Southern Spice: Namma Gramam looks at child widows

What was life like for a woman in pre-independence India in a small village of Palakkad?

The level of respect women were given was related to their marital status and once widowed they were relegated to a life of obscurity. New Tamil film, Namma Gramam, portrays this issue.

Directed by Mohan Sharma, (who acted in noted film, Chattakkari starring Lakshmi) this story focuses on the patriarchal society that existed in the 1930s among the Brahmin community of south India.

Nine-year-old Thulasi is a lucky charm for her uncle, Subramani, who makes it a point to see her face before stepping out to work. But later, when she is widowed, Thulasi is pushed out of society, forced to live life alone.

Thulasi, widowed within a few of days of her marriage, is forced to quit school as well as learning music next door. Adding insult to injury, Subramani insists on shaving her head, as was the practice among the Brahmin community in the 1930s. Putting up a brave fight against this system is Thulasi’s grandmother, played by the late actress Sukumari.

This period film reflects the male chauvinism of the time and exposes the hypocrisy of the men in Brahmin households then.

Namma Gramam received two national awards in 2012, one for late actress Sukumari (Best Supporting Actor) and the second for Indrans Jayan (Best Costume). It also won two Kerala state awards, one for Best Story for Mohan Sharma and the second state award went to Dr Balamuralikrishna for Best Playback Singer.

Sharma, from Thathamangalam, a village of Palakkad said: “This is a fictional account but is based on the happenings from that era when Kerala was a part of the Madras Presidency. Brahmins owned the majority of the lands and were feudal lords. Theirs was a patriarchal society.”

Remembering late actress Sukumari, who played Thulasi’s grandmother, Sharma said: “I have acted with her in more than twenty films. She was a versatile actor and I thought she would be apt to play Thulasi’s grandmother.

“In fact she was so moved by the story, that she refused payment for her work. One scene in the film required her head to be shaved and she had no hesitation about doing it.”

Unfortunately the late actress could not go to Delhi to collect her national award because at the airport while checking in, the metal detector beeped raising questions. The culprit was a stent placed inside her body following a bypass surgery, months earlier.

“Sukumari had not carried a medical report so she missed the ceremony,” remembers Sharma, who holds the distinction of being the first south Indian actor to have graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

The Malayalam version of Namma Gramam was released last year. The Tamil version released in Tamil Nadu on January 3.

Namma Gramam is the first part of a trilogy. Other cast members include Nedumudi Venu, Y. G. Mahendran, Nalini, Fathima Bibi, Nishan and Samvrutha Sunil. Cinematography is by Madhu Ambat.

Authentically narrated and complemented by excellent performances, Namma Gramam will immediately connect with people with its dialect.