Kannagi Overview
“Four” women who are dealing with four distinct relationship difficulties attempt to resolve them and go on with their lives, but will society see them favorably?
Review
Kannagi opens with Pollachi resident Kalai (Ammu Abhirami) getting ready for potential husbands, only to have her mother Sarala (Mounica) reject them all for various reasons, much to the annoyance of both her and her communist father (Mayilsamy). Vidya Pradeep’s character, Nethra, is battling a contentious divorce action brought by her spouse and in-laws, who falsely claim she is infertile. When Nadhi (Shaalin Zoya), a single person who doesn’t believe in marriage, meets Abhiroop (Adhesh Sudhakar) in Bangalore, he immediately falls in love with her and wants to marry her!
In doing so, filmmaker Yashwanth Kishore effectively conveys the disadvantages that these characters as well as women generally face as a result of societal expectations. As the story progresses, a lawyer who is adamant that “sattam pengalukku sadhagamanadhu” asks, “Aana samudhayam pengalukku?” rhetorically.
All four of the examples demonstrate how, despite their best intentions, those who are oppressed from women to transgender people also wind up perpetuating patriarchal ideas.
If Sarala ultimately ruins her daughter’s prospects by attempting to guarantee that she finds a better husband, a widow crushes Nethra’s dreams because she is in love with her lawyer son (Vetri MV), who ultimately decides to put family before self-interest. Comparably, a transwoman doesn’t hesitate to give a doctor’s contact information so that Gita’s boyfriend can terminate her pregnancy, even if it has dangers, yet a coworker wants Nadhi to act like a woman at work.
Good performances from the actors ably complement the subtle script. We can relate to all four of the female roles, and Mounica does a great job portraying the controlling wife. However, it’s the late Mayilsamy who steals our hearts with a poignant performance; the actor is really amazing in a scene where he expresses his helplessness and apologizes to his daughter without using words.
there are parts in the movie that seem to be repeating the same argument, and there are also certain scenes that are overly dramatic and forceful, deviating somewhat from the new-age tone that the director was aiming for. However, Yashwanth’s unexpected surprise at the end of the movie brightens things up and leaves us feeling fulfilled.
