Activism in Mollywood !

Films with socially relevant themes based on some of the evils prevalent in today’s society are the flavour of the season in Mollywood. Following the trend, some of the hit movies in the recent times have dealt with themes as varied as child sex abuse and human trafficking. However the serious the issue, the treatment of these films have been such that they have never failed to entertain movie buffs, all the while making them think.
If industry experts are to be believed, the change can be attributed to the willingness of the current scriptwriters to experiment with hitherto unexplored subjects and the new craze for realistic scripts. Here is a look at some of the more popular movies that packed grit in the masala.
PunyalanAgarbathis
Punyalan Agarbathis, the recently released light-hearted entertainer, dealt with a serious social issue sprinkled with situational humour. The movie unfolds the travails of a wannabe entrepreneur, who sets out on an unusual business venture of making incense sticks from elephant dung. However, he fails in his endeavour owing to many issues, which include hartal and a rift with political parties. About how he came up with the idea, its director-cum-scriptwriter Ranjith Sankar says, “While writing the script, my main intention was to create a blockbuster hit. For that, I needed a subject that the audience can relate to. So I chose hartal and its negative impact. In Kerala, a hartal has become an occasion to celebrate; people are not even bothered about the reasons behind a hartal. I wanted to convey a serious issue peppered with humour, so that the idea is conveyed to the people. Since the film is a powerful medium, depicting relevant themes can make a greater impact in society.”
SethuLekshmi (5 Sundarikal)
The helplessness in the eyes of a sexually abused child, Sethulekshmi, moved many hearts. The movie that discusses the most disturbing issue of the time — child abuse — is based on Photo, a short story by M Mukundan. “In the beginning, our focus was more on emotional turmoil of the victim rather than the social relevance of the subject. Though it is a story written many years ago, we realised that the theme has relevance in our society even today,” says Shyam Pushkar, its scribe.
God for Sale
God for Sale revolves around self-proclaimed God men and God women in society. The film throws light on the thin line that exists between faith and blind faith. The movie dealt with demigods, who exploit the vulnerability of the people under the guise of spiritual guidance. God for Sale opens with the arrest of Poornananda Swami (Kunchacko Boban), who is accused of child sacrifice. The rest of the plot is unveiled through versions put forth by the accused and his brother. “Today, people change their faiths too often. The movie questions the so called miracles that many God men claim to perform,” says Babu Janardhanan, the scriptwriter and director of the film. However, the director points out that socially relevant movies don’t have many takers in Mollywood. “During the post-production phase itself I realised that it won’t be a box office hit, as our industry is still dominated by commercial entertainers,” he concludes.
Thira
Vineeth Sreenivasan has taken a road less travelled with his latest outing, Thira. Besides being a racy thriller, the blockbuster hit expounds the happenings of a single day, which revolves around a grave issue — human trafficking. “Last year when Vineeth and I discussed a subject for a thriller, we thought of a contemporary issue. Since human trafficking is a serious issue, we made intense research on it to know the magnitude of the problem. In fact, the thread itself is inspired by the lives of many social activists, including Sunitha Krishnan and Anuradha Koirala. The protagonist, Rohini Pranab, represents all these activists,” says Rakesh Manthodi, its scriptwriter. “The problems that we discussed in Thira are based on real-life incidents and hence a genuine effort was made to keep the characters authentic and their problems real,” he adds.
North 24 Kaatham
North 24 Kaatham is one of the feel good entertainers of 2013. At the same time, the movie has also taken a sarcastic look at hartal. The movie that depicts the journey of three strangers throws a question at the audience — Are you a hartal lover or hater? “Unfortunately, a hartal is a closed holiday for all Malayalis. In fact, from school children to office goers, everyone enjoy a ‘hartal holiday’. But I wanted to depict the other side — the angst and pangs of travellers on a hartal day,” says Anil Radhakrishna Menon, the writer and director of North 24 Kaatham.