Spoilers ahead…
In Rosshan Andrrews’s 36 Vayadhinile, based on his Malayalam hit How Old Are You*, Jyotika plays an alien. What else could the character, named Vasanthi, be? She’s 36. Her eyesight is no longer what it was. Her hair is turning silver. She has a teen-aged daughter. She works in a government job and lives in a joint family. And to unwind, she watches Tamil soaps. She lip-syncs perfectly, and the film revolves around her. Surely this not a Tamil-film heroine. I mean, there’s not even a duet. There’s no other explanation. She’s visiting from Venus. And she’s brought with her an otherworldly wardrobe. Say what you will about the rest of the film, there will be those who line up just to see Vasanthi’s impeccable taste in saris.
You could say the same for English Vinglish, where another actress emerged from retirement in a series of dazzling saris (those were designed by Sabyasachi; Vasanthi’s are more modest). Watching Sridevi there, or Jyotika here, you are reminded that, sometimes, a movie need be about nothing more than watching beautiful people swan around in 70-mm. But there’s more. Like English Vinglish, 36 Vayadhinile is a story of empowerment. It’s about a perennially slighted (some might say subjugated) housewife discovering that her inner closet has a “You Go Girl!” T-shirt after all. In the film’s most touching moment, a friend looks at this subdued version of Vasanthi and asks her what happened to the firebrand she was in college. Vasanthi simply says, “Theriyale… thedanum.” 36 Vayadhinile is about this search.
The mere existence of this film, in this hero-driven industry of ours, is reason to celebrate. (It’s produced by Suriya, and it feels like he’s atoning for the terrible movies he’s been in of late.) But 36 Vayadhinile is not cinema. It’s, at best, a glorified television soap, broadly written and staged and performed, and blaring its messages through a megaphone. Take Susan (Abirami). She turns up in the second half, as Vasanthi’s savior. (The background throbs with heavenly music. The usually subtle Santhosh Narayanan chips in with a megaphone of his own.) She’s meeting Vasanthi for the first time after college, some fourteen years later. You’d think they’ll do some catching up, have some fun, or at least an ice-cream. But no. The very next scene, she begins to lecture Vasanthi. And in the very next scene, Vasanthi changes, as if a switch were activated, as if one bit of well-meaning advice could modify years of ingrained behavior.
Another problem is the portrayal of the male characters. When we first see Vasanthi, she’s being interviewed for a job, and a man asks her how old she is. I wondered if the film was going to make Vasanthi some sort of easy victim by reducing all men to villains. It doesn’t. Her father-in-law (Delhi Ganesh) is a wonderful man, as is the cop (Nasser, with a twinkle in his eye) who investigates her background for reasons we aren’t told about immediately. Later, when Vasanthi embarks on a new career of sorts, we meet kind men who encourage her. So it’s easy to overlook the melodramatic scene where an old woman who’s unwell tells Vasanthi that she has four sons and none of them has bothered to look in on her. Some amount of male-bashing is par for the course in such a movie.
But it’s impossible to overlook what a positively dreadful man Vasanthi’s husband Tamilselvan (Rahman) is. He belongs to a different generation, one that saw the Pandian character in Pudhumai Penn, and all the mean-spirited losers in Kalyana Agadhigal, and the various men who inflicted their wives with cigarette burns. In English Vinglish, the husband was merely insensitive. The slyly passive-aggressive Tamilselvan expects his wife to take the blame for an accident he’s caused. He vents all his frustrations on her and makes her feel miserable. When the time comes for him to move to Ireland, he doesn’t discuss it with her. He informs her at a restaurant. And once abroad, he expects her to join him because he cannot afford to hire someone to cook and clean. What a prize catch. There’s not one caring moment between husband and wife, and the film’s biggest failure is making Vasanthi accept his (unstated) apology as if he merely forgot their anniversary. This, again, belongs to another generation, one that stuck with husbands whether they were stones or blades of grass, if you know the saying.
