Over the years Indian Cinema has produced many revenge dramas. Some of these films have shown the brutal and gruesome crime that the women of our society face. Here are some of the films that have stayed with me for a long time :
Vaanmagal: This is the third story in the anthology, ‘PaavaKadhaigal’, about honor and honor killing, ‘Vaanmagal’, means ‘the ‘daughter of the skies’. There is absolutely nothing new about the story, but the way it is narrated makes it different from a few others. The younger daughter of a family, who dreams of flying the skies, is raped and the family, to protect their honor, keeps quiet about it. At this point of time in the film, the mother even thinks of pushing her daughter down a cliff. But then who put a girl’s honor in her vagina? And what do they do with this honor if a heinous beast disrupts it? Stop flying? The film answers the question beautifully.
Devi: Devi is a short under the Royal Stag Barrel Select short films. The movie opens with a group of women from different age groups and different walks of life sitting clustered in a room. Some of these women have a ghoonghat, one of them is deaf and mute while another one is wearing a burkha. The doorbell rings and leads to a heated argument between all of these women, whether the new member should be let in. Soon, we discover that all these women have one thing in common – they had all been victims of rape irrespective of what they wore. One of these women decides to let this new member in, who is this new member? The film will leave you in goosebumps.
Ajji: This film has been positioned as a dark take on the classic fairy tale, ‘Red Riding Hood’. The 10-year-old granddaughter of Ajji, the main protagonist, is raped, the police are unable to do anything due to the status of the rapist, so Ajjidecides to take matters into her own hands. The film has a raw portrayal of how the victim of such a heinous crime is treated in those areas, it holds up a striking reality on the screen. ‘Ajji’, has a climax similar to that of ‘Vaanmagal’, about how the doer of such a crime should be punished. The last shot of ‘Ajji’ which shows Ajjisitting down with a sigh of relief, not being concerned about the consequences of her actions is wholesome.
Text by: Sreyoshi Sil, IBTN9
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