Author – N. Arvind Karthick

Iraivi is a Tamil film written and directed by Kartik Subburaj, which is loosely inspired by the story called Jannal Malar written by Sujatha. The evolution of the story is two-fold. Firstly, the character Arul is a reputed film director, whose latest movie could not be released as there is a feud between the producer and the director. This drives Arul to alcoholism. Dass is Arul’s father and a sculptor by profession. Michael is a family friend who works in the antique shop that is run by Arul’s family. Jagan, Arul’s brother, is a college student. In order to release Arul’s movie, the producers demand a huge sum of money. Along with the help of their friend Ramesh, Michael and Jagan steal the sculpture of a goddess (sculpted by Dass) and send it abroad to get the required money to release the movie.

The second fold of the story, which forms the crux of the movie, is based on the relationship shared between the women and men; and seen from the roles of the women in the movie. All the leading women characters are connected to Arul’s family through marriage or some form of a relationship with his family members. Yazhini (wife of Arul) works in the IT sector; Malar is a friend who is in a relationship with Michael; Ponni is married to Michael; and Meenakshi to Dass. The film talks about male aggression; the institution of marriage; the notion of love; stigmatisation of sex; and purity of the women’s body. There are three particular scenes in the movie that I would like to discuss which would describe the surroundings; the characters and their attitudes; expression of male privilege; and their masculinity towards women in the cinema. This is also to direct attention to the decision-making process of the men and how that impacts the relationships between women and men. Topics such as the socially constructed institutions of marriage; and stigmatisation of sex would also be touched upon.

Masculinity and aggressiveness:

The first scene which I would like to discuss is when the producer demands some money to release Arul’s movie and when the amount is ready, the producer announces that he would be making the same movie with his younger brother as the director. When Arul sees this announcement in television along with his wife Yazhini, he goes in search of alcohol as he cannot control his anger over the producer. His aggression is characterised as being natural for a man. Arul gets out of his home and reaches the producer’s place. Arul confronts the producer and in turn, the producer tries to kill him and ends up injuring him badly. Later when Jagan and Micahel reach the producer’s place to look for Arul, they find the latter bleeding. This triggers Michael and Jagan. Though Michael stops Jagan, he himself takes the hammer and hits the producer brutally. In the process, he ends up killing the producer in an act of revenge. The question that is left with the audience is whether this is just an act of revenge. The camera slowly travels to the entrance of Dass’s home where Yazhini is sitting near the pillar and waiting for Arul’s return. The following shot captures Ponni sitting near the window looking out at the rain. Just before Michael had left the home, Ponni had informed him that she was pregnant. In a scene after killing the producer, Micahel explains “Thalaiku suurunu eridichu” meaning that the anger made him blind. These spontaneous but aggressive decisions were taken by the men without thinking about the women in their lives. The decision of Arul to meet the producer and of Michael to kill the producer flipped their whole lives. This particular set of incidents is a mark of masculinity that the characters project. These instances portray how men take their decisions in haste and their anger legitimises their aggression and the subsequent actions.

Introducing the concept of ‘Karpu’:

I would like to focus on the happenings between Ponni, Jagan and Micahel. After Michael gets sent to jail for seven years for killing the producer, Ponni is disgusted by Michael’s actions. She refuses to visit him in jail and gives birth to a daughter. Meanwhile, Jagan confesses his love for Ponni and tells her that they both could live a life which she deserves. Ponni replies by saying that though she was married and even birthed a daughter, no one had loved her and Jagan was the first person. But she leaves to her village the very next day after this exchange. In another attempt to steal the sculpture, Jagan deliberately plans in such a way that Michael gets caught by police and later Michael escapes. Ramesh, who was also a part of the theft, helps Jagan to frame Michael by drugging the latter. Ramesh lays out Jagan’s intentions and his desire for Ponni. Michael rushes home after meeting with Ramesh. During the conversation with Ponni, he enquires about the relationship shared between her and Jagan. Ponni tells Michael that Jagan proposed to her and in spite of liking Jagan, she had to leave to her village. She reminds Michael that this life was her fate, referring to her marriage with Michael and that she cannot change any aspect related to this marriage. As the conversation progresses, the camera takes a close-up shot of Michael’s face when he begins asking if she has slept with Jagan. Even before he is able to finish the question, the camera turns towards Ponni, who feels disgusted and irritated with that question and she finishes his question for him. Ponni refuses to answer that question and says she would continue to live with Michael if he is fine without knowing the answer for his question. Otherwise, she implies managing on her own, just like how she has been doing all this while after he went to jail.