But as I said, it’s not easy to dismiss 36 Vayadhinile. It’s not right to evaluate films on just what they want to do. It’s also important how they do it. And I wish Vasanthi’s emergence as her own woman had been done in a smaller way, instead of making her some sort of crusader. (That megaphone again.) But in K Balachander’s time, films about working women were routine. Not so today – and just for being such a movie, you have to give it points. The opening-credits sequence is joyous. We hear the sprightly Vaadi raasaathi over visuals of women, doctors and lawyers, auto drivers and flower sellers, young and old. Jyotika, too, is one of them, a woman juggling work and home, and even putting her career on hold because of kids, something a man would never have to do. Deservedly, she gets top billing.
- The name of the Malayalam film was added later.
An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2015 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Rajesh
May 15, 2015
And it is incredible that you have not even mentioned that 36 V is a remake of another movie, in which too, a retired actress came back to silver screen.
And I thought, how the original showed the husband, was quite allright, as there are many such real life male pigs.
I didnt like the second half of the original at all, as it was even worse than a TV serial, nor did I like the performance of Manju. I am hoping Mr. Andrews might have made some improvements to the original. Dont have the courage to go and see this.
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Anon
May 15, 2015
“There’s no other explanation. She’s visiting from Venus”
Illaya pinna?
Stick-thin, milk-white females strutting around in south TN paddy fields dressed in tight tops and mini skirts with a generous dose of midriff to boot – now adhu dhaan true-blue tamil ponnu.
The greying, sari-clad, 40-year old aunty is usually the 45-year old hero’s mother. If she’s not, then she is most certainly alien!
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uniquebluerose
May 15, 2015
Wow…. Loved the review and all the points you mentioned…. Even I wondered the same thing when watching the Malayalam version Brangan ji…. why the sudden switch…. but then its actually not total switch after meeting her friend… in How old are you… the Malayalam version… her husband and kid leave her… at least a scene or two were dedicated to all that!!!
But i Guess for Jyothika can watch it once again!!!
I don’t understand Why should a women centered film have her their partners as total jerks….. even her kid…
is it just a role reversal just like in hero eccentric movies women are just props….
One more thing i can’t understand is the kid both here and in English Vinglish, why do they parade around totally disrespecting their mothers and being insensitive to them… it is definitely not case of teen rebellion they but actually team with their father to laugh at or insult and hurt their mother… Its quite annoying!!!
EV at least had Sreedevi for once grumbling about it to the French guy…. is there anything to that effect here???
Also I disagree when you say the husband in English Vinglish was insensitive… For me both (here and EV) seemed self absorbed jerks
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Jyothsna
May 15, 2015
Vasanthi seems to be too happy and contented with her life and why is there a fuss suddenly that she needs to discover herself just becoz she raised flag in college which was reminded suddenly by some friend from the yore. Poor soul, did not even mind her husband forgetting her b’day or when he asks her to go to commissioner’s office alone…. . Even when he leaves for Ireland, she seems quite happy carrying on some garden work, marathon race and endosulphan lecture… why are we even talking abt empowerment/liberation/identity here… 😀
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brangan
May 15, 2015
Rajesh: Sorry, my bad. Did not know it was Manju Warrier’s return as well.
The point isn’t that there aren’t “many such real life male pigs.” The point is giving this air of empowerment and then saying accept this pig just because you’ve proved your point. I found that galling. I’d have been okay with this in a 60s movie.
uniquebluerose: Even if kid and husband have left her, I’d think it takes a bit of time to process a new way of thinking. Here it happens instantly.
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Rajesh
May 15, 2015
Sir – Because that is how it always turns out for our women. Especially, if they are still surrounded by parents/in laws etc. Women simply cannot or are not permitted to decide – enough, I will separate from this man. The parents/in laws, the whole family, even the community organisations (the original being a Malayalam story – imagine if this was approaching a divorce, the organistations like NSS/ SNDP or the church/mosque committee would come around for discussions, all with a single aim – how to save the marriage) would get involved. And in all these discussions, the women’s point is never considered, rather she would be blamed for everything. So, in this Tv story, the lady looks at the man who seem to have some change of mind, and accept to continue with her fate.
