Kaathal: The Core (Malayalam)

Having heard a lot about the performances in this film, I was looking forward to seeing it when it recently came out on Prime video. What a take on homosexuality. This film presents a very different perspective than what we have seen ever.  The gay couple is not even ever together in any scene holding hands or anything , but. The film shows what social pressures can do to the psyche of not just the person who is in closet but also to the people around him, especially his wife (in case of this film). It is a bold but much needed attempt to revamp the social stigma associated with one’s sexual inclination.

Matthew is a middle aged man who is forced by his friends and community to run for local elections. While the preparations are going on, a two month old court filing comes out in open where his wife Omana of 20 years is now asking him for a divorce, citing the denial of her physical needs due to his homosexual orientation. His political party suggest him to fight the case since their silence would be considered his acceptance. A court case follows where details of how and why Omana thinks that her maybe gay and why did she wait all these years to file for divorce. During all this time, we are also made aware of Matthew's lover, another middle aged man who runs a driving school. We do see what his life has been and how this divorce is starting to impact his life since he has been named as the other man in the petition. The good thing is that, during all this the husband and wife maintain a very cordial relationship with each other, neither ever raising their voice and making it an over the top drama. In a very beautiful finale, we do get to see that finally the now separated couple, is trying to move on with Omana going on a date but Matthew and his lover finally maybe getting an opportunity to be together.

The movie is a message to the society which still considers certain inclinations as normal and any other beyond that as abnormal. It constructs a love story in silence while deconstructing another with enough food for thought. The male couple Matthew and his lover do not share any single dialogue at all and are present maybe just in a coupe of scenes in the same frame, yet their emotions, respect and love is potrayed superbly. In fact, we are not even told that the divorce is happening because of Matthew's sexual orientation until much later in the film when the court proceedings start. Till then, as audiences we are left guessing. We first see things form the wife's point of view and son enough even from Matthew's pov as a man whose romantic feelings have been locked away for years, and they have been buried so deep that Matthew himself has become used to the lie that he lived. We are also told that the reason why Omana waited this long to ask for separations because section 377 which states homosexuality as illegal was still in place till one year ago an only after it was decriminalized did the wife ask for separation in the interest of her husband. We also see, how in this case, in a very emotional scene, Matthew and his father, who barely talk withe each other, talk where he asking his father why did he force him to get married. There are many brilliant scenes in the film, where you do try to understand form everyone's perspective and they are all right in their own way, without dramatizing any of it. The film is beautiful but slow paced, so do keep that in mind.

While the film gets right the treatment of a loveless marriage, which is still filled with concern and care for each other, it somewhat falters in its treatment of the homosexual relationship. One gets to see and even hear everything from Mathew’s perspective, while his alleged lover (who by the way is an amazing actor) is reduced to a silent onlooker, with the myriad emotions on his face being the only clue about what goes on his mind or the kind of equation he shares with Mathew. I, of course, wish, there was more focus on that relationship too. The movie carries a very strong ending where the rainbow symbolizes a hope for inclusion. The lover's deep smile at the end is a triumph for the huge majority who had been hiding behind a veil for centuries many. Thank you for Mammoth, a huge star in South India for taking up this bold role and giving it the sensitivity and the respect it demands. In a society like India, making a film like this is another step to address the need for acceptance of all regardless of sexual preference in a conventional society. (8/10)