If there was one film that had to be screened on International Women’s Day, Taya — a movie on a sexually hurt woman striking back against the patriarchal system — was probably the right one. Directed by G Prabha, the Sanskrit film was screened at the Bengaluru International Film Festival on Tuesday.
“It’s a story that’s relevant even in today’s time,” says Prabha, adding, “It’s about a young Namboodiri woman, Kuriyedathu Savitri, also known as Thatri, who lived in the early 20th century. She was the wife of elderly Raman Namboodiri of Kuriyedath Mana in Thrissur, who questioned the judiciary and patriarchy of her time.”
Being Prabha’s second feature film, the scenes are confined to her place of stay. Shot over 22 days in Kerala in 2021, Taya focuses on Smarthavicharam, which questions the moral conduct of women of the community. “In the film, a woman was sexually harassed by 65 men and eventually died. Thatri gathers the evidence regarding this and goes to trial. She stands up against everyone to make a point, including the judge who is accused of harassing her,” he explains, adding that this is popular Malayalam actor Nedumudi Venu and Nelliyodu Vasudevan Namboodiri’s last film.
Even while working on this, Thatri knew that she would be banished from the community and village, but persuaded the jury to punish the accused,” says the director, who is the former Head of the Department of Oriental Languages, Loyola College, Chennai.
“This film is still relevant today because of how our judicial system is. While Savitri took a lot to battle it out, instances like this still occur and there are many in the top-level too who misuse their power,” he adds.
Presenting this film in Bengaluru after its preview at the Pune International Film Festival, Prabha is happy to see the large crowd here. “The festival is bustling and it’s great to see the number of people who’ve turned up,” he adds.
Meanwhile, the director is working on the story of his next film. “It’s too soon to say anything about it. Since I’m the one who does all the work in my film, from script to storyline, it’s taking time,” he signs off.