I am a big movie lover and have watched every Bollywood and known English movie. But COVID had been tough on all of us and an opportunity to try something new. One of my colleagues recommended that I try some Malayalam movies. I shied away from watching South Indian movies because of the language barrier. But then I thought most of the OTP channels come with English subtitles, so thought of giving it a try.
The first Malayalam movie I watched on Netflix is The Great Indian Kitchen. This movie is not a typical masala movie which we are generally used to in Bollywood. It revolves around a girl who is an aspiring dancer. Her dreams were not that big, what she really wanted was basic in life which every human being is entitled to, basic respect, someone who can understand her feelings, and freedom to go and follow our heart and aspirations.
As a newly married bride, she was surprised to see that her mother-in-law spoon fed her father-in-law and her husband. The men first finish their meals and leave the place dirty for women to come and clean them up, followed by regular household chores and then satisfy the husband during the end of the day. She was slowly getting adjusted to those conditions as her mother-in-law was taking the lead. Her surprise turned into a nightmare when her mother-in-law had to travel to take care of her daughter. All those responsibilities fall over her head. The whole responsibility of cooking, cleaning and other household chores falls on her. She was expected to continue the routing that her mother-in-law has been doing till now. She was not allowed to go out of the house and look for a job. The movie also highlighted the mentality of some of the men in our society where they don’t want to hear No from their wives. Her request for foreplay to avoid pain was outright rejected. The frustration was well highlighted through the sink filled with dirty utensils, the leaking sink and leftover discarded food. Finally she gave up, left that home and found ways to follow her heart where she will be respected and her dignity is not tarnished. The movie ended with showing she being replaced by another bride and the story continued.
After watching this movie, I thanked my parents and my husband from the bottom of my heart. This is a very common problem in our society and a very debatable topic. We women have been told that this is normal, and this is how it has been till now, so what is wrong in that. Thinking this as normal is the biggest mistake, we cannot change what happened, but we should teach ourselves and our children what is right and what is wrong. There is no harm in a boy cleaning a utensil or a girl going for a job. We should treat others the same way we want to be treated. Since then, I have watched many Malayalam movies and they are so good, you don’t need to read the subtitles to understand them.
Hats off to the director, move actors and the entire crew.