There are times when along comes a director, who completely changes the narrative of cinema and gives you a deep insight into social themes like patriarchy and misogyny. Tamil director PS Vinothraj gave us his debut film, Koozhangal in 2021 on these lines, and though it didn’t have a theatrical release, it was one of the most celebrated films of the year. Now, he is back with Kottukkaali (The Adamant Girl), another highly feted film – starring Anna Ben and Soori – featuring the same social themes but presented in a novel and simple way. Also read | India’s enter to Oscars: Koozhangal’s journey shaped by the struggles of director
The premise
In Kottukkaali, which is set in a small village near Madurai, we meet Meena (Anna Ben) whose family believes she is ‘possessed’ and is all set to take her to a shaman to drive away the evil spirit. They pack themselves into an auto for the journey and the group led by Meena’s fiancé, her maternal uncle Pandi (Soori), head out on this trip. Meena’s angry family thinks she has been possessed by her lover, who they believe is from a lower caste; this road movie takes us through Meena’s journey.
PS Vinothraj is a master storyteller. who has supreme control over his craft and the characters he presents to us on screen. Meena is someone, who has just one dialogue in the film and her entire story is told through her expressions and emotions. For her, silence is power, and through this she retreats into a world that no one else can break into. She is trapped and the director depicts this using the rooster that thinks it roams free yet it is caught in a trap.
On the other hand, Pandi is a typical, petty yet aggressive, entitled male who epitomises patriarchy and the belief that women are objects that are owned. Caste plays a key role here as well as regressive beliefs that keep women in check. Unfortunately, the women also perpetuate these regressive beliefs because they don’t know any better or anything different. We see how the men think they are all-knowing and can’t get a simple thing done, like deal with the fly, and how the women are smarter by comparison.
The performances
Anna Ben and Soori have lived out their roles in this film and their performances need to be applauded. They are the heart and soul of this film. Soori, who started off as a comedian and proved his mettle with director Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai, has shown once again that he is a highly talented performer, who needs to be given the right role.
Kottukkaali is an experience and not just a film
Visually too, the film is a piece of art as Vinothraj takes us on a beautiful road trip with a family steeped in regressive, patriarchal beliefs from a small village in rural Tamil Nadu. The director’s writing is impeccable, while the shots and cinematography by B Sakthivel and editing by Ganesh Siva is top-notch.
Tamil star Sivakarthikeyan and producer Kalai Arasu must be congratulated for choosing to back this gem by Vinothraj, who has proved that he is an extremely talented director, whose best work is yet to come. Kottukkaali is an experience and not just a film.