A woman strongly walking out of a marriage will still hurt the great Indian middle class’s moral values. 60’s or 00’s the middle class are living in their own moral Well in which divorce is stil written as a big sin.
The irony is that the original story was made with a woman who was bold enough to walk out of her marriage. I wish Roshan Andrews had the courage to do that with his character as well. But then, he would have been promoting Manju’s decision to walk out (which is not looked at positively by families) and that might have back fired..
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venkat ramanan
May 15, 2015
@BR. Off topic! Film NEENA released… buzz is that its among Lal Jose’s best, i havent seen it yet.. just dropping in that it would be good to hear your thoughts on it. As a curiosity poker its a Malayalam film that has 3 English songs in the album out of the 4, which I felt quite surprising for a middle of the road dir like him.
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brangan
May 15, 2015
Rajesh: I didn’t mean she should walk out on him. Just that he should have squirmed a bit more. The ending here makes it all seem so okay, the crap he dished out obliterated by a simple hand squeeze. In another film, this wouldn’t rankle much. But in a film about empowerment…?
venkat ramanan:Thanks. Will look out for it. I don’t think it’s released here yet.
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uniquebluerose
May 15, 2015
I agree with Rajesh here….Bollywood or Kollywood …The save marriage theme is pretty evident!!!
I have always wondered how the story would have been in Queen had Vijay gone on Business trip to London after marriage and then jilted Rani ….and she proceeds to her honeymoon as married woman alone….what would have been the ending….
Definitely “Save the marriage” … forgive the jerk or insensitive or whatever he may be…just after a sorry….
Breaking of marriage in movie world seems to greatest sin….even breaking up the institution of marriage is never easily accepted…One reason Shudd Desi Romance was not appreciated much by many!!!! OKK had to end in a proposal and marriage
BRji till date even Rom-coms with love triangle (or second hero/heroine) have the groom/bride swapped before marriage…because nothing can be done after the marriage you see…there’s nothing called divorce etc…in their world
only Love Aaj Kal and Aaksh Vani attempted a union of the love birds after a wrong marriage and divorce….
As for the quick change…may i need to watch the movie in Tamil to see what happens…may its different from the Malayalam version….
But yes when you listen to some dialogues in you native langue or the one you are more comfortable with the impact really hits you…In Malayalam because of this the husband seemed ok to me….
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brangan
May 15, 2015
uniquebluerose: I can think of Arth, but yes, it wasn’t exactly a mainstream movie. The best thing about that film is that she doesn’t quite accept Raj Kiran’s proposal either. As a kid I thought she was being stupid. Now I understand her better 🙂
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brangan
May 15, 2015
Can anyone jog my memory on that cigarette burns film? It had Radha… one of those films where she gets married to this guy and goes to one of those remote estates…
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Manivannan
May 16, 2015
Raghuvaran in puriyatha puthir on rekha?
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Raj
May 16, 2015
One of the reasons I go to the Hindu online is to read your movie reviews ! great going… Tongue in cheek, as a counter point, were you reminded of ‘Leaves of Grass’ when you wrote that ‘stones or blades of grass’ comment ? Indeed, even the Tamil saying related to that phrase is from a different era.
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sv87@gmail.com
May 16, 2015
@ BR – I was nodding along on that point about Arth. In my case it was the tamil version. When I watched it as a teen, I thought she was stupid to not accept Arvind swamy’s proposal. I felt she should have accepted his proposal. When I saw this later when I was much older…i felt it was the right decision .!
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Rahini David
May 16, 2015
BR: Why did you now think that the ending of Arth makes better sense? It is the original of marubadiyum, isn’t it?
I felt weirdly let down by Revathy not accepting Aravind swamy’s proposal in that movie.
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Gopika
May 16, 2015
36 Vayadhinilae is a remake of a Malayalam movie ‘How old are you?’ as are a lot of other movies ( both Tamil and Hindi) I have always felt that it is a lapse on your part to not even comment about the existence of the original, even if language is a barrier for you to compare the two. I hope in future, you can do remedy the same.
