Do you recall these lines sung by TMS?“Yendha kuzhandayum nalla kuzhandai than mannil pirakayile
Avar nallavar aavathum theeyavar aavathum Annai valarpineley”
Ammuvaagiye Naan is a powerful story of a girl growing up in a whore house and challenges she faces when she wiggles out of the cocoon and merge back in the mainstream society.
For no fault of hers Ammu is sold to the lady who runs a brothel house by her drunkard father after her mother’s demise. While rest of the toddlers in her age grow up with dolls and toys Ammu grows up watching new guest come in every hour and to the moan and groan in the house.
The director brilliantly portrays the growing up of Ammu in the first 15 minutes while she patiently waits for her flowering to join the trade.
It is a norm for all members in the whore house to assemble before their guest to be hand picked. The 6 year old asks why she is left alone in the game when her sisters usher their guest to the rooms. The queen bee of Rani Madam (brothel house) says she will be in the game when she grows older. A few of the scenes are chilling to the bone and brain.
Call it the quirk of fate or whatever, the turning point in the story occurs when Gowri Shankar, a writer by profession comes to study the brothel house. He hands picks Ammu from the hive of bees to understand a prostitute for his next novel. At many places the movie reminded me of the book “Memoirs of Melancholy Whores” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For some lust leads to love and for some love leads to lust, but this story belongs to the first category.
Though Ammu approaches him in the same way she services her clients, but Gowri Shankar does not get physical with her and decides to spend time for the money. In the genre of men who look at women as mere objects of enjoyment, Gowri Shankar stands tall. He carries a lot of sympathy for Ammu which eventually blossoms into love when he sees Ammu’s attitude towards the profession and life.
When asked how she carries no regret or shame, Ammu says she considers flesh trade like any other profession. Since Ammu has never grown up in a home with normal parents she doesn’t seem to understand the concept of husband, marriage and family. When Gowri proposes to Ammu she laughs and dismisses his indecent proposal. Finally he convinces Ammu for a marriage.
Ammu who came across so far in the movie as a slutty character matures to a committed housewife after marriage. Gowri earns a place on the pedestal when he says "I will let you sleep alone and enjoy the peace on the nuptials night. "
But very soon fate or coincidence brings Ammu face to face with her customers from the past. Ammu wiggles like a worm in her skeleton and she turns her eye cavities and ours into lagoon. While Gowri caringly dismisses her past and get the burden off her shoulder blows off the past like the flakes of dandruff. There is no arota of suspicion on Ammu's or her character after marriage and Gowri doesn't shy away from introducing Ammu, an ex-prostitute as her wife even in front of her clients from the days of flesh trade. This reiterates "Every criminal has a bright future and every saint has a dark past." Gowri needs a standing ovation here.
The next hair pin bend in the story happens when Gowri successfully completes his novel on Ammu's life and gets short listed for the National award. While Ammu’s client from the past suddenly appears to be the deciding authority on the jury panel. He asks for a night with Ammu in exchange for the National award for Gowri. Call it the test by providence or the seeds of past karma, both Ammu and Gowri excel in sacrificing their life to make each others dream come true. The high point in the movie comes when Gowri calls her wife to accept the award on his behalf. The hole theatre sheds tears for them. This is a new chapter in their lives and all our lives.
Kudos to
1. Barathi, a new comer successfully executes the Herculean task of metamorphosing Ammu from a child in the first half of the movie to a mature adult in the second half, something that even seasoned actors fail to accomplish. She wins this tight walk rope. The palette of emotions she shows from her little experience in the indsutry definitely wins her a seat in the list of promising stars. A bold theme for a new comer and definitely a break through in her career.
But very soon fate or coincidence brings Ammu face to face with her customers from the past. Ammu wiggles like a worm in her skeleton and she turns her eye cavities and ours into lagoon. While Gowri caringly dismisses her past and get the burden off her shoulder blows off the past like the flakes of dandruff. There is no arota of suspicion on Ammu's or her character after marriage and Gowri doesn't shy away from introducing Ammu, an ex-prostitute as her wife even in front of her clients from the days of flesh trade. This reiterates "Every criminal has a bright future and every saint has a dark past." Gowri needs a standing ovation here.
The next hair pin bend in the story happens when Gowri successfully completes his novel on Ammu's life and gets short listed for the National award. While Ammu’s client from the past suddenly appears to be the deciding authority on the jury panel. He asks for a night with Ammu in exchange for the National award for Gowri. Call it the test by providence or the seeds of past karma, both Ammu and Gowri excel in sacrificing their life to make each others dream come true. The high point in the movie comes when Gowri calls her wife to accept the award on his behalf. The hole theatre sheds tears for them. This is a new chapter in their lives and all our lives.
Kudos to
1. Barathi, a new comer successfully executes the Herculean task of metamorphosing Ammu from a child in the first half of the movie to a mature adult in the second half, something that even seasoned actors fail to accomplish. She wins this tight walk rope. The palette of emotions she shows from her little experience in the indsutry definitely wins her a seat in the list of promising stars. A bold theme for a new comer and definitely a break through in her career.
2. Parthiban – It is definitely a milestone in his career. One can see shades of personal experience and industry experience in his character. The pause in his dialogue delivery changes the landscape from comedy to love to sympathy. He shows great sensitivity and sensibility playing a role of a writer, may be his real life experience comes in handy in reel life? Only Parthiban can fit this character.
3. Music – Could have had more depth in the lyrics, but songs on the whole were soothing for the ears and gelled with the story line. The back ground score was perfect to convey the mood changes. Sabash, Sabesh Murali.
