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Happened to see two films – both in Malayalam, in amazon
prime.
One is Naradan.
It depicts the evil side of the 24x7 news channels which are desperate to increase their ratings at the cost of peddling (or even creating) false narratives in the name of news, without concern about the damage it does to the individuals concerned who become victims and also the larger good of the society. It shows the arrogance that goes with that power to intrude into individual and private life in the name of freedom of the press and speech. It ends with the sweet dream of an incorruptible Munsif/Magistrate directing the Police to file an FIR against the protagonist. Indirans as the Munsif/Magistrate has displayed magisterial regal. He stands on the side of the poor who cannot afford to approach the judicial forums for a compensation for their life and reputation being spoiled by the mighty and money hungry media.
The other one is Aatam – The Play.
It revolves around an allegation of sexual
assault by the lone lady member of a drama troop against a leading actor of the
film industry who happens to be the main actor in the troop. What forms the plot of the film is the
discussion that takes place between the other members of the troop regarding
what action is to be taken against the alleged offender. Some want to find the veracity of the
allegation. Some have a doubt whether
there is proof that it was the said person who was the perpetrator. Some suggest a compromise between the two.
One suggests a mid way of a suspension for 6 months or 1 year. There are also persons who are of strong
opinion that there cannot be any compromise on such issues and the person against
whom the allegation has been made has to be sent out of the troop. Though one or two are still having doubts
about the stand that they are to take in the matter, they decide to abide by
the decision of the others. But before
the decision is communicated, they want to have a word with the victim to show
that they are all with her. One of the
members of the troop is sent to fetch her.
In the meanwhile the person against whom the allegation has been leveled happens to turn up to meet the leader of the troop and makes a promise of taking the
troop on a foreign trip for 3 months.
This promise makes the members of the troop slowly change their stand one by one and
by the time the victim arrives on the scene, there is a different scene. It shows how thin the question of moral
compunctions is in our society. There is
a twist, I do not want to reveal. I was
reminded about the German drama 'Zeit der
Schuldlosen' by #SiegfriedLenz,
which has been translated into Tamil by G. Krishnamurthy under the name of ‘Nirabarathikalin
Kaalam’.(நிரபராதிகளின் காலம்). Though the German play is with a political
background, I feel the basic issues remain the same.
I only felt that if the common man is able to appreciate the issues presented in both the above movies, we would evolve into a far more better society and would not allow people, particularly politicians and moneyed mafia to take us for a ride.
