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The war of the worlds

Shobha Warrier

Rajat Kapur. Click for bigger pic!

There are films that touch upon the issues of caste and gender, and sometimes that of gender within castes. That isn't an issue someone would normally essay in his first feature film. But Shyamaprasad isn't quite the run-of-the-mill newbie; for his telefilm, Nilavu Ariyunnu had already given a hint of his mettle when it won a special prize at the Golden Crest festival in Bulgaria.

Agnisakshi, though, is a different kettle of fish, one that drew attention in the Indian Panorama section at the Hyderabad International Film Festival 1999.

The story revolves around a Namboodiri household after Unni Namboodiri marries Devaki, promising her a meaningful life in his illam (a Namboodiri household).

But Devaki, brought up in a progressive and liberal Namboodiri home, feels stifled living the lonely existence demanded of her in the illam. Unni, earnest in his effort to keep her happy but tied up by tradition, does not know quite what is wrong. He feels he is not discharging his dharma to his wife though he is correctly fulfilling his dharma to god and others around him.

Rajat Kapur in Making of a Mahatma. Click for bigger pic!

Devaki is out of her depth in her new environment. In her parental home, she had intelligent debates with her brother on issues concerning society and the country. When her brother was not around, she had her books for company.

But in her traditional and conservative new home, she has no friends, no companions -- and no books to read. Duties and the age-old traditions of the family and the community bind her husband who has no time for her.

Meanwhile, dramatic social changes are taking place beyond the walls of the illam and both Unni and Devaki realise it. But Unni takes refuge in tradition and shuts himself away from society, since he knows his family is averse to the new ideas seeping their way beneath the illam gates.

A frustrated and disappointed Devaki is forced to leave the house to participate in the progressive, reformist movement. After some time, she experiences a vacuum in her life. She goes off again, this time to live the dharmic life of a sanyasin.

With Shobhana in Agnisakshi. Click for bigger pic!

The years roll on. The norms of society change again. Both Unni and Devaki find themselves alone. Both feel the dharma they had followed isn't quite the right one. They are both remorseful, but there is no time left to correct their mistakes. The question remains: Who was right and who was wrong?

When most Namboodiri women from the thirties to the fifties were confined to their illams, Lalithambika Antharjanam, the writer of Agnisakshi, was fortunate to be free.

She met people, attended functions, read and wrote books. And when she wrote, it was about the Namboodiri women trapped in their homes, about the rotting Namboodiri system. She wrote hundreds of short stories, but just one novel, Agnisakshi. That was written when she was in her seventies. She wrote because the editor of Mathrubhumi -- the Malayalam weekly -- insisted. And though her hands shook and her eyesight was weak, her brain clearly functioned well.

With Smriti Mishra

As she sat in her study, alone with her memories, she saw her friends who participated in the social movement. Antharjanam had met her old friend, who was a sanyasin in Varanasi. According to Antharjanam, they recognised each other though her friend chose not to display any familiarity, going on without uttering a word, without even smiling.

The sanyasin became the protagonist in Antharjanam's novel. Agnisakshi won almost every literary award in Kerala. Considering the merits of the novel, it is doubtful if any film could do it complete justice. But you tend to have faith in Shyamaprasad, who has based his telefilms on famous short stories.

The film is a bit of a letdown though. One saw patches of brilliance, but it falls short in certain areas.

The early lives of Unni and Devaki, Unni's dilemma, Devaki's loneliness and her yearning for companionship, are splendidly portrayed. The only jarring note is the rather loud background score. Where silence would have been evocative, the violins are given unreasonable rein. The songs also seem redundant. The film loses some of its visual beauty once Devaki leaves the illam.

Click for bigger pic!

One performance haunts you long after you leave the theatre -- Rajat Kapur as Unni. It is amazing to see how the national award winner (for Shyam Benegal's Making of the Mahatma) transformed himself into an old Namboodiri.

Anyone who has been to the temples in Kerala and seen the poojaris there will be surprised by the verisimilitude of the portrayal. The way the old Namboodiris walk, the way they give prasadam to devotees, the way they close the temple door... Rajat has missed nothing.

Director Shyamaprasad says Rajat lived near a temple for a few days to observe the Namboodiris at close quarters.

Shobhana as Devaki, though, acts as if her mind is somewhere else.

For a debut film, Shyamaprasad has done a wonderful job. Now if there were more films like these...

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