(by S. Madhumithaa)
Like the rest of the world, I watched Soorarai Potru (First Day- Middle of my Home Show). My favourite moment in the entire movie has kept me a little surprised the last two days. If a feeling stays with me for a while, I just write about it.
There is this scene where Nedumaaran (The version of Suriya that we have been missing for so long!) and Bommi (stunningly authentic Aparna Balamurali) are riding together in a bike on their way to Bommi’s bakery. Midway, he receives a call about an emergency and in his hurry to leave, he almost rides off on his bike when he suddenly realizes that he forgot all about her.
He just turns to meet her eyes. Let’s just pause the narration for a bit here.
How my mind played out the rest of the scene:
He turns to find her waiting not having moved an inch from where he left her before he received the call. She is upset with angry tears brimming from her eyes because he completely forgot all about her company in a matter of just a few minutes. How could any emergency be so great that he could forget her and the “noble” task of driving her back to wherever they were headed?
As I concluded the scene on my head, what actually followed in the movie left me absolutely stunned for the next few minutes. Going back to the narration now from where we left …
He just turns to meet her eyes. She immediately shouts out to him that she will take an auto by herself and signals him to carry on. And he leaves. End of Scene
Having spent all my life watching my mom ride her own bike and spending half of my life now riding one, I am exposed to numerous women in my life who are independent when it comes to travelling in their daily lives. When that is so, this scene should never have caught my attention in the first place. What was shown was just something that pretty much happens every day in my life and society.
But then, I realized that my overwhelming appreciation for the scene was the result of the women that get portrayed as “heroines” in the movies that I am exposed to. After all, the women that we get to see on screen are:
- These insecure beings whose primary function is to be the centre of attraction to a man’s universe;
- If the man turns his attention to even the most pressing/urgent of issues, she would never tolerate such irrational behavior on his part and she is absolutely incapable of understanding that the man still has some portions of life that may not always involve her as the centre of his universe;
- Best of all, she is an immobile being who simply cannot be trusted with riding a bike / driving a car or sometimes, even with booking an auto/cab for herself. It is absolutely necessary that has to be chauffeur driven by her father/brother/lover/husband (depending on the phase of life she is in) or an actual chauffeur (depending on the economic status of her father/brother/lover/husband) to wherever she needs to go.
The result of having only watched women with some / all of the above qualifications as “heroines”, I was clapping vigorously for this scene when all that the woman here did was to assure her husband that she could physically get to her bakery on her own. Talk about high standards!
Please bear with me when I say the realization that followed this was even more disturbing. Soorarai Potru is a story depicting Deccan Founder Mr.GR Gopinath’s life. And the character Bommi in the movie is the representation of his wife Mrs. Bhargavi. The authenticity that I felt for the character on screen is simply because she was playing a real woman.
This realization has now left me wondering what it is that happens when the heroines are fictionally written. Why are they portrayed so far away from reality that the characters don’t even have a hint of the real women that we find in our lives every other day?
If you tell me I can see real women on screen only if true life stories / biographies are made into movies, then I am going to have my fingers crossed for more and more films from only this genre. I would happily bid my goodbye to fiction until people develop their creativity to fictionalize women with some basic sense and at least, a tender touch of reality.
Baradwaj Rangan 
brangan
November 15, 2020
What a lovely piece, Madhumithaa. And great to have a new voice on the blog.
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Satya
November 15, 2020
That was actually good. But when something similar happens at the airport where Bommi is having labour pains, it looks so cheesy. I get it, but the blame is on the staging.
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silentspectatorwrites
November 15, 2020
Beautifully written. We lack a strong portrayal of women characters on-screen, which doesn’t revolve around the “Hero”. And I think it is because the writers and directors of movies are mostly men and men only. This movie being written and directed by a woman, we find the heroine character given some actual role, rather than just being a sexy lamp.
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madler94
November 15, 2020
Reblogged this on Madler’s Wander tales.
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vijay
November 15, 2020
you need to watch/re-watch movies like NH10 or Mardaani once in a while to strike a balance I guess.
(Actually I was surprised that NH10 did not get remade in Tamil with say, Nayanthara or somebody with star wattage like that. I vaguely recall reading about a remake)
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Kay
November 15, 2020
Bommi is a breath of fresh air among the run of the mill heroines we see in Tamil movies. Leading ladies in the usual movies are always perfectly made up with not a hair out of its place, even when they are doctors working in ERs (looking at you, Samantha in Theri) or doctors who attend conferences in Paris and then forget they are doctors (Kajal in Mersal) or doctors who turn into proper saree clad village belles, who then forget they are doctors and head a pharma company (Nayanthara in Viswasam). And these are the women who have a career. I’m not even commenting on the Hansikas and Tamannas.