3. Music – Could have had more depth in the lyrics, but songs on the whole were soothing for the ears and gelled with the story line. The back ground score was perfect to convey the mood changes. Sabash, Sabesh Murali.
4. Director – Debutant director, Padmamagan is bold to take risk with such themes for his first movie. Completely out of the box, bold and sensitive portrayal of women, realism of whorehouse makes this movie earthy and heavy. The contrast in the real world and brothel world brings the best of Ammu, Gowri and Mahadevan. The 2 hour movie packed with realism, crisp and hard hitting dialogues adds to the success apart from cast and crew. We are hopeful that there are a few thinkers and a few more KB's in the make.
My verdict:
This movie is a revolution in TFI (Tamil film Industry) I already see a few Balachandars’ out there and TFI is definitely seeing genre of intellectual movies on controversial subjects such as prostitution, a long haitus after Thapputhalangal and Arangetram. For a change this movie doesn’t portray guilt and shame in the oldest profession but rather shows how women become victims of circumstance and how society and men can be large hearted and open minded to redeem them from the profession and bring them back into the mainstream society.
There are a few slips and cliched scences here and there, but we will ignore them looking at the bigger scheme of success. Though many rolls and reels in the film left us gaping at harsh realities of life, the last few scenes in the movies marooned our corneas and left our cheeks wet. Each of us was busy hiding our curling lips and flowing tears and from our neighbors. My windpipe was chocked, my tongued was tied and I left the hall with a heaving heart. It took me couple of days to get out from the frames of the movie. I only hope more flesh traders and visitors to brothel house watch this movie to understand the themselves better. I hope our menfolk will learn from Gowri Shankar how to treat women with love, care and respect.
My last comment: If you haven't given yourself an opportunity to visit the whorehouse it is okay, it is not a sin, but it is definitely a sin if you don't watch this movie. Don't waste time visiting these links, get your tickets now.
Want to hear from some of the brave soldiers behind the movie? http://videos.oneindia.in/watch/1291/specials-ammuvagiya-naan.html
for more reading on Born into brothels
As I read the movie’s review from Chandra, I decided that I should watch this, but even before this the title will make you turn your attention to it for some moments as I watched some posters on the walls in Chennai some weeks back.
ReplyDeleteMy Views:
This movie replicates the ‘Memoirs of Geisha’ where geisha house was a traditional house in Japan and geishas were trained from their child hood. Just as the innocent and the ignorant Ammu was sold to a lady who runs a brothel house, some female children are sold to some geisha’s houses and there they are taught how to entertain the guests.
And they are allowed to marry and live with a man who is entertained by these geishas during their regular visits to the so called ‘Tea House’ after enough money transactions have been made with the person who runs a geisha house. Emotions take a back seat and money is always given a top seed.
The highlight of the movie is when I see no guilt or shame in ammu’s conscience. She feels perfectly happy and enjoys her present moment in her life which normally people in her trade also would not do neither worldly people are able to do. All of us blame the circumstances and finally would like to call ourselves ‘I was a victim of circumstance’, but ammu was a side stopper.
Applause to gowri when ‘Ammu’ says she does not know to cook and gowri calmly asks ‘what would you like to eat?”.
There is so much of sensitivity when ‘Ammu’ says that she has prepared gowri ‘s favorite choices of food when gowri comes home drinking with a heavy heart is to be well appreciated and the way gowri educates ammu on the importance of a ‘Thaali’ and house keeping and cooking invites genre for classic cinema and acting.
Another applause to the ‘RaniAmma’ who brings up ammu from her childhood is given a chance to wipe off her guilt feelings as she feels responsible for ammu’s destiny and smoothly diverts her chosen destiny for ammu to the blissful family life and earns some good points by returning back the money obtained from Gowri as a security measure for Ammu.
When the writer Gowri Shankar says that a writer doesn’t own his writings but the ownership and the credit should go to the personified character in the writing and accolades ‘Ammu’ is a message which should be BOLD and Underlined. The EGO never let goes you even when you wish to, but Gowri Shankar goes one step above his humanitarian traits which makes everyone crave for every person in this trade who deserve the acceptance in the society and should be given an opportunity.
We need many more gowri Shankar’s in this world to wipe away the tears of every human like ‘Ammu’ but no one wants to become a real gowri Shankar for the fear of rejection and degradation in the society. And for the least of the crowd’s tears to be wiped away we will need much more resistance and clear focus of living a strict life of brahmacharya or single partner concept in marriage. If there were no desires, there would be no sins in this world.
Name it anything we as humans fail to recogonise our own conscience when we are habituated to a pattern be it anything right or wrong and when destiny makes you meet the right people in your life who can make a difference is all that matters, Ammu feels guilty in giving herself to another person after her marriage to Gowri , but she was guilt-free before her marriage to gowri, a very big transformation , well pictured. These Human ethics like educating children on sexual education and pornography must be put to practice immediately and only these can hold families together, marriages together, society and country together.
Last but not least, ‘Memoirs of Geisha’ – A Must read and worth a film to watch and ‘Ammuvakiya Naan’ – a must movie to watch and ponder all the artists and the brilliant story that made pick up seasoned artists with an aroma of sensitivity and poignancy.
Voicing Myself,
Anita(Anii)
Anii's comment certainly makes me want to pick up 'Memoirs of a Geisha'...fingers crossed that it may be soon!
ReplyDeleteOne the review itself, 'sex work as work' is something I began to think about only in the last couple of years. Netherlands legalized sex work on these grounds while India struggles to decriminalize it. A very important step to come out of our hypocrisy. I really think women more than men need to support sex workers as they often serve to 'satisfy' clients with 'special' sex acts that their legal partners are empowered enough to refuse them/ could not care less about.