Tovino Thomas' latest release Narivetta serves as an important reminder of the Muthanga agitation, an incident that shocked the collective conscience of Kerala in 2003. With the film reigniting discussions about the plight of the Adivasi community and the system's continued apathy towards them, its writer Abin Joseph is a content man. Abin's primary objective was to make an "engaging film," and the subsequent discussions around it have been "value additions." He says, "More than anything, I wanted to make an engaging film, but it's heartening to see people across generations talking about it. We thought the film would mostly appeal to viewers above the age of 30, but surprisingly, even the Gen Z youth, who must be unaware of the history or background, are liking it."
A former journalist, Abin is also an award-winning short-story writer, whose accolades include the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Geetha Hiranyan Endowment and Yuva Puraskar by Sahitya Akademi. While it's usually a challenge to adapt to screenwriting, Abin says the transition was smoother than he expected. "Since I was always interested in writing for films, I used to read a lot of screenplays. That must have helped. I also believe finding a good story is as challenging as writing a good screenplay." Abin had been toying around with a few ideas before arriving at Narivetta. "This was in 2021. We pitched the basic storyline to Tovino, and once he said yes, I started developing the screenplay."
Abin clarifies that the core idea of Narivetta was not a film based on the Muthanga incident, as many presumed it to be. "The original thought was about a youngster whose circumstances force him to take up a job that he doesn't like and how he copes with it. For him to transform, a crisis was necessary, and I kept thinking of multiple options. I felt it should be related to some social issue and not just another personal crisis to have a bigger impact. Incorporating the Muthanga background added a whole new political dimension to the narrative."
Abin's familiarity with the Adivasi lifestyle and their struggles began from a young age as he hails from Keezhpally, a region close to the Aaralam farm tribal settlements. Recalling some of his earliest memories about the tribals, he adds, "We used to visit them from school during monsoon time to help with food items, bedsheets, and clothes. They used to live in huts and temporary sheds that were much smaller and congested than the ones we showed in the film. It was much later after the Muthanga incident that some of them got their own land and houses." Abin's familiarity with the community also helped him pen dialogues in the tribal language, with assistance from some locals. Unlike many films that have mocked the language and dialect, it is used effectively in Narivetta to convey the community's struggle to be heard, without ever simplifying it. "Many complain they don't understand the dialogues spoken by the Adivasi characters, but that's the whole politics of the film. We don't understand their language, similar to how we don't understand their struggles."
Post-release, there have been divided opinions about the film's decision to narrate the story from a cop's perspective rather than the Adivasis. Many feel this "outsider" perspective doesn't allow the film to get into the details of the strike or the history of injustice meted out to them. Explaining the rationale behind his choice, Abin says he was well aware of the story's potential had it been narrated from the other side, but still opted to tell it through Varghese Peter as the character was conceived as the "society's representative." He adds, "Kerala's so-called mainstream society and the media don't have a proper understanding or empathy towards the Advasis, and Varghese Peter is also one among them. He is initially least interested in their struggles; it's only after being amidst all of it that the harsh realities dawn upon him. The audience is also like him. I wanted them to travel with Varghese and experience similar realisations."
Another shared sentiment about the film is the lack of strong roles from the Adivasi community, despite having characters modelled on activists like CK Janu and Geethanandan, who spearheaded the strike. Citing screen space as a problem, Abin says, "If there are multiple important characters in the film, it takes a lot of time to establish an arc for each one of them. My idea was to show them through Varghese's lens. But I still think CK Shanthi was a strong and resolute character. Moreover, with a big star and a huge budget involved, Narivetta was always designed to be part of popular cinema. That's also why I didn't research much on the incident as I felt too many facts and information might make it look like a documentary. I wanted to create a fictional character and generate the intended emotions through him."
Besides Varghese, Narivetta also has a strong character in Basheer, a veteran policeman who becomes one of the victims of the revolt. While it was a Dalit constable named KV Vinod, who was killed in the original incident, the decision to fictionalise it as a Muslim character has raised some eyebrows. However, Abin clarifies that the choice to name the character Basheer had nothing to do with representation. "Basheer is the only one in the force who is considerate towards Varghese. He is a mentor figure sharing profound life lessons in very few words, just like Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. So it's just a tribute." When asked if Varghese was also named similarly after Naxal Varghese, who fought for Adivasi rights, Abin chuckles, "I thought it was obvious!"