So imagine my delight when I see a heroine who wants to establish her business before getting married and knows her business is none lesser than an airlines, who understands when the hero has some pressing work and has to leave her stranded, and who supports the husband financially. These are everyday women we see, whom we are friends with and who are very very far from the vapid dimwits and damsels in distress normally seen in most Tamil movies.
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Yajiv
November 15, 2020
@vijay:
NH10 was supposed to be remade by Trisha a couple of years back but the shoot stalled and never resumed
It was really nice to see a three-dimensional heroine in a ‘mass’ Tamil movie. Someone with free will, a mind of her own and agency. My sincere hope is that we never go back to the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl trope of Loosu Ponnu ever again.
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Voldemort
November 16, 2020
Sorry but what does “Soorigal” mean?
(Genuinely asking, no offense intended)
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vijay
November 16, 2020
Voldemart, Soori (and its plural Soorigal) references the leading ladies, while this film is all about Soorans or the male achievers.
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Anu Warrier
November 16, 2020
Madhumitaa, bravo! I’m sure many women (and some men) will share your appreciation for the scene. The issue you raise – of why such a ‘normal’ scene caught your attention – is because women, whether they are heroines or character artistes are given short shrift in cinema. The view is very often (mostly?) through the male gaze and the view we are given of women are what they think many (most?) men want their women to be.
Thank you for a lovely read.
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Varsha Ganesh
November 17, 2020
This was the exact scene that caught my attention too! I immediately commented to those watching with me saying “seee..the perks of having an independent heroine”. It was lovely to read your article and wonder how many resonated with such a simple scene and what it says about our male directors!
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madler94
November 17, 2020
Thank you all for your valuable comments. I am glad that so many of you share the same feelings. It makes me more hopeful about a positive change in cinema soon.
@Voldemort: Thanks to Vijay who has already clarified. To be a little more specific, Soorar is the reference to brave/fearless men. So, Soorigal is the usage for brave/fearless women.
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Karthik
November 17, 2020
Thanks, Madhumitaa, for writing this. I sat up in that throwaway scene too without fully articulating why until I read your piece. Indeed the Soorigal are as much the stars of this movie as the Soorars being portrufied. From Bhargavi Gopinath who inspired a memorable heroine character who coolly wears her business credentials, to Aparna Balamurali who breathed life into that character with spunk and a command over accent that easily outshone her costar, and Sudha Kongara who showed that a mass Tamil movie needn’t have just a token satellite heroine, needn’t quite sacrifice its content or cinematic ambitions, and…needn’t be made by a man.
Why are they portrayed so far away from reality that the characters don’t even have a hint of the real women that we find in our lives every other day?
Short Answer: What Anu said.
Long Answer: cough (shameless self-reference) cough
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Madan
November 17, 2020
Great write up. I would go so far as to say only the soori in this film makes it interesting.
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Rad
November 17, 2020
Madhumitaa, thanks for the lovely read!! Sundari’s character arc is one of the best and well developed / etched women character I have seen in Kollywood lately. We have seen strong women leads and characters but I can’t recollect one with this consistency all through the movie (I am sure there are but I am so bowled over by Sundari’s characterization I can’t think of one now). Women with her agency and free will every moment, not giving up and holding her forte. Opening “Aan parkkum padalam” scene turns the “pen parkkum padalam” on its head. I loved that whole stretch. I guess Sudha Kongara had so much fun turning stereotypes upside down – auspicious time (star, moon alignment and nalla neram), here it happens over death procession. While the groom gives his consent, she gives a come back will let know her decision next day!! Sundari’s character is a breath of fresh air.
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Lalithambal Natarajan
November 23, 2020
The lady has been depicted very well. in fact she gets more space in the movie than the book . Please read his book to get a proper perspective of his role. Due to the time limit of cinema and dramatization I find only the bureaucratic mess in India and the Udupi hotel comparison has been brought out well. There is more to Captain Gopinath. Those who already read it will understand what I say
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Sam
December 17, 2020
It really speaks to male writers’ weaknesses when we only see good female writing from females and are shocked when a male writer gets a female character right. It’s not like Sudha had a hard time writing the male part! Seriously male writers, think harder.
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krishikari
January 15, 2021
Hey, glad you wrote this, Madhumitta. Don’t know why I only saw this article just now. I also noticed this scene in the movie and was pleasantly surprised for the same reasons.
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