The controversial movie ‘Kalimannu’ hit the screens on Thursday without making any major upheavals. The audience who watched the movie in fully packed cinema houses said the movie is not as vulgar or provocative as professed by those who oppose it.
Since director Blessy captured the delivery of actress Shweta Menon live for the movie, it was hit with stiff opposition from several public personalities and political outfits, including Legislative Assembly speaker G Karthikeyan, BJP’s Mahila Morcha and Kerala Film Exhibitors Association. ‘Kalimannu’ was also opposed in courts but it seems the response of the audience, the final verdict for any movie, remains positive for the film.
Members of the audience said that even the delivery scene was undulating and was right for the plot. “It’s a bold attempt”, said Sanal Sasidharan, who was in the audience of the preview show. “It visually narrates the grace of a pregnant woman at various stages of pregnancy. The delivery scenes are not at all a morality shaker, unless you think humans are still born by molding clay”, he said.
A female member of the audience, who wished not to reveal her name, said that film may not appear as a culture shock to even those who protested. “It’s telling the tale of hardships that a woman faces during childbirth. Even the item dances are in correlation with the plot, as Shweta plays the role of an actress in the film”, she said. She also pointed out that there were no annoying comments or untoward incidents in the theatre.
However, it’s learned that the family audience remained sparse in the theatre.