At the end of the conversation, both Ponni and Michael decide to leave Madras and start afresh by settling in a new place. But the unanswered question is still stuck in Michael’s heart. He goes to the antique shop to get his share out of all the business made by selling the stolen sculptures. He happens to meet Jagan, who is drunk. When Jagan comes to know that Michael and Ponni along with their daughter plan to move out of the city, he tells Michael to take care of Ponni and her daughter. The aspect of meeting with Jagan, along with Jagan constantly talking about Ponni and the unanswered question, triggers Michael. He gets into a fight with Jagan, ends up killing him and leaving the place. Here, the movie portrays the masculinity of Michael, who is concerned about the notion of purity of his partner and he kills Jagan as he is not satisfied with the unanswered question.

This relationship between the characters draws our attention to the political and rational thought of Periyar, in his book Penn Yen Adimaiyanal (Why were Women enslaved). The question in the mind of Michael towards Ponni is related to the concept of ‘Karpu’. The meaning of ‘Karpu’ in Tamil is ‘Azhivilathathu’, implying something that is fresh and which is not decayed or polluted yet. The English word for this is chastity or virginity as mentioned in the book. Throughout these scenes, Ponni’s Karpu is being questioned. The concept of Karpu is not meant for any specific gender as observed by Periyar in the book and it has been used only for women by men to show dominance. This portrays the patriarchal society that we live in. But when we see the same word in Aryan language, the meaning of the word is ‘slave’. The quote, “Pathiyai Kadavulaga kondaval” means that the husband is seen as a god and the woman cannot think of anyone other than her husband.

To safeguard a woman’s Karpu, women are socialized and conditioned to internalise the fact that they cannot express their love and this forces them to continue remaining in an unhappy married life. This draws parallels to the scene and relationship between Ponni, Michael and Jagan. Ponni in spite of liking Jagan, decides to continue her life with Michael as she has been conditioned to do the same by the patriarchal society. This shows how socially constructed norms and values do not ensure gender equality. They are created in ways that help men to dominate the women in their lives. Periyar writes that this social construction should be broken.

‘Karpu’, sexuality and widowhood:

Malar, an artist and painter, was married to someone whom she loved. After two years, into their union, she loses him in an accident. She starts having a sexual relationship with Michael. Michael loves Malar and brings his uncle to speak to her for asking her to marry him. She explains that it was just a consensual relationship as both of them desired it and that Michael was a good friend. Michael’s uncle calls her ‘a prostitute’ and leaves the room. Malar explains his actions by remarking, “You are still old school and you will not understand this”.

This particular scene should be understood from both the perspective of Karpu and the condition of the widows in the Brahmanical and patriarchal society. The uncle considers Malar to have lost her ‘Karpu’ because she engages in a sexual relationship with someone other than her husband and this implies that she was polluted. The question that arises now is about who decides the concept of Karpu. It is socially constructed by the patriarchal men in the society as if the woman’s body is an object and they get to decide whether the body is polluted or not. The sexual relationship between both the characters was consensual in nature. The uncle does not blame Michael for indulging in a sexual relationship with another woman other than his wife Ponni. But rather he tells her that because of women like Malar, ‘innocent men’ such as Michael get affected. This dialogue portrays the epitome of the male dominance present in everyday life. The concept of Karpu does not speak about non-consensual sex between a married couple, which is nothing but marital rape.

Conclusion:

All the three scenes portray, firstly, how men dictate the life of women and their decision-making about their lives in society. It also talks about the leverage the men get in this patriarchal society. Lastly, the wonder of the movie Iraivi is that it doesn’t stop only at portraying the actions and the subsequent consequences of the aggressive actions of these men. It holds them accountable and responsible for the hurt and damage that their masculinity has caused to the women, other family members and more so to themselves.

Image credit – NYT