Wonder Women: Exploring the psyche of women

Director: Anjali Menon Cast: Parvathy, Padmapriya, Nithya Menen, Nadiya Moidu, Archana Padmini, Sayonara Philip and Amruta Subhash Some women want babies, some don’t. Some are led to believe that having babies are a part of their identity, and hence, feel incomplete as society tells them that they have no space in this world. They just don’t fit in. When they do decide to have a baby and go through with the pregnancy, their world changes. It is not just their body that goes through a transformation, but their mind does as well. It is the very psyche of these pregnant women that Wonder Women has tried to explore. There are small moments in the film that deserve applause. It is these moments that truly capture the heart of the film, and the film is made of these moments. Take for instance, when Veni’s mother-in-law supports her for wanting her husband at the classes. This woman from another generation is stating that men cannot slip and slide away from the responsibilities of having fathered a child. She also symbolises that women do not have to be against each other even if they are placed different on the scale of liberalism. There is another moment, where Saya, an umarried woman, tells her partner that she doesn’t want to be treated like a goddess, put on a pedestal. She wants to be left alone, she wants to be a human who has the space to feel all the annoyance and crankiness that comes with pregnancy. It is not all rainbows and happy thoughts at the end of the day. So, I could list quite a few moments that truly look into the psyche of pregnant women, in different ways. It is capturing such small moments, nuances that Anjali Menon truly excels at, and she has done it again. The performances by Parvathy, Padmapriya, Nithya Menen , Nadiya Moidu, Archana Padmini, Sayonara Philip and Amruta Subhash keeps the film together. Just as different languages are strung together in the film to tell a story. We hear Marathi, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil — and all of it is seamless. This shows more diversity than anything else in the film. Even the women in the film are from different backgrounds, so there is inclusivity unlike any that we have seen recently. In fact, I tried to recall the last time we saw a film that was not only wholesome, but also realistic and relatable. Moving beyond the beauty of these moments, however, there is one thing that I felt slighted about and it is the need to pack a film with too many details. Sometimes, I believe we need to give pregnant pauses and silence the due that they deserve. While Wonder Women managed to get there towards the end, it did struggle in the beginning. Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars) Wonder Women is streaming on Sony LIV

Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with a special focus on identity and gender politics. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.