Freedom Fight Malayalam Movie
Each short story that makes up the new anthology film on SonyLIV, Freedom Fight, discusses an aspect of freedom or two.
Geethu Unchained by Akhil Anilkumar discusses freedom of choice. Everyone in the life of Rajisha Vijayan's protagonist, Geethu, wants to have a say in it. Her parents get to say who she should marry and when she has to do it. A frustrated Geethu then asks her mother whether she had full authority over the decision to marry. Geethu's brother also wants to see her get married so that he could get hitched. A colleague from work asks her to stay away from the guy who proposed marriage to her. Geethu left her former fiance as he started behaving like a control freak.
In the terrific opening scene of the short, we see Geethu imagining the various possible scenarios that would follow if she accepts or refuses a colleague's proposal. The editing in that scene is excellent, as it creates a montage that works as a mirror image of Geethu's mind. Rajisha's performance holds the short film together.
Kunjila Mascillamani's Unorganised is the second short story in the anthology. This is about a group of women in Calicut who lack toilets in their places of work. When one of them, played by Srindaa, tells her store owner about the lack of the facility, he gives her a reply that goes beyond mere insensitivity. It is how some men behave in real life. From this moment onwards, you can kind of guess the fate of these women. They approach the labor union over the issue but only get an insensitive response from the staff there.
I like how Unorganised uses non-recognized faces in the film's central roles. The lack of stars in the film means that we see these women as real-world people with real issues. Srindaa is among the few actors we recognize here, which makes the film wonderfully rooted and real.
The third short, Ration by Francies Louis, puts across its points with minimal dialogues and wonderful use of the camera. Ration is the only short film here that does not use freedom as its central theme. The film talks about inequality with seer fish curry as a metaphor for it. The dish is a symbol of luxury for some but an aspirational product for others. Even neighbors who share each other's food and thoughts have a barrier that they cannot breach with food.
Jeo Baby's 'Old Age Home' is perhaps the least intense short film in the anthology. Featuring Joju George as a pensioner with dementia, the short story also talks about freedom. The adult character, Baby George, starts to have mobility issues and forgetfulness. He has long been craving sweet food, but his wife, played by Lali, does not give it to him as he has cardiovascular issues. In one wonderful scene, Joju breaks down in front of his home nurse, Rohini's Dhanu, and discusses the sheer pointlessness of his life. Joju is wonderfully understated in the role and reminded me of Mohanlal in Thanmathra.
Jithin Issac Thomas directs the last short story in the anthology, and it is perhaps more intense than the rest. Manual scavenging may no longer be legal in India, but people from the so-called lower class in some areas do it. Films often discuss manual scavenging to portray a class struggle, and Freedom Fight is no exception. The short has much disturbing imagery as well as terrific performances from Unni Lalu and Sidhartha Siva. It is neither as subtle or organic as the other shorts nor as in tune with reality as possible, but it works as a disturbing ode to authority.
What works well in all the shorts here is the subtlety in its messaging, besides the dignified treatment of the characters. There is a message or two in each short, but it does not make it a message film.
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