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aparna
May 16, 2015
In real life, Manju Warrier (one of Kerala’s most talented actresses) wanted to re join work after marriage but her husband did not want her to. When they divorced, their daughter said in court that she would prefer to stay with her father (rather than her mother). And there was tremendous negative trolling by Malayalis criticizing her for abandoning her family for her career and fame. While watching “How old are you” one got the impression that Manju Warrier was giving it all back to her criticizers. However there was a preachy tone in some of it.
@uniquebluerose” I don’t understand Why should a women centered film have her their partners as total jerks….. even her kid…”
Perhaps because when partners are perfect and supportive, there is no womens lib story to tell at all 😀
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Ramachandran Venkataraman
May 16, 2015
” he’s atoning for the terrible movies he’s been in of late.”
Suriya”s roles all the while are only masochistic, male dominated roles, prisoner of his fans. When will these guys teach their fans that there are different roles a hero can do instead of dominated by the fans’ views.
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Bharath
May 16, 2015
Was bit curios why you didn’t want to mention “How old are you” in your review on Hindu paper.
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neena
May 16, 2015
BR: unfortunately, the stone or blade of grass thing still seems to hold good for many women in Indian marriages, if not for actual sense of loyalty then at least for the kind of social uproar that would follow when any other path is taken. Heck, forget uproar, mere ‘well meaning’ advice can be weary and pressurising. Hence, the portrayal of the husband and Vasanthi sticking by him doesn’t seem so unrealistic. But, yeah, it would have been more interesting to see a woman rise against a not-so-obviously terrible husband. A la Santhosh Subramaniam where after years of youngsters rebelling against tyrannical fathers there was the quandry of an overbearingly loving father.
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neena
May 16, 2015
Also, Surya could atone by casting Jyothika instead of another alabaster automaton in one of his movies – break the stereotype, not be the typical Tamil cinema husband and not let his wife be relegated to the typical Tamil cinema 36-year old wife roles. Not likely, is it? How then can we argue for a not so terrible screen husband?
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uniquebluerose
May 16, 2015
@Brangan I watched Marupadiyum and yes felt let down by Revathy rejecting Aravind Swamy….sometimes even till date. Avargal comes to my mind where I felt Anu (Sujatha) was right in rejecting everyone including Kamal Hasan…because she had had enough of men…but Revathy i felt she was not just to Aravind Swamy!!!
@aparna….yes i agree with what you say…but Women lib isn’t always about coming out of the insults a self abourbed husband gives you!!!! Its sometime coming out the borders you built for yourself…
Scenario 1 – A wife works in a better job (secure well paying etc) and there are kids and other related issues because of which someone has to stay at home. Hubby decides to stay…supportive to wife till end and after his death and post retirement …she does what she always wanted …learn psychology and be a counselor and part of self help group guiding people and encouraging suicide /suicide attempt victims
Scenario 2 – A well educated wife decided with her husband to be home maker because they not in their native land say they are in America or some other place for example…for the kids sake and because hubby is protective of his wife. After his retirement hubby falls sick and is bedridden but the kids excels and they financially well off…now nearing 60 she with her kids encouragement starts doing business in field she loves that is cooking…becomes the chief cook n a restaurant…
Scenario 3 – the hubby is jerk but wife accepts it as way of life but her kids are one whom she survives who are really good and successful (let both be sons!!!) but they grow up get married and leave and she is all along with grumbling jerk and she decides to start a crèche and finds peace in taking care of kids as she missed her grandchildren and was never given an opportunity to spend time with them.
Women lib and feminism doesn’t always have to be by fighting opposite the jerks but normal societal norms and out insecurities…which our directors rarely show….
