Iraivi

Cast	:	S. J. Surya, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Sinha Kamalinee Mukherjee, Anjali, Pooja Devariya Radharavi, Vadivukkarasi, Karunakaran
Director	:	Karthik Subbaraj
Cinematographer	:	Sivakumar Vijayan
Music	:	Santhosh Narayanan
Producer	:	Thirukumaran Entertainment
Release Date	:	June 03, 2016
Length	:	2 Hours & 40 Minutes
Language	:	Tamizh

My Thoughts

"Porukkaradhukkum sahikkaradhukkum naama enna pombalaya? Aambala! Aaan. Nedil."

This dialog sums up the underlying theme of Karthik Subburaj’s Iraivi! A movie that questions society, beliefs and the way women are brought up - submissive and accepting!

Arul and Jagan’s mother (Vadivukkarasi) sheds tears due to her husband’s dominance, until she finds peace through coma. Ponny (Anjali) dreams of romance and pristine love, but she marries a man who lusts/loves over another woman and still sleeps with her. Yazhini (Kamalinee Mukherjee) is well-educated and independent, yet men makes the decisions in her life (father, husband and other men). Malar (Pooja Devariya) admits that she still loves her dead husband, but also acknowledges that physical needs cannot be ignored either.

With age, Arul and Jagan’s father (Radahravi) understands that he had taken his wife for granted. He realizes her value only when she loses herself to coma. Michael (Vijay Sethupathi) thinks that the duty of wife is to take care of house and procreate. Arul (S.J.Surya) gets selfishly addicted to alcohol without caring much about its impact on his wife and daughter. He doesn’t understand that he has personal responsibilities too and a life beyond his profession. Jagan (Bobby Simha) thinks that men are devils whose existence always throws women in misery and end up giving only hardships. He believes that the society and family has always taught women to tolerate their husbands and be with them, even if it is at the cost of their self-respect and happiness.

Iraivi has a clear screenplay and ensures that the emotions of the men and the women are rightly expressed. It shows how we worship Goddesses and fail to understand the inner Goddess within women. In this story, men never act; they only react. And, women gets indirectly affected and get punished for such reactions. This is one of those stories that shows the unsaid and makes us uncomfortable. Where the selfish eccentricity of men shouts for attention, the emotional turmoil of women silently cries in the background; like the rains! I mean we want rain for survival, yet hate it when it rains. We don’t want it disrupt our routine lives. We like to dance in the rain but we don’t want to get drenched. Thus, it beautifully captures the brotherhood, at the same time subtly hints the helplessness of women. That’s where Iraivi wins and creates a lasting impression in our mind.

Technically, thumbs up for the story, screenplay, dialogs, cinematography and the background score. The songs fail to amaze, most of them reminds of the other compositions of the music director. At a stretch of 160 minutes, the film seem to be a little slow and lengthy. Editing could have been better. The gory scene where the producer is killed with a hammer is violence at its peak, showing the animal instinct of man. So are the climax scenes. It makes us wonder if killing a human being is really so simple, just like crushing the life out of a mosquito! What amazes even more is that the murderers really don’t care about it and act as if its business as usual for them. I mean, really?!

The movie makes you think, quiver and leaves you feeling disgusted. S.J. Surya has infused life and flesh into the character. He steals the show! The unexpected twists and the relative ease of performances delivered by Vijay Sethupathi and Bobby Simha adds realism into the theme. And the women (Kamalini and Anjali) have supported really well. They depict that education or economic independence of women doesn’t matter unless the society’s (including family) perception of women and marriage change.

In short, Iraivi is a coming of the age film about women empowerment through the eyes of chauvinistic men. It cries for a change and keeps the audience engrossed.

Double thumbs up for Karthik Subburaj.

A must watch!

Rating

4.5/5