This is the kind of week that makes me even more thankful to live in the streaming age. As a child watching Bollywood movies, I couldn’t easily dabble in the other rich and wonderful regional cinema in India. But as streaming platforms’ investment has boomed there in the past two years, so has their focus on widening the reach of said titles.
So today, I recap two of my recent regional faves — one recommended by several of you after last week’s newsletter, and one I caught at the end of 2020. Here’s to making more time for the non-Hindi films in my queue this year, and hopefully many more such reviews to bring you all.
And one quick note before we dive in — I’m pleased to announce a new Instagram account, @priyaskittyparty, where I’ll be posting reviews throughout the week, as well as streaming news as it happens. I hope you’ll follow me there. Thank you all once again for your support.
Now, onward!
Released on streaming this week: The blockbuster Tamil film “Master” (Amazon); the second season of “Metro Park” (Eros Now); the animated series “The Legend of Hanuman” (Hotstar); and season two of “College Romance” (Sony LIV).
What I’ve Been Watching
Pick of the Week: “The Great Indian Kitchen” | Neestream
Several of you mentioned this film to me recently, so I dug it up on Neestream, a Malayalam streaming site that launched globally last year. It depicts the story of a wife (unnamed, on purpose) who struggles to adapt to the traditions of her husband’s family after their arranged marriage. This simple little film starts off harmlessly enough, as artful shots of simple kitchen duties — washing, scrubbing, cooking, pouring — build in repetition.
I wasn’t sure where the film was going, to be honest. But soon enough, cracks begin to appear. Suddenly left without her mother-in-law, she struggles to keep up with (and learn) what her new her father-in-law and husband expect. From their comments about how she washes clothes or makes chutney, all the way to the ultimate taboo of menstruation, she quickly starts to believe she’s living in some alternate universe where women are forced to endure inhumane conditions just because… well, they are women. Patriarchy? We hardly knew ye.
This film hit me in the feels in all the ways — this is obviously still a significant cornerstone of South Asian cultures, and often exacerbated under the name of religion. What I loved about the film is its tremendous patience and subtlety, brought to life skillfully by its lead, Nimisha Sajayan. The wife is not suffering, at least at first. She willingly participates in predetermined gender-roles, problematic as they may inherently be, because she believes it is what will make her a good wife. But Sajayan’s expressions of confusion and repression stand tall as she realizes that the problem is that she is still herself — and she soon fades into the background of these men’s lives, known entirely for her ability to engage in sex, or what she cooked that day, or her household abilities. Every time she asserts a bit of her own identity, trying to watch dance videos or even expressing the desire to teach (gasp!), she’s pummeled matter-of-factly. It is she who should have known better than to do or say such silly things, the men imply.
Questioning these gender roles, and the feminism that threatens them, requires uprooting them from their origins. The film asserts that buying in to a piece of them — say, that a woman’s most important role is that of a wife — you may be buying the whole thing. One’s identity may be our truest form of currency, and even in a marriage, it should be one’s greatest asset. The film also powerfully asserts that what we take so lightly, like our mom cooking in the kitchen, can also lead to the loss of a woman’s identity, and the disenfranchisement brought on by duties and religious customs rooted in patriarchy is one that is hard to outrun.
No spoilers here, so I’ll stop there. But if you’re up for an incredibly well-done, relatable and important film (that might also make you never set foot in a kitchen again?!), do give this a watch — even if only for Sajayan, the superb actress who plays the wife.
For the Emotional Junkies: “Paava Kadhaigal” (Tamil) | Netflix
Made up of four short narratives — call this a miniseries rather than an anthology film — “Paava Kadhaigal” wastes no time in going from emotion to emotion. (I recommend ingesting them one at a time, really.)
It’s hard to pick my favorite of the bunch, because they all kind of broke me in their own way, but “Thangam” and “Oor Iravu” have truly stayed with me even all these weeks later. In “Thangam,” we see the story of Sathar, a Muslim trans woman, and her cisgender male best friend, Saravanan, who is Hindu. Sathar is saving up money for her gender reassignment surgery, and believes the two can elope someday thereafter. But Saravan reveals he is in love with someone else, and the two friends are forced to make some difficult choices. The platonic and romantic shades of love portrayed here really tugged at my heart strings. Sathar and Saravanan’s love defies labels, gender and even religion — and it is this love that endures, whether in the face of pain or discrimination.
In “Oor Iravu,” Sumathi and Hari are an intercaste couple who are expecting their first child. Sumathi’s father, who opposed the union because of Hari was of a lower caste, welcomes them home and sets a celebration for the child’s arrival. But all is not as it seems, she soon finds out. Caste atrocities make up the core of most of the stories in this anthology/series, and each one is more heartbreaking and realistic than the last. “Oor Iravu” is the final one, and it truly lays bare the enduring hold of Brahmanical patriarchy. It’s by no means new to see such realities reflected on screen, but that makes it no less uncomfortable to confront in this realm.
I again won’t give away too much here, but I truly applaud the various filmmakers and writers for coming together to address atrocities others are so hesitant to approach. This is a no-holds-barred film/series, and even though it is painful at times, it is also refreshing to see something that doesn’t shy away from reality in order to entertain.
What I’m Reading
Movie theaters in India are returning to full 100% capacity after opening to 50% capacity in October. I don’t know what this means for the potential spread of the coronavirus in India, but I do know this means several high-profile films that have been waiting for theatrical releases (Ranveer Singh’s “83” and “Sooryavansham,” for starters) might finally get the green light. [Variety]
The film “Rang De Basanti” turned 15 this week. I enjoyed this piece in The Juggernaut, reflecting on the revolutionary, and nearly prescient nature of the film. Would it be allowed to be made today?
Favorite tidbit: “Rang De Basanti’s main grouse wasn’t so much with the generation, which it argued could awaken given the right circumstance. It was with apathetic and corrupt governments that used violence against their citizens.”
How did India go from Channel V and MTV days to YouTube and TikTok? I enjoyed this look back at the history of video as a medium in the country. [Mint Lounge]
It’s a little bit of a tangent to entertainment, but as someone whose cultural identity is nearly entirely drawn from South Asian shows and films, I really felt this essay. It’s a first-person account of how the author had to face the difference between being Indian-American and Hindu. Even though the specifics are different, I feel quite the same. [Harper’s Bazaar]
Coming Soon to a Couch Near You
Spotlight: “1962: The War In The Hills” | Hotstar | Feb. 26 | Starring: Abhay Deol
Long-time readers of this newsletter will rejoice at the return of Big Deol Energy, and that too, with my favorite Deol of them all. That’s Abhay, of course, who will star in this war series. I’m always a bit weary of Indian shows featuring war stories anyway, out of fear that they are passing patriotism off as a veil for nationalism. In this case, we’ll just have to see.
Feb. 12: “The Family Man” Season 2 | Amazon | Starring: Manoj Bajpayee
Feb. 19: “Pitta Kathalu” (Telugu) | Netflix | Starring: Shruti Haasan
Feb. 26: “The Girl on the Train” | Netflix | Starring: Parineeti Chopra
March: “Mumbai Diaries 26/11” | Amazon | Starring: Konkona Sen Sharma and more
This web series will tell the story of the medical staff and doctors who worked tirelessly on the night of the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008.
That’s all for now, folks! See you next week ~