Dark, Disturbing, Courageous—Amazon Prime’s ‘Ammu’ Isn’t a Sermon on Domestic Violence

amazon prime video first telugu original movie ammu Answers to the most frequently asked questions on domestic violence victims: “Why don’t you leave your husband?” whereas ammu Aasha’s story, it does not shy away from walking the dark streets to show the emancipation of its titular character.

Written and directed by Charukesh Sekar, this unique story captures the essence of small towns and middle-class India. Ammu (Aishwarya Lekhmi) gets married to her neighbor Ravi (Naveen Chandra), who is a police officer. It starts on a dreamy note – moments of love, coffee and theft of a bike ride when the couple falls in love after an arranged marriage. But the dunk of the first Thappad is as scary for Ammu as it is for the audience. It only gets progressively worse as Ravi appears to be a model officer leading a squad led by a female officer for women’s safety, while killing his own wife in black and blue. No one knows what is going on behind closed doors.

Stellar Cast, Tight Plot

ammu Through and through is an Aishwarya Laxmi movie. From lighting up the screen with her million-dollar smile — when she finds herself falling for her ideal husband — to being terrified of when and why he’ll strike next, she delivers a flawless performance. . Lakshmi manages to convey the confused horror of being victimized and her desperate need to ‘cure’ her husband with love. Even when she decides to teach him a lesson, Gung-ho’s lack of it is what makes him extremely human and relatable.

Naveen Chandra does a splendid job of sending chills down your spine as the abusive, conniving husband. His wife’s ruthless misbehavior, her good husband excuse and control over Ammu’s body make you sympathize with the protagonist and why she feels so trapped. From swapping birth control pills to beating her with a belt, her control over Ammu seems unbreakable.

Bobby Simha as Ammu’s aide, Prabhu, shines despite a role that could have been done with more flamboyance. A parole criminal who seeks to compensate his sister before her wedding, Prabhu recognizes Ravi for who he really is.

Rest of the actors have also done justice to their roles. From Raghu Babu as the beggar who doesn’t tell Ammu what he doesn’t want to hear, to junior officers played by Anjali Amir and Satya Krishna, Sekar has made the best selections for his film. Ammu’s mother – who tells her that even a slap by a husband has a good reason to leave – is well performed by Mala Parvati in a brief role.


Read also: How far will you go to get revenge? Mammootty’s Rorschach Shows the Unthinkable


anatomy of violence

This year starring Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma Darlings Also tackled the topic of domestic violence, with a different tone and resolve. Earlier Taapsee Pannu Slap (2020) showed that a slap is enough to reflect a marriage and might even end it. They show how living with a child and ‘improving’ the relationship can be a disastrous idea. Interestingly, the refusal to bring a child into a violent home is what ties the three films together.

Three women – Ammu, Badru (Alia Bhatt) and Amrita (Taapsee Pannu) – take different paths to get out of abusive marriages. What makes each of these films remarkable is how domestic abuse affects people—often rendering them incapable of taking immediate action, no matter their education or choices.

Violence against women has no sensationalism or even headline. This marks a welcome change and an increase in the gaze deployed to witness domestic abuse.

Ammu finds her voice after trying to leave for the first time, comes back to save her marriage and finally decides to kill her at her own game by snatching her husband’s dignity like he tried to take her . There are no drum roll moments, just quiet contemplative ones, like when Ammu innocently talks about trying a new restaurant with bright, twinkling lights.

but from ammu To DarlingsWhat is different is that in the end it is the women who save themselves. They may have allies and support systems, but it is they who initiate action and resolution. This in itself is a powerful message to all those who are trapped in abusive relationships, longing to get out.

(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)