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MANK
May 16, 2015
Rajesh, you are right about manju’s performance in the original. It was a shockingly bad performance, from one of the all time great Actress of Malayalam cinema
Have you or for that matter anybody else seen her in ennum eppozhum and if so your comments on her performance
I have totally given up on satyan anthikadu and so I didn’t bother watching it
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MANK
May 16, 2015
Brangan, is’nt shocking that this film was made by RA who made Mumbai police?. His career path is a strange one. he makes alternatively some good films and some terrible films. his first couple of films like udayanu tharam -velithirai in tamil-were good films,then he goes and make a terrible film like Casanova. Then he sort of redeem himself with MP. then he go and do this, twice. strange!
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aparna
May 16, 2015
Yes, youre right but those scenarios probably do not have enough emotional drama for a commercial movie.
Despite its flaws, I think the story struck a chord with a lot of women in a similar situation. I happened to watch it with such a person.
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MANK
May 17, 2015
Aparna,Uniquebluerose, watch satyajit Ray’s mahanagar- thats if you havent already- there much of these issues are tackled very realistically and subtly.The wife starts out to become a co bread winner for the family with the full support of her husband, but then slowly his insecurities start to take over him, then he loses his job and she becomes the sole earning member of her family which leads to more complications in their family and marriage . Its just so beautifully done without making any judgements about the husband or the wife, without being preachy or stereotyping the husband or wife and, thank god without much melodrama.. It is so beautifully acted by Anil chaterjee and Madhabi mukherjee. Ray was truly a master filmmaker.I wish today’s filmmakers would imbibe some lessons from this master when they set out make their so called women empowerment or women liberation films.
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neena
May 17, 2015
MANK: yes, Mahanagar is a great movie about a woman exploring ‘work life’ and earning money for the first time. Her father sheds tears that she has to suffer so – that’s the social and economic environment she is in. But, what would a woman who has been dealt a much worse card in her marital life do? People do stay in bad marriages with abusive husbands. So, when there is a film made about one such woman, why do we squirm about the stereotypical portrayal of the husband when we are accepting of other realistic stereotypes like her watching Tamil serials to unwind?
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aparna
May 17, 2015
@MANK Thank you, I will.
@ Rahini In Arth, I think Shabana Azmi’s character liked her independance and worried that she would lose it, if she married Raj Kiran’s character. Also, I wonder if Mahesh Bhatt thought that having an ending like that would add to the strength of the movie (the way that perhaps ‘Gone with the wind’ would have been less of a classic if the ending of the love story had been conventional)
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uniquebluerose
May 17, 2015
@MANK Mahanagar did you say…will surely try ad watch it…
@Aparna you are right….the scenarios i mentioned may not have typical melodrama but they could have drama in sense if they want ….fighting their own battles etc are also drama. A woman who has been home maker for nearly thirty years ventures out of home she will have her own battles to win. similarly for the whose kids leave her and go and she decides to start creche!! It all depends on how we make normal story with right elements
and no I find not problem with this story…other than the fact that she forgave her husband easily….what she did really was definitely a big deal (though the transformation did seem quick a BR has mentioned) just like in case of English Vinglish also.
But my thoughts go to what neena and Rajesh have mentioned the sacrosanct image of marriage….as i said i wonder what Rani of Queen would have done had Vijay jilted her after marriage and them come begging would she have left him???? would audience accept it and do the directors have guts to show it???
So marriage should at no cost be broken isn’t it…apart form Arth or 1 or 2 such movies every movie shows marriage as the ultimate goal of life….esp for women…any change you want to do…jilt the groom or bride at the altar but not after it….after that however bad they are or whatever wrong happens a sorry or sari is enough to make it all right!!!!
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reviewpuram
May 17, 2015
Jyothika is in the comeback phase of her career with this film, just like how Manju Warrier was in HOAY. Both of them have come up with inspiring performances. But I can’t stop but think about who-pipped-whom. I would say Manju Warrier, because she had her own voice backing her confident silhouette. She felt more relatable, and “human”. Jyothika on the other hand, borderlines between the “cute” and “inspiring”. When such films are all about “Women having a voice of their own”, I can’t help it but take it in the literal. Jyothika knows Tamil. She confidently appears for the live press, participates in interviews and talk shows. But why isn’t she revealing her own natural voice for a Tamil film? On top of it, this is a comeback film and not some random debut film where she needs to be conscious about the audience accepting her voice! She carries a legacy(?). She has a huge fan-following(!). She has nothing to lose. This one aspect disappointed me the most in an otherwise charming remake.
