Film Review: ''Penngal''

FILMS HAVE, no doubt, been one of the most powerful tools to address social evils, be it police atrocities, dowry harassment or corruption in high places. But more often than not, the message is lost somewhere because of the quality of the final product, where the commercial elements interfere too much and the plot at times, strays from the theme.

Take Adhya Global Visions' ``Penngal'', directed by Raj Marudhu. The theme - on prostitution - is bold and very relevant today.

The increase in number of cases of child prostitution is appalling and shocking.

And in this light, a film like ``Penngal'' most definitely makes one sit up and think. But unfortunately, the film fails to draw the involvement of the audience.

Mangalapuram is a little village nestling in a valley cut off from the rest of the world by a mountain range. The breadwinners are the women who earn money through prostitution.

The village is `ruled' by Valasamma (who is always decked in bridal finery) and her boss, Rasiyya (the archetypal villain who drinks and wears loads of gold). Here arrives Kaveri with dreams of transforming the miserable lives of the women. Her mother and grandmother too belong to the village, but her mother's bold initiative to send Kaveri to an orphange saves kaveri from taking to the `family profession'.

She manages to retrieve some of the lost glory but how long will it last? One must commend the director (who has also written the screenplay and dialogues) for taking on such a theme.

He brings to focus every aspect of these women's miserable existence - the desperation and dejection on the faces when a son is born, the fear when their young daughter is forcefully `readied' for the `occasion', the poverty and the diseases and the ostracism from the rest of the world.

But he could have taken a little more care in crafting it, and putting it all together.

The acting standards are below average (all unknown faces, except for Santhana Bharati) and the songs, especially the duet, which are obviously included for commercial viability, could have been avoided.

Also, the quality of editing is poor, with too many abrupt jumps.

The film is neither a full-fledged documentary nor a regular feature.

In the first half, the miseries the women face go on piling up without any relief, either for them or the viewer.

The second half is didactic and there is no scope for audience participation.

Films such as ``Penngal'' are required to make us a little more conscious of the social problems but they should be made with a little more care and sensitivity.

SAVITHA PADMANABHAN

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Section  : Entertainment
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