Angammal

Freedom. It is quite an interesting beast because everyone wants it, but somehow they are tuned to keep it caged and away from others who might not have it. This dichotomy is very telling of the human mind and its vagaries. There is always someone who has more freedom than you, and someone who doesn’t have as much. It is supposed to be an absolute unit, but there are enough caveats in freedom to allow oppression of some kind to be perpetuated through avenues like patriarchy, misogyny, and simple conditioning. Director Vipin Radhakrishnan’s Angammal is one such film that shows how exercising freedom always comes at a cost in a society that values conformity.

In Vipin Radhakrishnan’s Angammal, Geetha Kailasam anchors the tension between the old and the new. Based on Perumal Murugan’s short story Kodithuni, the Tamil film is due for theatrical release this week after premiering at prestigious film festivals last year. It is the beginning of the 1990s, and this very intriguing period is bookmarked by Singaravelan, Roja, Sami Potta Mudichu and more. Pavalam (Saran Sakthi) aka Pavala Muthu and Jasmine (Mullaiyarasi) have their dates in the movie theatre amidst modest snacks and seats as they watch the film less and indulge more either in each other (a bout of make out set to Tamizha Tamizha chorus is hilarious) or in familial matters like the impending visit of Jasmine’s parents to Pavalam’s house to discuss their marriage. Pavalam is the rare and, probably, first graduate from his village — and a doctor at that — and his experiences of the outside world cloud his foundation as he comes to see his mother’s style as an embarrassment.

When the spunky Angammal (a brilliant Geetha Kailasam) rides her moped and delivers milk, there’s a spark in her eyes. The spark tells you that she’s leading life by her own rules. But when she’s forced to make certain lifestyle changes after her second son Pavalam (Saran) pushes her to, you see the vitality fading. It shows you how little things that made Angammal the fierce matriarch that she is are not acceptable to the generation that comes after hers. It shows how Angammal, the independent woman, is denied the choice. The choice that made her a flawed, foul-mouthed woman with her own ideals.