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Ram Murali
May 18, 2015
#Marupadiyum & #Arth – I have seen both, though I remember the former much better. There were some beautifully written lines in the climax such as, “Naan kalyanathuku munaala Thulasi Sakthivel. Kalyanathuku apram Thulasi Muralikrishna. Ipo verum Thulasi. No Sakthivel, No Muralikrishna, No XYZ. Just Thulasi. Enaku Idhu Pudichiruku…” I think that summed up her feelings quite wonderfully…
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Srinivas R
May 18, 2015
Some interesting perspectives about women’s lib movies. I think , a movie as a drama would work if we empathize with the characters, women’s lib or not. An agenda like women’s lib or any agenda for that matter, restricts the kind of characters that can populate the movie. How about a scenario where both husband and wife have sacrificed a lot for their family/children, may the man less so than the woman. How about a movie that deals with attempt of both the husband and wife to rediscover themselves with each other’s support , with the inevitable conflicts and drama? Aren’t we all very idealistic and full of dreams in ours 20s and by mid thirty’s we are running the treadmill with no end in sight. I thought a title like 36 Vayadhinile lends itself for such exploration. I know all this is my wishful thinking , but there is an interesting movie hiiden in this idea
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AARTHI A
May 18, 2015
“He vents all his frustrations on her and makes her feel miserable. When the time comes for him to move to Ireland, he doesn’t discuss it with her. He informs her at a restaurant. And once abroad, he expects her to join him because he cannot afford to hire someone to cook and clean. What a prize catch. There’s not one caring moment between husband and wife, and the film’s biggest failure is making Vasanthi accept his (unstated) apology as if he merely forgot their anniversary. This, again, belongs to another generation, one that stuck with husbands whether they were stones or blades of grass, if you know the saying.”
I used follow your review in ‘The Hindu’. I have always respected your views on cinema as you always have a softer way to tell about even the negative things of a movie.
The above words I dont agree… I you have assumed that what is shown belongs to another generation. In this generation too :
1 There are husbands who just inform their decisions to their wives however learned the wives are.
2 still there are husbands who always blame their wives for each every failure and make their wives feel miserable for their own mistakes.
3.Even today there are wives who accept their husband’s’ apology as making a scene for forgetting anniversary dates or birthday dates as shown in other romantic movies will make her life miserable…..
4 Still there are husbands who behave as if they are stone……with their wives but expect wives to behave well when they need them or they are in need.
In comparison with past generation husbands and present day husband, there may be a marginal differences…. but whatever shown in the movie is still relevant today……
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brangan
May 18, 2015
Okay, I’m not saying that such a husband cannot exist in this age. Of course, he can.
I’m saying that the way she forgives everything simply because he squeezed her hand understandingly was terrible. I mean, at least give me a scene between husband and wife where the basic issues are addressed.
I’m not even saying he has to fall at her feet and beg for forgiveness. I’m just saying give me a moment where he realises his wife has changed.
In another kind of film, I wouldn’t even be making this point.
But in this kind of “empowerment” film, I hate it that you lave the audience with the “message” that she needs to essentially reinvent herself to change, but all he needs to do to show he’s changed is just squeeze her hand.
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Maru
May 18, 2015
brangan, thanks to your reviews I was able to allocate my $10 and more importantly my time this weekend to the women’s empowerment flick over Kashyap’s gangster saga. 😀 I was delighted to discover from the box office attendant that the film sold out on Saturday and an additional screening was added at night. Piku too has been running to packed houses in our theater (in the second weekend) and had 4 screenings each day over this weekend. Finally, a spate of Indian films headlined by women are seeing commercial success and I couldn’t be more pleased.
