The defenders of culture and its deviant women
After Magalir Mattum I was afraid that the onus of women’s empowerment would be on heroines making a comeback. Nayanthara’s Aramm that came after Maya and Dora only heightened my fear that for a heroine to have a movie of her own she would have to act only in political or revenge dramas. It was the trailer release of Naachiyaar, Director Bala’s next starring GV Prakash and Jyotika that lifted my spirits. From the looks of it, the actor is not in yet another role that talks to women. Good for her, I thought, even as I tch-tched at the unmuted usage of a Tamil cuss word at the end of the trailer.
A few hours unto its release, there was an outbreak of outrage with all the defendants of Tamil culture descending to discuss Jyotika swearing. Turns out that the anger was not directed at not muting adult content on a trailer that will be watched by several thousands. It was quite predictably (and increasingly boringly) placed in whether a woman, a married woman at that, oh, the mother of two children, and a Tamil heroine can swear at all.
Some ask why those who took on Simbu for his beep song are saying nothing about it. Well, sorry to inform you that it’s not the same. Some are dwelling on the choice of the slur, as it is derogatory to women. And here I’d say, “Dear inventor of swear words who believes that men reserve the right to use them, please tell me which swear words are not insulting women? Because the last time I checked each cuss word in every language retraced back to a woman’s character or body part. Let’s talk about internalised patriarchy on another thread. Also, tell me what you’re high on, because on the planet I live in, women swear when they’re angry, just as men do. I learnt every cuss word in the history of cuss words from the women only college I went to”.
I really wonder how many people are out there on the Tamil Internet, indulging in what they perceive as intelligent debates. It’s really a common case of whatabout-ery caused by large periods of joblessness, worsened only by self-medicating on Tamil Culture. Are you amazed to know that actors Siddharth and Andrea kissed 12 times in the song Kaarigai Kanne from their movie Aval? Well, it should collectively amaze us that someone counted, going on to think aloud about how an unmarried actor could kiss on screen, and how he wishes he were the actor who got into the heroine’s pants. “The actors were doing their job of acting like a married couple, and earth to you son, because married people get intimate with each other. You were made too, by two people who did.”
If comments could kill, a large number of people would’ve died in the war of words that is ongoing about the short film Lakshmi. The 18-minute movie is about a woman in a mundane marriage, living the roles of cook, cleaner and caregiver, and breaking out of the monotony when she meets a charming man. The film has received rave responses for its making, and parallel to it the morality of the maker, the actor, and everyone who liked the film has been ripped apart.
If you venture into the comments section of YouTube videos, (Disclaimer: I am not responsible for a sudden rise in blood pressure), you’ll find that comments sections are the battlegrounds of social media. It is both interesting and appalling that in the above three cases and with all else, the discussion veers toward what women married and unmarried should and should not be doing. The rules in these books do not apply to men it appears, as only women are the torch bearers of culture.
I sincerely thank those who respond to comments section culture watchdogs with what I’d like to say, because I doubt I’d be nice. Also comic relief aside, there is the need to intervene constructively in these conversations to get the commandos to see the larger picture. But till that happens, I’m not going to have anyone hold back Tamil cinema that is just entering a brave new phase showing women as they are and as we have never seen them before. For those who find deviant women unimaginable, divert conversations into la-la land and demand bans on portrayal of women who make them uncomfortable, I swear I will find you, and um, swear.
Archanaa Seker
seker.archanaa@gmail.com
The writer is a city-based activist, in-your-face feminist and a media glutton