Kannammaa Writes

  One of the reasons I liked Mani Ratnam's filmmaking is how he portrays women in his films, even in gangster films. In the former decade, however, Mani steadily succumbed to gangster movies where he normalizes gangsters having mistresses. I know that men will come and say that having affairs are a part of life for gangsters - Mani Ratnam is just showing "realism." But I grew up watching Nayagan and Thalapathy. In fact, I used Thalapathy for plenty of feministic referrals. Mani Ratnam proved previously that gangsters needn't use women as side chicks and have wives who tolerate their cheating to prove their "Thug Life" status. And quite frankly, the honoring of women in Mani's Nayagan and Thalapathy is what elevated the films to a whole new level. I do have a bone with the "item" songs in Nayagan and Thalapathy. Nonetheless, the movies hold women in a league where they needn't be a gangster's notoriety enhancers. They exist, as they are,...

I searched for dark skinned heroines in Tamil cinema. But there are none. Since then, I have a beef with Tamil cinema.  While heroes in Tamil cinema have song lyrics and dialogues glorifying their dark skin, the heroines' fair skin is celebrated. "Were you washed clean with white steam? Were you raised without sunlight falling on you? I’m totally confused and floating in the air. I’m totally lost." That's how Dhanush describes Tapsee Pannu in Yathe, Yathe song from Aadukalam. Though resistant at first, she anyway falls in love with the darker Dhanush. Fair skin is a benchmark for higher status in Indian society. If that's wrong and blatantly classist and casteist, then glorifying fair skin on Indian women as the epitome of beauty is also wrong and blatantly classist and casteist.   Tapsee wallows to herself about Dhanush's appearance after he confesses his feelings for her - "Did he look at himself in the mirror?" That's wrong but men say that to...

  7 Feminist Elements in Thalapathy ✋ First of all, this post isn’t denying the unsavory cinematic liberties and stereotypes that Mani Ratnam has spewed in his films. In fact, his Kaatru Veliyidai and Chekka Chivantha Vaanam are major red flags. But still, I want to talk about Thalapathy and the movie’s feminist elements that are way ahead of their time. 1. A man pacifies his wife’s dilemma about her rape and the son she bore out of wedlock. ❤ Indian men’s biggest fear remains:  "What if I get “goods that were used by someone else” as my wife?"  The "used goods" include rape victims. Krishnamoorthy (Jai Shankar) in Thalapathy broke this mold in 1991.  Not only does he marry Kalyani (Srividya), a rape victim... but he also calms her down every time she feels guilty about her rape and “illegitimate” child. 2. Giving the birth of a girl child a positive outlook - how daughters are more empathetic and caring.💃 In the Malaysian Indian community, daughters are coveted an...