Kannammaa Writes

Can you imagine a movie Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth acted together but neither had the title role? It was 1978 and Kamal had just released Sivappu Rojakal.  Rajini? He was doing villain roles - 16 Vayathinile and Aboorva Ragangal were fresh releases. The same year, a movie released where a woman is the protagonist and Rajini and Kamal played supporting roles. At that time, she had 35 movies to her credit. Directed by C. Rudhraiya, Tamil cinema witnessed a film that was far ahead of its time — the film didn’t rely on melodrama or spectacle. Instead, it offered something far more radical: an unfiltered look at female agency in a society determined to contain it. The film is Aval Appadithan. A Woman the System Couldn’t Contain At the center of the film is Manju (Sripriya) a character with stunning complexity. She is independent, sharp, unpredictable, and deeply wounded. Her life has been shaped by betrayal — from childhood trauma to a failed college romance and relationships that co...

  Kandukondain Kandukondain released in 2000. At that time, many didn't like Meenakshi (Aishwarya Rai) falling in love and marrying Major Bala (Mammooty) because: He's much older He's lame He doesn't match Meenakshi's "beauty" Till today, many of us focus on looks and couples' "physical match. But 26 years ago, Kandukondain Kandukondain taught us all about what really matters. Meenakshi's character transformation is impactful: From a dreamy girl wrapped in her fantasy of "Prince Charming" To a woman who is able to see how true love doesn't come in a poetic package but real care However, women usually love men despite men's looks. Men's priority when choosing a partner remains women's looks. I'd like to stress that if Bala was a woman (lame, much older) and Meenakshi, a man ("handsome", blue-eyed angel) - the pair is still good. It takes time to break all these confining rules that define couples. But it...

  Once Jyothika started to work in Bollywood, she said these about the South Indian industry: Male dominated Female roles always felt incomplete Heroines' role is always limited to dance and love scenes Agreed. Her statements are untrue. From Snegithiye to 36 Vayathinile, Jo had a solid run down South. But when I see South Indian cinema lovers calling Jo a traitor... I can't help calling South Indian cinema industry a traitor to common, dark skinned South Indian women. Let's be honest. Jo wasn't accepted in South cinema because her acting skills were off the charts. She was accepted because: She's very fair skinned. She has Anglo-Indian features. She fulfills the average South Indian males' fantasy. No doubt, Jo's acting skills improved vastly. But her entry into South Indian cinema wasn't based on acting skills. It was based on South Indian men's fair skin fetish. The dumbfounding logic: We import actresses from North India. We want North Indian fem...