Anand Ekarshi who directed the Malayalam film Aattam, which won three Indian National Awards for best feature film, screenplay and editing last week, has termed the achievements a “huge fortune” that was “beyond what we thought or desired”.
He gave credit for the film’s success to actor Vinay Forrt, “who pushed me to do the film”, and producer Ajit Joy, “who showed courage and faith to support us”.
Speaking to Indian TV channels, the director said the film received the censor board certification in December 2022, but he and Joy decided to hold the film back for a year and send it to various festivals instead.
“The decision paid off as we won awards at various festivals and, when the film was released in theatres in January this year, it got a good response from the public,” said Ekarshi.
But he was more surprised by what happened after its release over streaming platforms. “Many people watched it across the country and it received a great response,” he said.
Regarding the subject of the film, which revolves around a sexual harassment accusation among members of a theatre group, Ekarshi said: “It’s something women everywhere suffer; the topic is always relevant.”
The independent Malayalam film actually offers a self-probing commentary on the film industry’s mishandling of the #MeToo movement and the latent misogyny in the performing arts industry, from films to theatre, reported Moneycontrol.
It puts the spotlight on 12 men and a woman who make up a theatre troupe, Arangu.
Anjali (Zarin Shihab), an architect who moonlights as a theatre actor, is groped by one of the men when she sleeps after a party. She reckons she knows who it is, though she was unable to see his face.
Suspicions surface as stories unravel and truths raise their ugly heads.
The rest of the thriller unfolds at a dinner table where dirty laundry within the group is washed. The men play the blame game and debate the next course of action.
Should the culprit be thrown out of the troupe? Can the victim’s version be trusted? There is subtle slut-shaming and the burden is always on the woman to prove her case.
Aattam delves into gender dynamics with finesse. While the men show empathy towards Zarin, underlying rivalries skew their perspective.
The film oscillates between trust and deceit, uniting people from different walks of life – chefs to journalists to travel agents – through their passion for art. Yet, under the veneer of their creative pursuits, all are flawed humans.
