Sara's Malayalam movie review: Malayalam cinema is known for breaking stereotypes even when its male audience may find it clearly unpalatable. One of the recent Malayalam films this year that I really found thought provoking is 'Sara's' on Amazon Prime despite the fact that it has many sketchy areas in its narrative and I do not support Sara's personal choices.[READ: Prithviraj starrer Mumbai Police breaks stereotypes!]
Sara's Malayalam Movie Review: To have a child or not should be a woman's decision
'Sara's' is a film that urges Malayalis to give a 'woman' more independence about deciding whether she is ready to marry, and if she is, if she wants to have a child and if that choice comes under scrutiny, the final choice should be hers alone - it is her body, her life - not the guy's. This is something I personally believe in - a woman should never be forced to do anything against her will by anyone.
No matter how you view it, a man will never understand what a woman actually goes through during her entire term of pregnancy or the postpartum depression that her body and mind inevitably goes through right after.
This film could have highlighted this aspect too but chooses to make it more about 'feminism' than issue-based. Still the narrative is insightful as it comes at a time when Malayalam cinema is experimenting with diverse genres, in particular thrillers, and enjoying global attention through numerous OTT releases.
Now, here's an understated but impactful woman-centric film titled 'Sara's'. The film has Sunny Wayne and Anna Ben playing the lead roles, on Amazon Prime, and the movie is full of surprises. The film deals with a topic that is considered 'taboo' - yes, a woman's right to abortion.
And I wish Sunny's character 'Jeevan' had more 'jeevan' in it.
Sara's Malayalam Movie Review: Right to Abortion
While Malayalam cinema has earlier explored the nuances of social taboos through various film makers, this contemporary take with its feminist nuances is unmistakable in creating awareness about why it should be primarily be a woman's choice whether to have a baby.
Let us also look at the reality of how independent choices by women are often portrayed on screen in Malayalam films. A woman choosing to abort has not always been depicted kindly in Malayalam cinema - in 'Bharya', starring Urvashi and Jagadeesh, the protagonist is depicted as a selfish woman for choosing to abort.I have seen several Malayalam films that show a wife in a 'vampish' light because she aborts a child.
A grey side to 'Sara's' is that the film shows a young Malayali woman's perspective with overhyped bouts of feminism - whereas a more issue-based portrayal could have been more convincing in the film. For instance, Manju Warrier starrer Rani Padmini shows issues that women face in a marriage and it had all my heart till the protagonist, despite proving her strength of character and conviction, treads all the way to the Himalayas just to bring back her husband who has mistreated and abused her. I was so flabbergasted but wait.....the audiences love happy marriage endings though it rarely happens in real life! Sadly, it arms more toxic men to become more abusive to their wives.
If you haven't watched the brilliant Parvathy and the very charming Kunchacko in 'Take Off', this is a film that explores issues faced by women in their homes and work places.
Sara's Movie Review: A Slap on Conservatism
Conservatism is given a hard slap right from the start of the film starring Anna Ben and Sunny Wayne in 'Sara's.
You can see how Sara is independent about her choices from the start of the film. Better still, her parents adore her and they support her even when they are not fully in agreement with her. On the other hand, you also get fleeting glimpses of the man she falls in love with as being someone who rarely takes charge of his life, is always worried about displeasing his mother and constantly tries very hard to win over his mother.
This reminds me of a scene in Anoop Sathyan's directorial debut 'Varaney Avashyamund' starring Suresh Gopi, Shobhana, Urvashi, Dulquer Salmaan and Kalyani Priydarshan.
In the aforementioned film, the protagonist 'Neena' is a single mother with a penchant for romance. Her number of affairs from high school are mentioned casually over coffee with her brother. They joke about how her daughter seems to be the opposite!
The film's narrative thereby opens a window of refreshing perspective into the lives of women whose children are reaching a marriageable age but they want to explore their own romance and take it forward boldly. Result? The man her daughter intended to marry decides to walk away. That is where the patriarchy system flexes its muscle to try and force a woman to conform or be 'taught a lesson'.
Malayalam film Sara's on Prime Video
Coming back to 'Sara's', the audience is shown a high school girl kissing her classmate and talking about it openly with her friends.
Sara is bold and honest about her choices including her right to choose and make her reproductive choices.
The tone of the film is set when the boy, who is imagining their future together as a couple raising children, is told that she doesn't want to have children. The camera zooms in meaningfully on the piece of egg that falls out from the egg puff that he is eating. Sara makes a telling statement that he wants only the egg, not the whole puff.
And as expected, the boy walks away because the girl speaks her mind.
Sara's exposes the society's narrow mindset of different 'Rules' for Women
Fast forward to a confident young Sara who aspires to direct her first film. Her road map to success is etched in her every move. She has the confidence to turn down producers who eye her with suggestive propositions. She has the audacity to refuse a leading producer who offers to adapt her script into a movie but with her as its script writer, not director. These scenes reveal the prevailing gender biases that are rampant in the film industry.
But nothing stops Sara from going after what she wants. In the pursuit of ironing out the creases in her script, she meets Jeevan, who has no particular career ambitions but claims that he cannot stand having children. This appeals to Sara as a significant turning point in their relationship.
The fact that they are opposites is clear from the start. While Sara enjoys full freedom and her parents do not dominate her life, Jeevan is dominated by his mother (starring Mallika Sukumaran) who has a say about everything.
Inevitably, Jeevan and Sara get married. Interestingly, he persuades her to get married so that his mother can finally stop nagging him, whereas Sara's parents put no such pressure on her to get married.
Malayalam film Sara's: Challenging Patriarchal Norms
The cloak of patriarchy and its stronghold over a woman's choices unveil fully when Sara is in a state of shock when she discovers that she is pregnant and Jeevan is delighted. The subtle message is delivered through this film's interesting twists in the plot that a man can change his mind at any time, and society expects a woman to change along with his whims and fancies.
A counselling session for the couple by a renowned gynaecologist puts things in perspective as he gently reminds the couple that the 1971 MTP Act allows a woman the right to make informed choices related to pregnancy and the law empowers a woman to take her own decision when she wants an abortion. Specifically, the male gynaelcologst tells Sara that most women are unaware that they can abort without consulting anyone.
Several flaws come through in the counselling session shown in this film. The conversation that the doctor has with the couple felt forced into the script. Coming from a family of doctors and with a good inside view of how doctors in the medical fraternity function, I personally felt that the dialogues by Siddique (as the doctor) was not what most gynecologists would have had with their patients.
Still this film sparks a good start for a dialogue between two people who want to marry and their respective famillies about a woman's career related aspirations, her right to abortion and why the law in the country empowers women to take charge of their reproductive choices.
Simply put, why should marriages require men to make choices about their careers and women to sacrifice theirs? Watch 'Rani Padmini' to know what I am talking about.
Anna Ben is convincing in 'Sara'
A quiet, revolutionary film, Anna Ben as 'Sara' is powerful and convincing in her role as Sara. While the movie revolves around a woman's right to abortion, it also celebrates a woman's ambitions and her need to define her career success central as to its theme.
So, now go ahead and watch a realistic movie that reflects a young woman's powerful voice and choice to define what works best for her happiness. And yes, the film comes with English subtitles so that non-Malayalis can simply sit back and watch it.
If a heartwarming family drama is more your style, check out Manju Warrier's C/o Saira Banu, which is a treat to watch!
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