If only the film had handled the women’s empowerment issue with as much taste as the gorgeous saris Jyothika wears rueful sigh Still as a woman it’s hard for me to quarrel with a film that urges women of all ages to chase their dream even if the manner in which it does so is so loud and ham-handed that it needs to make insensitive villains of the husband and daughter.
Just as I liked Jyothika’s non designer saris better than Sridevi’s Sabyasachi creations in English Vinglish, I liked this film’s penitent husband squeezing his wife hand and his consideration at long last in allowing his wife to precede him into the car more than I did the husband’s thankful speech to Sridevi’s character for opting to stay with him. Unlike you brangan, I didn’t need a speech acknowledging that he’s been a selfish jerk. I’m not sure one scene especially a loud one in the tone of this film would’ve helped. Perhaps they had conversations we didn’t see, perhaps not. But the point is even if his transformation is just skin deep, it was no longer the most central thing to Vasanthi’s identity. It was her transformation that was focal and I guess if anything could change his attitude it would be that. In fact she refused his “gracious invitation” to be unpaid maid and cook in Ireland and it was only when he played the daughter card did she cave. The point was to prove that there wasn’t an expiry date on a woman’s dream and the men they could come along for the ride…. or not! At least that was the way I saw it.
I did like also the character of the supportive friend here more than the dishy Frenchman (though he was easy on the eye 😉 ) in English Vinglish. His was a gentle, quiet presence unlike the overbearing female CMO friend who clobbered us over the head with her exhortation. I wish we’d had more of that and the supportive father-in-law in terms of style but I’m glad that Jyothika looking and playing her age (and lovely with it) gets to be in virtually every frame and deliver an entertaining film.
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Pranesh
May 18, 2015
Did you get a chance to watch the new movie called Purampokku? I thought it was very odd; nice subject matter, but made very very poorly. I had to leave 20 mins into the second half because my friends refused to watch it anymore and I didn’t have a ride home, but was wondering how you’d write about it.
Arya had a low-key entrance, Vijay Sethupathy had an intro-scene plus sarakku+advice song. Very interesting.
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brangan
May 18, 2015
Pranesh: I didn’t mind it actually. The second half was quite decent. With better performers, it could have been something. Will write about it soon.
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Pranesh
May 18, 2015
@brangan: I didn’t mind it either because I could see the story going somewhere, plus I remembered your philosophy of “have they even tried?”. Should stick to going alone in my car from now on …
Looking forward to your review/article.
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Shankar
May 21, 2015
Regarding cigarette burns, one of the earliest films that I can recall, that really hit me hard, was “47 Natkal”. It was a fascinating film then.
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Shankar
May 21, 2015
So, I wanted to start with the original and watched “How old are you” last night…gotta say, i was a bit underwhelmed. The whole family dynamics was very artificial to me….just didn’t seem right. Manju Warrier is great in firebrand roles and here, though some glimpses of that peek through in scenes, it was a subdued performance. Which by itself is not bad, but this came across as very unreal, to me. It almost felt that she was not loose in her portrayal…seemed too uptight.
I agree with many of the points made in the review and by others….it’s good that these films exist, from a women’s lib perspective….but I was perhaps expecting way too much. Reading the above review, it does seem that 36 is a frame by frame remake by Roshan Andrews. And if Jyothika’s earlier attempt at a remake (Chandramukhi) is anything to go by, I can only wonder what she did here!! 🙂
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nomad
May 31, 2015
All said and done its a movie about a 36 yr old woman played by a 36 yr old actress who is apparently too old to act with heroes in theirs forties and fifties. I remember a brilliant one line from the flight hijack movie payanam . The fan tells the hero “tamanna than ungalukku correct jodi. Adhuvum innum 3 varsham than . Apparam avangalum ungalukku amma va than nadikkanum”
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karrvakarela
July 29, 2015
I finally managed to watch a copy with not-terrible subtitles. Definitely agree that the filmmaker paints things with a broad brush but it’s still very nicely managed. Good to see people playing their age; if only more movies engaged that dynamic.
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