'Her' is the story of five women, coming from different age groups and walks of life, living in Thiruvananthapuram.
A poster of the film 'Her'. (X)
In recent times, Malayalam cinema has received a lot of criticism for the lack of strong women characters in the mainstream. Films like Aavesham, and RDX, which were among the highest grossers were male-oriented films.
Amidst such criticism, Lijin Jose’s directorial— Her— starring Urvashi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Ramya Nambeessan, Aishwarya Rajesh and Lijo Mol released on the OTT platform Manorama Max. The anthology focuses on the lives of these five people, with them meeting at crucial points.
The makers have incorporated topics still considered taboo in society and questioned societal norms through Her.
Her is the story of five women, coming from different age groups and walks of life, living in Thiruvananthapuram.
The film opens with the story of Anamika, played by Aishwarya Rajesh, who is preparing for a government job. However, Anamika is much more than that, she has many more plans for her future.
Another interesting aspect of the film was the use of the ant as a metaphor to describe the difficulties faced by a woman. How an ant obstructs a woman and the challenges faced by her are shown smartly by the makers.
The second story is about Reshma, played by Ramya Nambeessan. She is a content creator, who has her own YouTube channel and is all set to make her own movie under her production. Reshma’s story is slightly hilarious when compared to other characters, and also portrays how a person gains fame, and then struggles to maintain the stature. She is also a selfish person, who puts herself first. This story shows that women too can have grey shades, instead of black and white.
‘Her’ is a multi-starrer. (X)
The third story is of Santha, played by Urvashi, an aged person, who is living a peaceful life with her husband, Vijay, played by Pratap Pothan. This story focuses on the institution of marriage, and the love between Santha and Vijay. The theme this story deals with is technology Vs love, as an AI device threatens to change the dynamics of love and possessiveness.
The story of Abhinaya, played by Lijo Mol. Lijo Mol as Abhinaya is the representative of the modern woman who has her own choices. She deals with the aspect of equality in a traditional marriage setting. The story also includes the classic scenes of how a groom is given more importance. Abhinaya is caught up between balancing marriage and career, with the major question posed to the audience being “Where is equality.”
The final story is about Ruchi, played by Parvathy Thiruvothu, an IT employee, who is living alone in Thiruvananthapuram. Ruchi is about to relocate to the US for her work after her relatives continuously intrude in her personal life. This story has a surprise, which if revealed now would be a spoiler.
Writer Archana Vasudev in her debut movie has done a commendable job by weaving the five stories together. While four of five stories speak of the difficulties faced by women, the story of Reshma is slightly different, as it dabbles in the grey area.
The movie urges the audience to ponder on the notions of freedom and choice. Do women really have the freedom of choice?
The makers conveyed the realities without much fanfare. It’s a mixture of small and complex issues faced by women.
The movie has a couple of good songs composed by Govind Vasantha, that are the soul of Her. The technical team of Her too did their part.
‘Her’ is directed by Lijin Jose. (X)
The five women had a wonderful performance in the movie with veteran actor Urvashi leading the show. Her appearance as Santha is one of the best characters, after Ullozhukku. Her expertise in comedy timing and her chemistry with Pratap Pothan has come out very well.
Aishwarya Rajesh as Anamika had an impressive performance. She seamlessly portrayed the duality of being bold and dealing with insecurities.
Ramya Nambeessan as Reshma is a different one from the actor. Ramya did her role with ease and it was good to see the actor get an important character with elements of comedy.
Parvathy Thiruvothu’s Ruchi is a complex character. Her struggle with her personal issues, while having a great career is a key highlight of Her.
Abhinaya’s thoughts and feelings about her partner and about her career were safe in the hands of Lijo Mol who had a commendable performance in the movie.
Pratap Pothan as Vijay had a good role and his combination with Urvashi has come out well. It was nice to see the actor on the screen after his demise. Guru Somasundaram’s role as an auto driver was an apt one in the story.
Her tells the story of five women, as they travel through their lives. It keeps the audience engaged throughout with its women-oriented theme. The movie has stunning performances by Urvashi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Ramya Nambeessan, Aiswarya Rajesh and Lijo Mol.
(Views expressed here are personal.)
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