Aabhyanthara Kuttavaali Movie Review
Aabhyanthara Kuttavaali: A One-Sided Tale of Legal Exploitation
Asif Ali delivers a compelling performance in a drama that explores the alleged misuse of IPC Section 498A, but the film falters due to its biased narrative and heavy-handed storytelling.Asif Ali delivers a powerhouse performance in Abhyanthara Kuttavaali, a family drama that delves into the controversial subject of women allegedly misusing Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a law that criminalizes cruelty by a husband or his relatives toward a woman. In this film, writer-director Sethunath Padmakumar presents the story of Sahadevan (Asif Ali), a cooperative bank employee whose life spirals into emotional turmoil when his wife files a complaint against him just a week into their marriage.
The film attempts to portray the mental anguish experienced by men accused under this law, positioning Sahadevan as a victim of systemic misuse. While the premise is certainly relevant and timely, the execution leans heavily into melodrama and moral posturing. The courtroom scenes in particular feature characters crafted more to validate the script's viewpoint than to reflect real complexity or nuance.
Despite these shortcomings, Asif Ali carries the film with an emotionally charged performance, capturing Sahadevan's innocence and vulnerability with commendable restraint and expressive body language. His character's marriage to Nayana (Thulasi Haridas), a woman from an upper-middle-class family, is marked by awkwardness and distance, especially in the initial scenes which also critique outdated dowry customs with subtle satire.
However, the narrative loses balance post-marriage, as Nayana avoids intimacy and abruptly returns to her home, filing a case that pushes Sahadevan into legal and emotional chaos. His friends Yudas (Anand Manmadhan) and Deshavasi aka Ajayan (Azeez Nedumangad) offer him misguided advice, which only adds to the confusion. The courtroom drama unfolds with Sahadevan represented by lawyer Rex (Vijayakumar), while Nayana's family brings in the seasoned Viswanathan (Jagadeesh).
The film's overt bias becomes more apparent as it paints women almost exclusively as manipulators of the law. This narrative choice undermines the film's authenticity and risks alienating viewers looking for a more balanced perspective. Parallel stories, like Peter (Siddharth Bharathan) longing for his daughter and Makkar (Harisree Ashokan) tormented by a case filed by his daughter-in-law, seem like forced extensions to validate the central theme. Still, strong performances from Bharathan and Ashokan add emotional depth to the second half.
An ill-conceived scene involving Yudas giving unsolicited advice during a marriage proposal visit misses the mark both tonally and thematically. When Sahadevan begins investigating Nayana's past, the plot turns predictable, and the film wraps up with a feel-good yet preachy resolution that lacks the emotional weight it aims for.
Thulasi Haridas, though given limited dialogue in the first half, eventually delivers a convincing portrayal of a distant and complex spouse. Ultimately, Abhyanthara Kuttavaali raises a crucial issue, but it falters in its execution by resorting to a simplistic and one-sided narrative. The film needed a more layered and empathetic approach to do justice to such a contentious subject.
