Paava Kadhaigal: A Horrific Mirror of the Indian Upper Caste Men
Written by Malini Naicker and Rashmi Vats
Cinema as a representational art form has been going through constant evolution in the past decade. From the theatre houses to Over the Top (OTT) platforms, it has constantly evolved and adapted itself it to fit innovations and ideas. With the boom of digitalization, the cinematic creators including the actors, directors and the producers are given a new space to explore their art form and push the boundaries further without the constraints. The OTT streaming platforms have given cinema freedom to explore itself as anthologies, parallel fictions etc. One such exploration is the recently released Paava Kadhaigal, released on the online streaming service Netflix.
Paava Kadhaigal, a Tamil word that translates to ‘Sin stories’, the title brilliantly captures the idea of sin and the sinner presented in the stories. The film is an anthology directed by four directors, who explore four taboo topics further in their stories.
Thangam- My Precious
The first story of this anthology is “Thangam”, which means ‘my precious’ in Tamil, it narrates the story of a young transgender woman. The story set in 1980s Tamil Nadu deals with the issues of gender identity, sexuality and interfaith marriages. Sathaar, a young man is saving up money to go to Mumbai to have a sex reassignment surgery. Often called by the villagers as “it” or “creature” he is abused both mentally and physically. The films deal with the crude way the gender stereotypes of the Indian society work, were being even slightly different than the norm is seen as grotesque and shunned. Through various circumstances, Sathaar is driven out of his house by his father and ends up in the hands of a few goons who try to sexually abuse him. Initially, he tries to escape them by knocking on every door in the village for help, but when nobody comes out to protect him, he realizes that he will never find acceptance in society, even in the face of death. The film ends with a prey willingly walking towards its predators.
The film is directed by Sudha Kongara who did extensive research to dwell on the thin line between artificiality and reality. Kalidas Jayaram who played Sathaar, makes the character come alive. The film explores the real issues faced by the transgender community in India where they are more or less killed by their family members, without any physical weapon. The film ends with the question of who were sinners, was it Sathaar because of his gender identity, was it Saravanan, who exploited his friendship and Sathaars affection towards him, was it the society that could accept an interfaith marriage but not a different gender identity? Kongara has asked some tough questions which we are yet to answer truthfully.
Love Panna Utarunum- Let Them Love
This story is directed by Vignesh Sivan and deals with topics like honour killings, sexuality and misogyny. Anjali plays the twin characters of Aadhilakshmi and Jothilakshmi. She is the daughter of local politician Veerasimman, who conducts inter-caste marriages on stages but then kills the couples in secret. His minion Narikutty manipulates him to kill his daughter to prevent her from marrying their driver. The film is narrated throughout the realm of absurdity, where the situation is laced with dark humour but never mocks the depth of the issue. Penelope, played by Kalki Koechlin is in love with Jothilakshmi, who unaware of her sister’s murder goes to meet her father to confess her love affair. She finds out that her father is not as benevolent as he seemed earlier. The plot asks the question of what is an honour and what does it have to do with female bodies.
From mispronouncing lesbian as ESPN and B-cube’s English accents, the film is full of satirical comedy on the established social institutions of family, honour and pride. Padham Kumar’s character Veerasimman escapes the village to save himself from further moral and emotional degradation which showcases the harm it’s causing to those who practice it as well.
Vaanmagal- Sky Girl
Directed by Gautam Vasudev Menon, the story deals with rape, inherent misogyny and its aftermath in a society prevalent with victim shaming. The film features Menon himself in the role of the father, while Simran returns to the screen as the mother. Their elder daughter gets her period for the first time, and to celebrate the occasion the family organises a grand function where guests bring her many gifts. Her mother starts teaching her to behave like a woman now that she is one. It is their youngest child Ponnuthayi who has the most interest in becoming a woman since she sees her older sister being treated so nicely. But quite ironically, the very next day, one of her brother’s college senior mistakenly abducts Ponnuthayi and gang rapes her, which devastates the family. While her father proposes filing a police report, Ponnuthayi’s mother refuses for the fear of society. The gut-wrenching reality of how even an eight old rape survivor is also victim shamed is portrayed brilliantly through the mother’s fears.
For the mother’s inner misogyny to die, the rapist has to be castrated. The symbol of virility, of manhood, has to be cut for the mom to retain her sense of womanhood and to get out of her trauma and protect her child. Patriarchy has to be uprooted and cut off from its circulation for the generations of inherent misogyny to die. The trauma after the child sexual violence is represented in the movie brilliantly. But in the story ends in a positive note of Ponnuthayi’s mother understanding the fact that rape does not change her daughter’s identity, and will not even be remembered when she soars high in the sky as an astronaut, which is her dream.
Oor Iravu- That Night
Directed by Vetrimaaran the movie deals with caste-based violence and honour killing. The movie is particularly horrifying as it shows how even an unborn fetus can’t escape the violence of caste and the concept of honour. Prakash Raj plays the character of Janakiraman who has gone to bring his daughter Sumathi home after two years of her elopement with a Dalit boy. With subtle comments and passing remarks, Vetrimaaran shows the reality of inner rural villages of India. Hee uses the contrast in Sumathi and her husband’s beautiful and cosy home in the city to her father’s hostile and conservative home in the village to make Sumathi’s plight even more tragic. Towards the climax of the story, when Janakiraman assures his wife that nothing will change, and the subtle but sudden switch in his expressions as he watches his daughter vomit blood and struggle for dear life is one of the most chilling moments in this film.
Men like Janaki Raman are the real leeches of this society who have kept alive caste-based hatred. He does not sleep peacefully until he found his daughter and killed her mercilessly in the same home that she was born and grown up in. Because the title of murderer restores the family pride and honour erased by the eloped girl.
Conclusion.
The anthology as a whole showcase how honour, pride, identity and freedom is not liberating agents for minorities and women in India. The powerful tools of liberation in the hands of men and patriarchy become horrifying violent weapons to destroy their identity and freedom. From treating their daughters has properties to tying the family honour and pride to their bodies, it harms more than just an individual. Sathaar has to die for the society to accept the interfaith marriage cause in societies eyes Sathaar represents a castrated male who is the weakness of patriarchy. He has to die for the return of Saravanan, while Veerasimman has to escape the society to free himself from its manipulation and submitting to fulfil its violent cravings, Ponnuthayi’s rapist has to be castrated for the inherent misogyny to die which is symbolic of her feeling safe without a virile men’s violence.