*Trigger Warning- themes of sexual abuse, murder and honour killing*
Hello, so I recently watched Paava Kadhaigal on Netflix, and I high recommend watching this series. It’s one of the best anthologies I have seen across cinema regions all over India and not just because of the prolific board of directors known for pushing the boundaries of Tamil cinema with their unique storytelling.
Starring| Kalidas Jayaram, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Bhavani Sre
Sudha Kongara’s Thangam is a heartbreaking tale of a charismatic transgender woman from a rural community in interior Tamil Nadu. Kalidas Jayaram imbues the raw emotions of a Muslim transgender woman Sathar, in love with a young Hindu man belonging to an upper-caste family. Thangam, as she affectionately, calls him, is the sole person who treats her as a human being. In a village, diminishing her worth to that of a thing, she finds solace and comfort with the sensitive and caring man. The rest of the story follows the chain of incidents that conclude in a despairing end. Kalidas portrayed Satthar so sensitively with such raw conviction, it breaks your heart at her fate. Unfortunately, there is a need for our cinema to address the issue of representation, with a cis-gendered heterosexual man playing a queer character. Though regional cinema is taking tiny steps to overcome this issue, it is more than Bollywood has done in a long while.
Starring| Anjali, Kalki Koechlin, Padam Kumar
Love Panna Uttranum directed by Vignesh Shivn explored prominent themes of same-sex relationships and honour killing. There is also an interesting subplot of a religious cult. Found on the belief of honour and sacrifice but is not delved into as much as it should have. The narrative follows a political leader, reeling from the aftermath of his beloved daughter's shocking confession; falling in love with a man below their social and caste status, a measly driver. No sooner does he deal with this concern, his other daughter shocks him, with her ostensibly romantic connection with a white lady, and of course, chaos ensues. Love Panna Uttranum is peppered with Vignesh Shivn’s classic style, scenes doused in black comedy in the grimmest scenarios. Personally, I did not enjoy this story as much because of the potential it failed to reach. Also, I definitely felt the climax was haphazard and trivialised, the dark nature of the themes.
Direction| Gautham Vasudev Menon
Starring| Simran, Gautham Menon, Adithya Bhaskar
Vaanmagal deals with the aftermath of sexual abuse centred around a tight-knit middle-class suburban family. Gautham Menon fixates on the internal chaos faced by each family member after a horrific tragedy strikes their peaceful lives. Each member is consequentially affected, the progressive father who suddenly feels small and unworthy. The brother forced to quietly seethe in rage at being unable to dole out what he deems to be justice. Right at the centre of this shaken family is the mother, struggling to choose between society’s view of sexual abuse and the fierce need to protect her blood. Vaanmagal is a comforting watch, in the sense that, you feel that there indeed seems to be hope for humanity. Of course, watch it for Simran who is absolutely splendid as the protective, conservative mother unrelenting in her love for her kin.
Starring| Prakash Raj, Sai Pallavi, Hari Krishnan
Out of the four stories, Oor Iravu would perhaps be the most horrific tale based on honour killing. It’s the one perhaps that leaves us the most distressed and harrowed, due to the agonised suffering the protagonist undergoes. Vetri Maaran displays his strong understanding of the depth of characters in his films. Probing deep within to extract such raw and disturbing performances by Sai Pallavi and Prakash Raj. Their emotions balance on a fine line separating overacting and overemoting. Oor Iravu takes us on a harrowing journey of forgiveness between an estranged father-daughter. It leaves us, with bone-chilling final moments of suffering, as the daughter laments to her father of the future she and her unborn child could have shared. In the end, what we see, is a tale of profound love played out in silences, stuttered with moments of excruciating anguish both daughter and father experience.
