Minsara Kanavu - Loved It as a Kid, Not so Much as an Adult

 I grew up watching Minsara Kanavu and dancing to the Ooh La La La song with my cousins. I absolutely loved all the characters and I vibe to the movie's playlist and BGM until now.

Now, as a grown woman, I am able to see the underbelly within the movie's plot and I could understand Priya's feelings - as a kid, I used to think that she's overreacting when she learns that she was subjected to schemes by Deva in order to make her fall in love with Thomas.

That said, let's look at the problematic areas in this evergreen favorite of many - I am about to break this furniture and if you don't want your sweet memories with Minsara Kanavu being salli salliya odachified (broken into smithereens), you are warned - read and there is no going back!

Body shaming in such a refreshing song - "Your nose is oversized. It's okay ma, we'll get plastic surgery done!" "Do you see the mirror every morning?"

And we used to laugh at these lines, dismissing it as comedy, including yours truly. These days, sensitivities to beauty standards are growing. With diversity and inclusion, it's time we stop discriminating and favoring people based on their physical features and disability. We need encompassing human representations on celluloid - instead of making a person with eyesight play a visually impaired character, a real blind person playing the role is better, right?

Manipulating and tricking a woman into falling in love with a man is shown as something natural. Deva fears playing with God but isn't afraid of playing with a woman's feelings.

This concept isn't new to Tamil cinema. In Minsara Kanavu though, the concept is packaged with so much pep and contemporary elements, we can hardly identify the toxicity within. It takes maturity and experience of interactions in social circles to reject the concept that women can be fooled and it's ok because "All's well, ends well."

Pursuing a woman relentlessly and resorting to deceit to induce a change of heart despite knowing that her heart is set on something else.  

Again, a timeless concept in Tamil cinema, it entrenches the mindset that women are easily swayed, are unsure of what they want, and only a man can tell her what she needs. Even Priya's dad Amalraj fakes a heart attack to get her to take care of the family businesses. I am all for women entrepreneurship but if that's not what she wants, who is anyone to coerce her and get her to heed through emotional blackmail? The same goes for relationships and marriage. Furthering the adage, "A woman has a fixed number of paths," the film pivots on it for dear life. But then, this subject is injected so subtly into the film, one can easily overlook it - as I have for years.

Playing with a woman's life, dreams, and passions for his own track record maintenance of "reading women's mind and changing their hearts."

Guru publicly says that Deva is capable of steering any woman's intentions off course and Thomas clings on it, enlisting Deva's "acumen with women's hearts" to throw Priya's decision to become a nun off balance and get her to fall in love with him. Initially dithering, Deva accepts the endeavor as a challenge so as to maintain his infallible track record. IDK, don't Priya's decisions and desires matter? A man's unchallenged history is more important than what a woman seeks for herself?

Failing to ask for consent before kissing a woman - just because a woman is having fun, it doesn't mean one can take advantage of her "letting my hair down" moment.

I hate to admit it but Minsara Kanavu gives the vibes of making women bow down to men's wants, from Thomas' love, Deva's unblemished track record, and Amalraj's wanting Priya to marry. The only one who seems to care about what Priya wants is Mother Superior. She gives great advice, encouraging Priya to explore the world and return if she still feels that she belongs to the nunnery. Now, I am not saying men shouldn't want things. However when what you want involves another person's life, time, energy, and commitment and they are not ready to give any of it, you back off. No one owes anyone anything.

Bonus info: Revathy dubbed for Kajol in Minsara Kanavu 😍

No worries, Minsara Kanavu has redeemable qualities and I will see you with those NEXT. Thank you for reading!