubin failed in his facial expressions in the climax where the female actors Vincy Aloysius as Sameer’s wife and Gracy Soudhi as Sameer’s mother did an excellent job to support Suraj’s hard-hitting performance. Surabhi and Suraj’s performance was the movie's highlight, along with the child actors who played their children. Ajeesh Thomas’s writing was also worthy of appreciation.
The film reflects on our society that has become social media addicts who lack compassionate empathy to understand and reflect upon their surroundings. Instead, they find bliss in making fun of unexpected individuals of the society due to a general apathy towards social responsibility and the right to privacy.
Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 [Availabale on Amazon prime]
Suraj Venjaramoodu as Bhaskaran Poduval, the Octagenerian religious casteist living in his bubble world, shines onscreen. He doesn’t allow his only son to earn a living away from home. Poduval is a control freak who treats his 30 or 35-year-old son as a toddler. Soubin Shahir plays Subramanian, Poduval’s son who dreams of a golden carrier abroad. Finally, Subramanian finds the courage to go overseas against his domineering father’s wishes. Subramanian appoints a female nurse for helping his old father, who expels her after a few days. Saiju Kurup as Prasannan was funny. When Soubin again floundered to convey emotions, he manages not to overact, but Saiju overacts his part on many occasions, maybe for the comedic effect.
As a layman, I cannot judge the acting prowess of any seasoned actor. Still, when you see actors with an individual like Suraj acting in a film, it is pretty easy to find the flaws of other actors by comparing their performances with the flawless acting prowess of Suraj. Sooraj Thalakkad (the Android) was good, although sometimes I felt the Android was too human.
Suraj’s Poduval is the film's highlight, and he is the centrepiece of the film. Poduval’s superstitions were showcased for comedic effect, but at the same time, the emotional support that an older man needs in his dire times is also discussed in depth. The casteist attitude of Poduval stems from an indoctrinated traditional mind which is shown harmless in many places, and that is not a good message to take home. But, Suraj’s onscreen presence in showcasing emotional connection with his son and the Android was marvellous. I have to credit the character portrayals to the writer and director Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval, along with the cinematographer Sanu Varghese.
The Great Indian Kitchen [Available on Amazon Prime]
‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ is a centrepiece of debate between conservatives and progressives even after one year from the date of its release. The film portrays the subtle and firm ways women are oppressed by religious patriarchy in the name of archaic practises and traditions. Suraj showcases the quiet husband who oppresses his wife and treats her as an object. He lives according to his patriarchal father’s and society’s whims and fancies. Nimisha Sajayan as the lonesome wife who fights against the intense patriarchy of a patriarchal, religious and casteist household, shines like a star in her role.
Nimisha Sajayan. The image is taken from Wikimedia Commons.
As the patriarchal dominance and cruelty work in subtle ways, Nimisha’s fight against it becomes persistent. The wife (Nimisha Sajayan) refuses to bow down even after repeated expressions of untouchability and ostracization. Her fight becomes subtle warfare, and the climax was a befitting reply to her oppressors. The climax scene was a symbol.
The wife continuously requests her husband for repairing the stinking sink of the kitchen and her husband belittles her every single time for that. The leak of the stinking sink and its foul smell affects the wife psychologically. Finally, when the father-in-law and her husband commands her to serve tea to some religious people she serves the stinking water coming out of the sink to them. Infuriated the husband and his father comes to attack her. The wife responds by throwing away the stinking water to their face and goes out of the house forever through the front door showing that she is not running away afraid but this is she facing the society’s injustice head on.
Jeo Baby’s direction has beautifully grasped the subtle ways patriarchy oppresses and subjugates women in the conservative religious household. There was no dramatizing and theatrics, but fine camera work and the director’s genius did the wonders.
Conclusion
The three films analyzed in this newsletter issue discuss contemporary social issues. Vikruthi’s portrayal of the helplessness of a person of disability was hard-hitting. Still, unlike The Great Indian Kitchen, it does not deal with the struggles of an oppressed person’s life. Instead, Vikruthi focuses on a single incident of an irresponsible society addicted to social media that makes a person's life and his family difficult. Android Kunjappan seems more like a comedic piece than a social film and often treats many socially relevant issues in lighter tones.
In my opinion, the show-stealer was ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’. Out of all the three films, I saw only a performance that outmatched the acting prowess of Suraj, and that was in ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’. Nimisha Sajayan’s ‘The wife’ was impeccable. The film would not have prospered if it wasn’t for her performance. Jeo Baby’s capability to put himself inside a women’s shoes deserves applause. We as a society deserve more films similar to ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ that showcases the real-life trauma of the oppressed in its true sense.
Great Indian Kitchen shows the need for the Feminist movement while Vikruthi doesn’t address the need for the disability movement; this is where the former triumphs.
I hope for more films like Great Indian Kitchen for women, trans people, people of disability and other sections of the oppressed in our society.
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