By G Narasimha Raghavan • May 15th, 2008 • Filed under: Film Review, Highlights, Movies, Review Contest, featured

G Narasimha Raghavan’s entry for DearCinema review contest, a piece on Suhasini’s 1996 film Indira (Priyanka)

How many films does one get to see where the female protagonist questions the correctness of her own actions? Or, how many films give precedence to individual predilection, rather than pigeonholing female actors in rigid roles? If the film Indira is all about this, does it portray the so-called educated, emancipated woman?

Yes and no. Among the usual rigmarole of films showing inter-caste conflicts, Indira stands out not for its delectable sceneries and locations; not also for its unfussy sequence of scenes. Indira, then, is a film that has no qualms about the revealing violence and brutality. It is more about the fine meshing of Indira’s (Anu Haasan) consciousness with the realities that she perceives in the village.

Belonging to a lower caste has made her no less sensitive to the atrocities that find a place in her milieu. And neither is hypersensitivity her inheritance. Indira is a casual observer of the goings-on in her village and the neighbouring village (of high castes), but reacts to these happenings in a very reflective manner. And it is this mental cogitation that the director has subtly brought out in the form of her voicing her opinions, in instilling confidence in her fellow villagers, in taking the lead in decision making, and in accepting the hard truth of womanhood’s forced limitations. This attitude of defiance / remorse is central to Indira’s characterisation as a person who strives to overcome barrier, and is time and again made aware of her fragility as a woman and lower caste person.

So, is the film all about cognitive dissonance and external conflict, would be a right question to ask, if one where to focus exclusively on the agenda of the director and story writer. All the more, has the fundamental message of the film reached the audience, given the not-so-judicious mix of story of a lower caste girl and genuineness of her intentions? What is amiss in this film is the general acceptance that there always remains one solution to conflict, and this is disengagement with the conflicting party. However, the act of disengaging by itself is an act of courage and fortitude that has found representation in Indira’s actions. The music score is more urbane and ‘civilised’ (the so-called arts), not much in tune with the actuality of a village, and hardly expresses the village sentiments and emotions. The close-ups of the protagonist and the villain (Radha Ravi) convey the electric effect of die-hard artistes. Dialogues somehow fall short of portrayed demeanour of the actors, and yet there is appreciable spice in them.

Indira is among the very few Tamil films that does not make you cringe in your seat, and is a rarity in that it conveys a timeless message - that of the interminable discourse of subordination and resilience. Sensitive watchers of the film will receive many a slaps on the face, which is Suhasini’s and Anu Haasan’s way of waking people from slumber!

Your Rating

Recommended...

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter: Beautiful!!!

Jacques Tati’s Academy Award Winner Film: Mon Oncle

Love me or Hate me but Rate me!

People

What’s Wrong With Our Scripts?