Woman’s Body As A Battleground: Through The Lens Of Aadai, Uyare And Game Over

A wonderful analysis of 3 recent movies where a woman’s body is at the centre of the politics of the movie.

Lately, there is a surge in the movies centered on women. Don’t ask why there is no such thing as men-centric anything. Men are by default everything.

However, the more relevant phrase to describe the so-called women-centric has to be “women-body-centric politics”.

Cinema in the form of pop culture has always been adamant in infusing regressive (mostly about women) thoughts so much so that it has become a norm. Three movies I watched this week brought into picture 3 different aspects of women’s body politics.

*Spoiler Alert

Parvathi’s Uyare dealt with men’s notion of sabotaging a woman’s appearance to destroy her. Tapsee’s Game Over was on vandalizing a woman physically and mentally by sexual assault and cyber-crime. Amala Paul’s Aadai dealt with the ‘shame’ associated with a woman’s body – the one by which women are made to see themselves as lesser beings.

While Uyare and Game Over challenged the notions it addressed and made the protagonists come out of the trauma with flying colors, Aadai’s approach falls flat, making the shero reduce herself from her actual self and fit into something else that was problematic.

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Amala Paul’s Aadai

A full-length feature film of the scene from Endhiran where a girl commits suicide after being carried ‘naked’ in the open by the robot.

A free-spirited girl reducing her spirits to show that she has transformed to be a REAL feminine icon is such a disgrace to feminity itself. The usual challenge posed by men to women on grounds of equality is “I can go topless, can you?”

The basic understanding of this question leads to a simple answer. Women have the moral decency to not harass anyone irrespective of their clothing or even the lack of it, and men lack that decency to return that favour. Hence all the problems associated with a woman’s body is primarily because men are dickheads, having written and executed all the rules of the game in favour of themselves.

But, the movie goes on to say through a song that all games (Read: freedom) need to be played with rules.

But, sir, have you gotten our approval for your rules?

If there are any rules in the first place it has to be common for all the players. You could not have taken the same movie replacing the female protagonist with a male, then what rules are you talking about?

The movie also goes on to lecture how the freedom of a flag cannot go beyond the pole and not to misuse the freedom ‘granted’ upon. The movie falls in the small vicious circle that women have enough freedom already and it is only that they are misusing it inviting troubles to themselves.

The most “shameless” scene of the movie is undoubtedly Kamini telling to herself that she will go home with ‘Manam’ and her mom’s pride will just not be busted – sending seriously gross messages to a society that still stigmatises rape victims than Rapists.

The movie also plays it cleverly by making her male friends ‘noble creatures’. It would have been at least half logical if they had made a male friend of her be the reason behind her ‘naked’ state. After all, nobody is going to deny “Men will be men always”. But they want men to come clean out of it.

Another interesting angle to be noted in this movie as mentioned in this article that analyses it really well is that Nangeli’s fight was against the feudal caste system not just her right to dress, and that the movie also had the audacity to twist tales and tell them through a ‘Nangeli’ to the women population that it was not what she died for.

Parvati’s Uyare

Of an acid attack survivor fighting for her career and justice. The movie does justice in portraying how such toxic relationships form in the first place.

At a tender age when the only thing required for a person is compassion, and when there seems a lack of it from the family, most people, teenagers in particular, make wrong choices.

But, it is women who suffer the inability to come out of it- convinced themselves that they are ‘indebted’ to fill in all the blanks their partner demands. But, at one point when they acquire enough educational and mental power, all hells break loose. That is also when men who feel entitled to their affections reach the point where they make it hell for the women.

The trial scenes showcase how the primitive mindset of making the abuser a savior by wedlock, is still prevalent in the Indian society. The movie also showcases beautiful female friendship in overcoming the trauma.

The father’s character is one of the most well written I have seen. He stands by her side with nothing but lending his shoulder. Opening up new dimensions in Indian parenting, he also goes to great heights to talk to his daughter’s boyfriend to not be in haste, as her daughter has a dream to live for.

The most noteworthy thing about the movie is that it in no way snatched the credit from the survivor. Everyone else in her life had only been allies from the outside. It was she who made the change. A true warrior. It also questions us on our notions of beauty and how thick-headed we are as a society that fails women survivors of violence.

Tapsee’s Game Over

Dealing with an emotional and physical block, a woman’s fight against serial killers.

The movie is brilliant in all the sense that finally, we got to watch a woman-centric movie that centered only on women. All the women characters were written so neatly, forming an emotional bond between themselves. There are poignant yet heartwarming scenes in the movie capturing the bond women share. Contrary to the stereotypes that make us believe ‘women are women’s best enemies’, the movie shows how women can bring transforming changes in another woman’s life just through kindness and an open heart.

The movie also sensitively deals with sexual assault and the trauma that follows. It doesn’t shun away from showing even parents victim-blaming their own daughter for whatever happened to her. The post-incident trauma of the survivor was put aptly by the words of the survivor herself-that all is not over with just a legal solution. The scene where random men shame the survivor with the leaked RAPE video where she was handcuffed and tied shows the actual sorry state of the society we live in.

It is up to one’s beliefs to believe a dead person has somehow helped a living person to fight. But it was emphasized more on the psychological state of mind of the duo. However, the whole concept of the women being allies of each other, psychologically and spiritually fighting for both have come out so meaningful.

The success of a story lies in how well we are able to connect with it. Putting ourselves in the narrator’s shoes and living their life.

As a woman, If I were a survivor, I would find power in associating myself with the women portrayed in Game Over and Uyare. Even if the whole world is cruel to me and the ground under me would collapse, I would be able to make peace with myself if I shall put across a fight remotely close to those braveheart women put. Whereas if I were to be so engrossed to think that my pride lies in not even telling my ‘naked’ state to the two women I get to speak over the phone and an SOS call to the police easily available, I would not just be arrogant but insolent to the millions of women in the world who constantly fight patriarchy that keeps shaming me for being under my own skin.

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