She came, she conquered'

Being a matriarchal society, women have always had a key role in Kerala's social fabric, and it's only natural that this is reflected in its movies as well. From the character Sarojini in the first Malayalam film Vigathakumaran, Alice in Koodevide and Clara in Thoovanathumbikal to Nirupama in How Old Are You? the heroines of Mollywood have stood out due for their powerful characterisation.The directors who gave life to them, be it Padmarajan, Bharathan or Adoor Gopalakrishnan, made sure that they came up with well-fleshed out woman characters who had a soul and voice. While Padmarajan's heroines floored us with their charm, Bharathan's heroines were raw and unsophisticated. The heroines created by K G George and T V Chandran too were never predictable; they were unconventional women who questioned the social codes.
However, the 2000s saw a lull, and heroines were side-lined into eye candy roles in the male superhero films which were the staple of the decade. Fast forward to 2012, the year which saw a new dawn for female power in Malayalam films. The film 22 Female Kottayam was the torchbearer of change, and the four year period between Tessa of 22FK to Tessa of Charlie has been the golden age for women hood in Mollywood. The year 2014 saw the return of actress Manju Warrier to the silver screen, an entry made memorable by portraying Nirupama, the homemaker who decides to give wings to her dreams, in Rosshan Andrrew's How Old Are You. In the same year, director Jude Anthany created a movie which had never been made before ' a romance from the point of view of the female protagonist ' Om Shanthi Oshana. By 2015, producers started realising that making woman-centric movies are profitable as well, and directors didn't need to tweak their stories to the liking of the 'masses' anymore. The year saw Nee-Na by Lal Jose, Mili by the late Rajesh Pillai, Ennu Ninte Moideen by RS Vimal and Charlie by Martin Prakkat, all of which had the women characters evolving into strong persons making their own decisions. By all means, the Malayalam industry seems to be on its way to regaining its glorious past of women superheroes. As film critic CS Venkateshwaran puts it, 'Currently, there is a huge relief of not having to cast superstars. When you place a leading superstar at the centre of the narrative, you just can't have strong women around. In the past five to six years, superstars have been relegated to specific roles and genres. So, this has opened up space for all kinds of characters.'
Kochi Times turns the spotlight on some of the female characters who made an impact in the recent times, and takes a peek behind the scenes on what went into the creation of these characters.
There is a Tessa in everyone
Charlie directed by Martin Prakkat starred Parvathy as a free-spirited woman who seeks out a man who interests her. The film won her a State Award for Best Actress.
UNNI R, Scriptwriter
During the course of my life, I have met women who love to travel and are aware of their freedom. That was the core of Tessa's character. Also in some Kottayam Christian families which have good financial and educational backgrounds, the girls go out of the State for their studies and lead a different lifestyle. I know many such people who served as reference for Tessa's character. These days, girls express their freedom unlike in the past. So, Tessa is a dedication to girls of the contemporary age.
Tessa's character is as important as Charlie's in the movie, as the film is told through her travels and craziness. After watching the movie, several girls called me to tell me that they could relate to the character. I like to believe there is a Tessa in everyone.

22 Female Kottayam directed by Aashiq Abu startled the Malayalam audience out of their slumber. Tessa, a nurse who gets cheated and raped by her boyfriend and his accomplice, takes revenge upon getting released from the prison. Rima Kallingal who played the role of Tessa came up with a stellar performance and the character is considered an icon of woman empowerment.
Abhilash Kumar, Scriptwriter
Tessa was a character which evolved through our discussions. After the commercial success of Salt N Pepper, Ashiq ettan wanted to do something different. He believes in pattern-breaking. Since Salt N Pepper was a feel good movie, we felt like doing a dark movie, with a woman in the lead role. Incidentally, that was when we started hanging out with Rima. So we all started pooling our thoughts. From our experiences in Bangalore and the common issues faced by the female nurses, who came from Kottayam, we put it all together. When we conceived the whole idea, it was a very dark film, similar to some of the violent Korean movies. Later on, we toned it down and made it as realistic as possible while adding the cinematic elements.
Since Rima was with us from the ideation stage we could weigh her strengths and weakness and developed the character accordingly. Rima could transform our idea of Tessa on to the screen. It felt as if she just breathed life into Tessa. Our intention was to just let people know that such things happen and everyone should have the strength to overcome problems.

Deepti Sati, Actress
I was honestly a bit sceptical about playing Neena, but at the same time the never-told-before story inspired me. Lal sir didn't want me to mirror anyone. He also gave me an in-depth analysis of the character. As Neena is an alcoholic, I tried to watch a few documentaries that showcased the mannerisms of real alcoholic people. Lal Jose was a bit worried about how convincingly I could play an alcoholic and chain smoker, as I don't drink or smoke in real life.
As for playing a biker, I didn't have to put any extra effort to do that. I am the only daughter of my parents and my dad rides a bike. I have been riding it for years.

R Venu Gopal, Scriptwriter
It was during one of my discussions with Lal Jose that we observed that there is a change happening in the attitudes and aspirations of young women around us. They are now less inhibited; their habits too are changing. Neena fell in love with a married man and she expressed it without inhibitions. It was not about the rights and wrongs but about how she followed her instinct. And when she realized that it was not the right thing she made the ultimate sacrifice. I found many Neenas around me and I combined all of them to create my character. What I had in my mind was a much stronger and masculine Neena, but the director made her a more beautiful and compassionate one. But Deepthi did a great job about understanding the nuances, and when I saw her on screen I was proud of my Neena, extremely strong willed, different and intelligent, and at the same time sweet and sensual.

Rosshan Andrews had said about creating the character of Nirupama, 'People start getting anxious about their age at some point. With How Old Are You, we are trying to convey the message that age is no barrier for achievement.' Manju Warrier had told us earlier, 'Several women have told me that they picked up dance or some passion of theirs after years but all that is the impact of a film I did, not me per se.' She had also posted a status about her character once, 'From a housewife to an inspiration from ordinary to extraordinary ....It just requires one step...a step of courage...a step of determination.'

Gayatri Devi - Oru Penninte Katha (Sheela) Raji- Avalude Ravukal (Seema) Julie- Chattakkarai (Lakshmi) Alice- Alicinte Anveshanam (Jalaja) Indira-Panchagni (Geetha) Bhadra- Kannazhuthi Pottum Thottu (Manju Warrier) Deepti - Kadal (Meera Jasmine) Sussanna- Sussana (Vani Viswanath) Aswathi- Khaddama (Kavya Madhavan) Radha- Kazhakam (Urvashi)