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OpinionThe trope of basing a film’s appeal on the anxiety of the parents and families of young women is not new. It is, in fact, one of the most tried and tested formulae for ensuring commercial success.Screengrab“If you have a daughter, you must watch this movie” is an appeal made by several films to pull audiences into theatres. Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story does the same while trying to cover up its myopic, no-nuance representation of religious radicalisation in Kerala by playing up the age-old patriarchal fear families have about their daughters whose bodies, they are taught to believe, are repositories of their collective dignity. This trope of basing a film’s appeal on the anxiety of the parents and families of young women is not new. It is, in fact, one of the most tried and tested formulae of ensuring commercial success, given that it...

OpinionHow would survivors feel when they watch the trauma of rape and blackmail — their most powerless moments — dramatised insensitively on towering theatre screens?TrailerScreenGrab/CourtesySunPicturesIt has been four years since the Pollachi case came to light — a horrifying crime involving multiple rapes, blackmail, and abuse of political power that shook Tamil Nadu. Justice remains elusive to the survivors to this day. But in the meantime, Kollywood has had no qualms about producing films ‘inspired’ by the case. Does cinema constantly draw upon real life for stories to tell? Yes. Do all of the stories understand how to represent violent events, without becoming a trigger to survivors of trauma? No. Consider Ariyavan for instance, the latest ‘Pollachi genre’ film to come out of Kollywood. In the film, a gang of men have a very specific modus operandi to find women they can force into sex work. One of them identifies a woman,...

ReviewAriyavan lectures, shames, and goads survivors of gendered violence, only to offer bloody revenge wrapped in religious fanfare.Ariyavan. Here is yet another Kollywood male revenge-fantasy centering on sexual violence against women. But even this prior knowledge doesn’t prepare you for the triggering, infuriating experience of watching the film. Debutant Ishaaon plays Jeeva – just your average, kabaddi-playing, bad-guy bashing, cringefully romancing Tamil cinema hero, until a sickening plot twist strikes. His girlfriend Nethra’s (Pranali Ghoghare) best friend, Jessi (Nishma Chengappa) is being blackmailed into sex work. The blackmailer is a man Jessi loves and has had consensual sex with in the past. But he films her secretly, in order to coerce her later. What’s worse, this man, Appu, is part of a racket led by his brother, Durairaj (Daniel Balaji). Durairaj has made it a business, in his own words, of using his men to cultivate relationships...