Patriarchy Gets A Punch

Women set the pace for change in Malayalam cinema

- Cithara Paul

She is a nurse. When she is not busy overseeing the construction of her house, she does not mind downing a drink or two—much to the shock of her relatives. And when she falls in love with a younger man, she does it with abandon. She always takes the lead and even takes the jobless man under her wings. She is Lichi, the heroine of Angamaly Diaries— one of the biggest hits among Malayalam movies this year.

Tessa, also a nurse, is desperately trying to go abroad. She falls in love with the wrong man who sets her up to be raped by his boss. She takes revenge by surgically removing his penis. This 2012 Malayalam film—22 Female Kottayam—was remade in two other south Indian languages.

And recently there was a real life incident where an actor was abducted and molested. She registered a complaint immediately and was back to work within a week. One of the leading actors in Malayalam—Prithviraj Sukumaran—while extending full support to her also vowed that he would never again mouth misogynistic lines in his movies.

Malayalam cinema, no doubt, is patriarchal—like any other film industry. But, it is gradually succumbing to a slow, yet progressive, wave that is engulfing the industry thanks to the increasing presence of acclaimed and successful women directors, strong female actors who speak their mind, besides female technicians and producers who are not proxies to anyone.

“Malayalam cinema is witnessing a subtle but significant change as more women are entering the film sets which were earlier a male domain. All these films and characters are a reflection of that change,” said Renji Panicker, noted scriptwriter, producer, actor and director.

According to Renji, who has been in the industry for the last 25-odd years, female presence in the industry was limited to actors till recently but now there is no set without women in the technical crew.