Aramm: How Nayanthara occupies space dominated by male actors without indulging in machismo

By merely taking up a project such as Aramm, Nayanthara does something that the Tamil film industry desperately needs in the midst of star-powered masala entertainers. Minutes after the movie ends and in several parts, too, we can’t help but be reminded of Aamir Khan. Time and again, many people have spoken about how other stars should take up projects like the perfectionist, where he has little screen space and allows the actual heart and soul of the script to take over. And Nayanthara does exactly that, that too while being a ’lady’ superstar. Actually, let’s just call her an actor; I don’t think she needs the tags anymore. This phenomenon needs to be spoken about widely, because in south Indian cinema, especially Tamil cinema, it marks the start of something new. In recent times, Jyothika led the pack with 36 Vayadhinile and Magalir Mattum this year, but Nayanthara truly strikes a chord thanks to the genre she chose. Aramm is most definitely the social drama of the year and brilliantly showcases one of the most problematic issues our country has been facing for years now — that of unclosed bore wells. In a nutshell, Aramm is a social drama that revolves around a child who gets trapped in a deep bore well and how the collector of the village, Madhivadhani, played by Nayanthara, takes the lead in a mission to rescue her. In this process, we are shown the many internal problems that often exist in governance and which stem out of power politics. This premise, unlike in other movies, is translated really well on screen, and Nayanthara further increases our interest in this drama by merely being its backbone — and the best backbone at that. Aramm stands out because of its genuine portrayal of a social issue. The film not only moves you in several parts but also subtly urges you to think about the many problems faced by the undeveloped parts of the country. This is a rare aspect which is not found in most other social dramas; it usually gets lost in translation and the cliché of cinema. [caption id=“attachment_4203301” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Nayanthara in Aramm[/caption] Why we ought to talk about Aramm and Nayanthara’s contribution is because, frankly, I am really tired of seeing our female actors play a key role only in romantic movies, which too, are sometimes taken over by men. We know that there are very few women-centric films because when asked to name a few, we go back all the way to K Balachandar’s Manathil Uruthi Vendum and a handful of other movies in the recent past. Except for Baahubali, where women dominated the screen and for once, got the whistles apart from the deserving Prabhas and Rana Daggubatti, let’s look at the other blockbuster Tamil film Mersal. The Vijay-starrer broke many records and stirred a lot of controversies over one dialogue about GST, so much so that Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi looked at this as an opportunity to outdo each other. [caption id=“attachment_4162951” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vijay in a still from Mersal[/caption] What often remains unmentioned is how the female actors were merely props in this action drama. Nithya Menen sure got a little more footage than Kajal Aggarwal and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, but when it comes to someone like her who has now done over 50 movies and for Samantha, who is considered south Indian cinema’s top female actor, we wonder why they even choose to be a part of a film in which they had nothing to do. If the story is about the journey of Vijay’s family, then why have female actresses in the first place? Imagine a movie where Kajal plays the lead role and Vijay is made to be nothing more than a doll who appears onscreen for 10 minutes? Good God. Illayathalapathy fans would have torn the screen apart, so powerful is the fan-following for male actors down south. This is not limited to Tamil films like Vivegam, it is also true of the Telugu film industry. From Nani’s Nenu Local to the recent Arjun Reddy, which is now a cult hit, the chauvinism portrayed in these films cannot be forgotten, even though they performed exceedingly well at the box office. Last year’s political drama Kodi starring Dhanush and Trisha was expected to be different. But what happened instead was that Dhanush showed audiences that it was okay to slap women as a joke, and Trisha, who almost pulled off the character of a really well-sketched power hungry politician, was killed in the end. Once again, the male actor took over the narrative in true hero style after serving up several clichés. Not even Thalaiva’s movies from the past have helped in this respect. Many Rajinikanth movies, which broke and established box office records, hardly had anything to do with the women in these films. Even Padayappa, remembered as Ramya Krishna’s landmark movie, has Rajini spouting lines about how women are expected to be, which in retrospect is absolutely unacceptable. [caption id=“attachment_3079430” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Dhanush in Kodi[/caption] So in such an era, Aramm is definitely important and has to be spoken about. And no, Nayanthara doesn’t indulge in bragging; she doesn’t throw punch lines at you, neither does she lecture about the importance of women in politics. She simply plays an important role in showing us a story which is an everyday reality in our country. This film aces it with its simplicity and genuine performances, which is true of the cast members apart from Nayanthara too. Aramm is more about the common people portrayed in the film than Madhivadhani, the collector. Through Aramm we are taken back to Peepli Live. At that time, the film had no superstar lead it, but it remains one of the most important films in terms of content. Aramm is not presented in the same manner as Peepli Live, and for once, a social drama did not a humour angle. We didn’t need our mass heroes to perform a gazillion action sequences to fight the government, neither did we need Nayanthara’s love interest to support her during the times of crisis. Nothing in the movie is glorified, and yet we are pulled into this gripping drama led by a woman. Frankly, many of us wouldn’t have watched Aramm if not for the hype created thanks to Nayanthara. And once we did, we realise how the movie is much more than the unusual choice to place a female actor its center. Fun fact: many actresses in the South Indian film industry can pull off an entire movie solely through their acting and not just by grooving to random tunes. Masala entertainers are entertainers, but once in a while, a film like Aramm is what every industry needs. So thank you, Nayanthara for bringing to life Gopi Nainar’s vision and presenting the most realistic social drama in recent times, for pleasantly surprising us with a movie with content, and for being able to do something many of your peers couldn’t do in the Tamil film industry so far. We are so glad an Aramm 2 is on the cards. And let’s not forget to appreciate others from the cast, like Sunu Lakshmi, Vignesh, Ramesh and others who portrayed the roles of the common people brilliantly.