Aattam Movie Review

Written by : Jinu JB

Who do you stand with when a woman or girl comes forward and says that she has been sexually abused? Worryingly, if your thoughts go to her past, her career, her clothes, her love life, and its complications, then you have lost sight of the core issue at hand at that very moment and have taken a stand in favour of the abuser.

Attam, directed by Anand Ekarshi, is a cinematic experience that engages the audience with some of these questions. The film, which goes through some of the developments taking place within the drama group Arang, is a mirror that reflects back on society. The camera opens up into the small space of a drama group and effectively captures the debates and discussions taking place there. The politics of the film are always relevant. The film exposes how assaulted women are repeatedly assaulted in society, especially in black areas.

There are certain areas that our common sense considers taboo for girls. There is a generational perception that places like night streets, night bus journeys, and drinking clubs are built for men. Women who cross the taboos of such forbidden spaces are not considered women by the male groups here. They are stamped as the ‘bad women’ of society. Or they will create confusion by asking whether she is a girl or a boy. Every woman should realise that referring to girls as boys is not innocent and reminds them that the spaces they enter belong to men.

Two female characters are presented in the movie. One is an ideal woman with clothes and lifestyles that satisfy common sense. The other is a woman who is independent, lives for herself, and has a dress and choices that don’t pander to public opinion. Their love is a ‘setup’ in the narrow view of public consciousness. Will her fellow humans innocently stand by her when she is assaulted at work or in a supposedly safe space? Otherwise, if such a situation happens to a woman who falls into the first-mentioned category, we will join her without leaving even the possibility of such a doubt.

Anjali, played by Zarin Shihab, is the character with the most depth and attitude in the film. Anjali, who goes through a complicated and, as mentioned earlier, unfathomable love affair, never once backs down from her stand and firm convictions. She is not ready to lie, even for the survival of love. When the protagonist, Vinay, played by Vinay Forte, who is obsessed with the temptation of great achievements that he thinks will come his way, says, ‘There is nothing without you, Anjali’, she only gives a burst of laughter in response. But even when the laughter is presented as a political stand, the director fails to make it a cinematic experience.

Aattam throws up all the characters to your face through a play right at the beginning and takes you to the play to be a part of it as a character in it or you to be a part of the game. Then it is men who negotiate, take a stand, correct, evaluate, and ask questions in the game. What happens after the film reaches its main plot can be connected to many current situations and controversies.

The film, which goes through some of the developments taking place within the drama group Arang, is a mirror that reflects back on society. The camera opens up into the small space of a drama group and effectively captures the debates and discussions taking place there. The politics of the film are always relevant. The film exposes how assaulted women are repeatedly assaulted in society, especially in black areas.

Attam articulates its politics when the woman Anjali and 12 masks, who ask faceless questions, interact from both sides. The film leaves the audience with the feeling that they are us when the people who stand with the abuser directly and indirectly without giving the abuser a face are presented there.

Attam moves more in the nature of a drama than a cinematic experience. It feels like the film is creating the situations artificially rather than naturally. That’s where Aattam becomes the experience of turning the camera back on a theater. The actors play their part brilliantly without the faltering of newcomers. Vinay Fort, on the other hand, felt shortchanged in the role he got. Performance does not feel new. Mahesh Bhuvanend’s editing and Rangaraj Ravi’s sound system take the film a notch higher. Anish Anurudhan’s camera work helps the film’s narration a lot. Some of the still frames reveal its politics as well. The beauty of Aattam is the female space created by subverting male-centric spaces and their hollowness and hunk.