A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .

THE 2018 TABLEAU PART 3

Here I continue with the streak of Indian cinematic gems that decorated 2018 and the consensus is that they were as versatile as the nation they represent, weaving together a mosaic of cultural heritage and personal histories lasting beyond a particular era of setting, with issues lingering in the here and now. Once again, social mobility in the name of truth was recognized in each. So here they are.

*****

PADMAN

There are many draws for R. Balki's latest, in a line of hits that tend to deviate from status quo : so if it was the 30 year age difference refusing to hamper an interesting bond in Cheeni Kum(2007), a progeria afflicted kid's wonder years ( Paa, 2009) or a husband as homemaker ( Ki and Ka, 2016), the man has never settled for tried and tested formulas, mining dollops of humour and a different narrative style from each venture. In PADMAN, he fictionalises the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, the trailblazer from Coimbatore who revolutionized a movement for gender parity in rural India by making low cost sanitary pads for women.

It tends to obviate the hush hush, wink wink attitudes reserved for menstrual health in general. There is a message for entrepreneurship, self dependency and a frank foundation among spouses so sorely missing in the mainstream. Here, culture chauvinism is offset by the dynamism of the protagonist and as played by king of the masses Akshay Kumar, the crusade for change is not all about token earnestness. His hope enlivens the proceedings along with an ever smiling rapport.

Challenges then obviously come, including a long period of separation from his beloved wife( Radhika Apte, the poster child for 2018) Nobody actually trusts his vision. Blame it on rural fiats. Or on centuries of cloistered thinking. As a film focused on such a personal topic pertaining to women and society at large, Apte and Sonam Kapoor represent two poles.

Apte is pure alchemy as the traditionally schooled woman, with her conservatism no fault of her own, who is unable to make sense of her husband's concern for her during 'those days of the month' but knows his heart is in the right place. This screen avatar could not be more diametrically different from the uninhibited, socially aware risk taker she is and it's here when her talent for impersonating another life comes to the fore.

But Padman's true soul is none other than Sonam as the educated, enlightened Delhi girl, daughter of an equally enlightened single father, who is proficient in the classical arts ( she's a star tabla player) and later spreads the word about menstrual hygiene across the countryside with Akshay's Lakshmi. Adding a personal touch to his mission and ensuring his voice eventually reaches a forum like the U.N as well, tips of gender equality are brought together. The most intimate aspects of women's woes are addressed and her door to door canvassing works, as a man propagating it will be simply out of place, given the stigma and circumstances in an unequal order.

The film actually finds its frank, idiosyncratic rationale when she is on screen and Sonam is as natural as it comes. Both women act in the only way they know as per their characteristics. A great nugget regarding the nature of working relationships intertwining with mutual attraction and the vast gulf between urban and rural is uttered by her and is one of the highlights.

This is an enterprise aimed at bringing the sexes together and bridging cultural gaps. Suffice to say, the deed is done successfully here. We salute Mr. Arunachalam's original seed of progress even more. I also marveled at how our own kin fail to stand for the truth sometimes and then revel in our success perhaps without grasping the ramifications of our personal vision for the future ,as is demonstrated by Lakshmi's family of women and larger village folk.