What if a woman decides she doesn’t want a kid? What if a decision is taken to abort, for reasons ranging from unplanned pregnancy to a refusal to burden the world with more people? These are ideas that have always frightened filmmakers, but of late, there has been an increase in films that discuss pregnancy. “Why do we even bother commenting on what women want for themselves?” asks Dr Akshay Hareesh, who wrote Malayalam film Sara’s that spoke about a woman’s right to choose MTP (medical termination of pregnancy).
Sara’s is one of the many recent Indian films that has chosen pregnancy as its central theme without resorting to the overwhelming saccharine sentiment attached with such works. There are also films about fertility treatments and surrogacy. While this isn’t exactly new, considering we had the likes of Doosri Dulhan (1983), Dasharatham (1989), Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), and Filhaal (2002), the ‘normalisation’ of these treatments can best be attributed to the stupendous success of Vicky Donor (2012). “The film was an eyeopener, sure, but there are real-life regulations for sperm donations... The film probably also gave men the wrong idea about sperm donation,” says Dr Priya Kannan, a Chennai-based embryologist. However, she doesn’t share this fairly warm outlook towards some other films focusing on surrogacy and infertility.
Take, for instance, the 2019 superhit Hindi film, Good Newwz, which centred around the rarest of rare cases of sperms getting switched during IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment. Of course, it was treated in a light-hearted manner, but it wasn’t taken lightly by embryologists who were up in arms against getting shown in poor light. “My friends were bombarded with questions about the veracity of their IVF treatments, and if they used the right sperms and eggs. They had to reassure patients there are guidelines in place to ensure such things don’t happen. Highlighting such a rare case in a film turned out to be detrimental for the whole profession,” says Kannan. This is something that Hareesh agrees with too. “It all boils down to trust, and smallest doubts get amplified when they consume something in mainstream media.”
In fact, Hareesh was at the receiving end of hate from pro-life people. “Funnily enough, some even created posts pitting Sara’s against the more ‘acceptable’ film Mimi,” says Hareesh. Mimi, starring Kriti Sanon, spoke about surrogacy, and how the deed can backfire at times. Kannan argues that strict guidelines, like the recent surrogacy bill, make sure these mistakes can’t happen. “There are elaborate legal agreements done whenever there is third-party reproduction. It is disappointing when some filmmakers don’t do their homework. Artistic responsibility is as important as artistic freedom in these cases,” adds Hareesh.
While Milind Rau, the director of the recent Nayanthara-starrer Tamil film Netrikann, agrees that it is wrong to generalise a profession, his film, based on illegal abortion rackets, was a result of research based on news items. “A lot of women are being exploited by the illegal abortion rackets. We were careful not to generalise it. There are doctors who misuse their position of power, and our antagonist was one such man who gets his punishment at the end.” Both Netrikann and Sara’s spotlight MTP and how women mustn’t be judged or shamed for their choices to remain pregnant or opt for abortion. And it is interesting how Hareesh too chose to present his pro-choice film in the mainstream commercial format. “I wanted the idea to go public. Though the theme might seem dark, the treatment is very light.”
Kannan believes there’s a lot of misconception around MTP. “It has been there since the 70s, and it is the right of every woman in our country. As it is not spoken about a lot, it is painted as illegal. While there is cinematic liberty taken in the portrayal of this racket, they did have that Nayanthara monologue to redeem it at the end,” says Kannan, who adds that it is equally important that doctors don’t get offended by relentless questioning from patients, who are influenced by what they see on screen.
If it was news items that pushed Rau into choosing such a story for Netrikann, it was Hareesh’s real-life experiences that made him think of a film like Sara’S. Hareesh shares that he had to move past his privileged male perspective to write his characters with more empathy and relatability. “Being from the medical field, for me, these topics aren’t taboo. If I was aware of the backlash that Sara’s would get, I might not have chosen it to be my first film. But women of my mother’s age were able to relate to the 20-something Sara. It made me realise how women suppress their voice for the smooth running of a family,” says Hareesh.