This year, one can feel the wrath of the jury for films with female heroines who vehemently assert their rights.
Rewards, by their pattern, often send a message, although the giver of it dismisses it as a coincidence. In the last few years, there has been a conscious shift towards giving awards to non-superstars while selecting Best Actor at the State Film Awards.
This year, one can feel the jury for films with female heroines asserting their rights vehemently. that the jury chose The Great Indian Kitchen As the best film, it is perhaps the biggest indicator of how it carried gender politics along with artistic value.
trigger a debate
With a narrative centered on a monotonous, unremarkable kitchen, the mundane, everyday activities that take place in any such kitchen have played for a considerable part of its run-time, The Great Indian Kitchen Initially did not favor big OTT platforms. Still, word spread around when it was released in a new, lesser-known platform, setting off discussions that had not been seen for any film in recent years.
talking to Hindu After winning the state award, its director Jio Baby said that he always wished for awards and festivals, but never expected the kind of reception the film received.
“In our imagination we didn’t expect this kind of reception. We knew it would create some buzz, but not such a widespread debate. It is the pathetic condition of women inside homes that has led to such a film. I thought It was only after making this film that I experienced the hard work of cooking day by day. Many men are fond of cooking, but they have to cook only when it suits them. But for most of the women Not with someone who runs. One house and it has to be done round the clock,” says Jio.
In many mainstream films of the past, this work was glorified as something that fulfills the woman. Here, the film casts it as something being imposed on her by the men around her. The men, including her husband and father-in-law, are portrayed not as angry or violent characters, but as soft-spoken people who calmly impose their will on the woman, like slow, sweet poison.
regressive thoughts
The script also takes regressive notions of impurity associated with menstruation, and places them firmly in the context of the Supreme Court’s decision on the entry of women into Sabarimala.
Coincidentally, the verdict and then Sena come across as a plot point in Hegde’s story. thinkkalazcha nishayayam, which won the second best film award. It also has a woman’s choice at its center.
This year, Chalachitra Akademi also instituted a special award in any category for transgender persons or women. It went to Nanjiamma for the song ‘Kalakkatha’ ayyappanum koshiyum.
.