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‘Naalu Pennungal’ is a reflection of the society we live in.

Tale of four women: Adoor Gopalakrishnan on the sets of ‘Naalu Pennungal’

The film has been selected for the Indian panorama (International Film Festival of India) and for the competition section of the International Film Festival of Kerala. It has also been invited to a slew of prestigious film festivals all over the world.

A beaming Adoor’s face says it all when he recalls the premiere of the film in the Toronto Film Festival. The film was in the Masters section, along with masters such as Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, Ken Loach and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Congratulatory phone calls and e-mails are still pouring in, in response to the film’s screening in London on October 29. Excerpts from an interview with the master filmmaker.

Scene from the movie.

I met Nandita Sen, who plays one of the protagonists in my film, in the foyer of my hotel in Toronto. She had come there for the premiere of Santosh Sivan’s film ‘Before the Rain.’ She told me that Santosh had seen the film and had enjoyed it a great deal. That remark set the tone for the film’s reception in Toronto. All the three screenings were sold out.

What heartened me was that over 80 per cent of the audience comprised women. They voiced their appreciation during the question-and-answer sessions that followed the screening. The fact that it was screened in the Master’s section did help viewers make their initial choice. But as an experienced festival goer, I have seen viewers vote with their feet, if they found a film irrelevant. So, the public screening assured me that my film had connected with the audience.

It tells the story of four women. There is a thematic and chronological progression. While the first story is set in the Forties, the last one is set in the late Sixties. It is awareness that helps one to take resolutions and the degree of awareness also evolves along with the film.

Four women resolve to make their own decisions despite being trapped in circumstances created by social mores and conventions. One is a sex worker, another a peasant, the third a homemaker and the fourth a woman from an affluent family. All four are fettered by society and family till each of them rises above their circumstances to choose their own path and break free.

Scene from the movie.

I am completely against categorising films. ‘Naalu Pennungal’ is a reflection of the society we live in. Kerala is one place in India where there are a number of women-headed families. These women make a statement by the lives they lead. Many of them single-handedly bring up their families and look after the family’s finances. Despite adhering to the framework of societal and familial structure, they are strong matriarchs.

Look at the sense of humour and common sense of the grandmother in ‘Kathapurushan.’ Even Rajamma in ‘Elipathayam’ is a docile person only overtly. Her illness is her way of protesting against her circumstances. Unfortunately, many Malayalam films and serials prefer portraying women as helpless wishy-washy characters. I feel that it was films like ‘Nalla Thanga’ and ‘Haridas’ that set the trend.

Doordarshan wanted a programme on Thakazhy’s works. That was when I began a re-reading of the works of one my favourite authors. The charm of his stories lies in the fact that they are all set in Kuttanad but the universality of the themes makes the stories overcome spatial and chronological hurdles. As I was looking for material to make a film, I found that most of his novels had already been tapped.

So I concentrated on his short stories. Surprisingly, all the nine stories that I had short-listed had women as the main protagonists. Of that, I focussed on four stories – ‘Oru Niyamalanghanathinte Katha,’ ‘Kanyaka,’ ‘Chinna amma’ and ‘Nithyakanyaka.’ The crisp narration and sharply sketched characters gave me freedom to weave in subtexts, characters and situations.

Scene from the movie.

I got the opportunity to work with some of the finest actors we have today. Padmapriya plays the sex workers while Geethu Mohandas is the strong peasant. Manju Pillai plays a childless homemaker while Nandita Das dons the role of the spinster. Kavya Madhavan is the younger sister of Nandita Das’ character. All of them, without exception, were enthusiastic and full of zest to give their best for the film.

Kavya Madhavan, for instance, plays a young girl who gradually grows into the role of a wife and mother.

Kavya gave a sterling performance. Similarly, Geethu Mohandas, Manju Pillai and Padmapriya were superb in their roles. Their desire to learn, understand and do justice to their characters were exemplary.

Some of the others in the cast are KPAC Lalitha, Murali, Mukesh, Manoj K. Jayan, Ashokan and Ravi Vallathol. It is my first feature film without Mankada Ravi Varma. But my cinematographer M.J. Radhakrishnan has done a marvellous job.

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