B 32 Muthal 44 Vare

Story: Five women and a trans man who are subjected to body shaming in the name of the size and shape of their breasts look back at society as they begin to embrace themselves.

Review: Society is used to objectifying the size, shape and measurement of women's bodies from time immemorial. When it comes to the big screen, it's all about male gaze. At this juncture, when a movie is made from the perspective of five women and a trans man who goes through various kinds of body shaming due to societal taboos, it is extra refreshing and empowering.

Shruthi Sharanyam's debut directorial as a filmmaker is a well-made movie by a woman for society. It puts forward certain questions that try to break the age-old cliched societal stigmas on the expectations and liabilities imposed on women in the name of femininity. It's positive and soulful.

The film opens with trans man Ziya to whom a curious teenage boy discusses mastectomy and ends where another teenager explains gender as 'with boobs and without boobs'. The central theme of the movie is breast, an important body part which is never called by its name with respect, but often used at women for sensuality and sexuality.

The director who has also scripted the movie has done justice to all the characters. It also addresses various aspects of breast and the emotional journey women go with it. When one woman faces discrimination in her profession for 'lacking aesthetic beauty', another woman is a breast cancer survivor. It also looks at teenage pregnancies, trans man struggles, casting couch and prejudices on the profession front, in modelling, for example.

Actors who played the lead and supporting roles have done a great job. The cinematography, editing, sound and music blend into the film like a poetry.

A quick gender thought: When the majority of Malayalam cinema restricts women to mere objects of pleasure, it was delightful to watch women embracing the majority of the screen space and being themselves, exploring the possibilities of motherhood, sisterhood and female bonding. However, while trying to be gender inclusive and sensible, it's also important to be empathetic and accommodative or else, won't it out create another platitude - 'all men are the same'.

The film is a pathbreaking celebration for women and a thought provoker for society.
- Anjana George