Between Mosses, Akbar & Mathew: Popular queer representations in Malayalam cinema

(Clockwise from top, left) Stills from Moothon, Kaathal, Allapicha Mollaka, Deshadanakili Karayarilla, and Mumbai Police.

When Mathew (Mammootty) realises that Omana (Jyothika) has filed for divorce alleging he is a homosexual, the ensuing outbursts never occur. On the contrary, Mathew almost accepts it but not before saying that she couldn’t have picked a worse time as he was contesting the local elections. A feeble “we could have discussed it” is all that comes from him. Both are acutely aware of the elephant in the room. In his 20-year-old married life, the 50-something Mathew who has a teenage daughter has long suppressed his sexuality and everything about him indicates unease. You can witness it when he sits with his family, or when he is strolling on the road or standing amid strangers. His father lives with them but they haven’t spoken for a long time. Meanwhile, Omana who has endured the burden of Mathew’s powerlessness all these years is finally ready to let go of Mathew and herself from this torment. Jeo Baby’s Kaathal — The Core handles the complexities of a gay man trapped in a heterosexual marriage delicately and quietly. Mathew hails from a conservative Christian family in central Kerala, who regularly attends the Sunday mass and evening prayers at home. He would have resumed his conservatism and hidden desires if not for Omana’s quiet rebellion.

But clearly, the revolutionary part lies in Mathew’s casting — the gay man is embodied by a megastar who was known for his hyper-masculine projections on celluloid. Of course, that is not to say that Mammootty hasn’t done his share of vulnerable, flawed heroes (Bhootakannadi, Ponthan Mada, Peranbu, Unda to name a few) over the years. However, playing a gay man not only subverted that great wall of hyper-masculinity that he has built over the years but also facilitate more conversations and changes in mainstream cinema. When a star of his stature makes that selection, it brings forth better acceptance in streamlining the community, which was always stereotyped on celluloid. A community that was always ridiculed, criminalised, and caricatured in Malayalam cinema suddenly got a fresh leash of life when Mammootty made that choice. The actor absorbs Mathew with such empathy, tact, and restraint that we are caught up in the same emotional rollercoaster as him. Mathew’s relationship with his partner Thankan (Sudhi Kozhikode) is never shown. It is often hinted at in a line, a terse glance, or a moist eye, but we are left in no doubt about the depths of their feelings. Kaathal is more focused on exploring the complexities of human emotions and relationships and never intercepts into a preachy narrative. We are standing up for Omana and Mathew equivalently in their turbulent quest to live the life they want.

But in the Roshan Andrews directed Mumbai Police (2013), Antony Mosses' sexual orientation is more a plot devise than a sensitive, incisive trajectory into the lives of gay people. In retrospect, it supports every cinematic trope associated with gay caricaturing on celluloid. Antony is a closeted gay who hires an assassin to kill his best friend when he discovers the truth. Antony (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is a cocky, short-tempered, unscrupulous cop who uses every vile tactic to get his way. That includes feeling up the wife of a suspected criminal to weaken his defenses in broad daylight. But all that is redeemed when he is with his friends, especially Aryan Jacob (Jayasurya) with whom he shares a warm and altruistic bond. At various times, Antony goes out of his way to instill confidence in Aryan by letting him take credit for the cases he cracked. Since it was released nearly a decade ago, one can, perhaps, make some allowances for the distorted representation. In the crucial scene when Aryan stumbles upon Antony’s sexual orientation, he makes no bones about his revulsion. Not only is he made to feel disgraceful and emasculated but Aryan ridicules his masculinity. He accuses Mosses of trying to hide his “weakness” (read unmanly) behind an angry and cocky façade. Mosses' partner is also portrayed as an overly effeminate character which typically adds to the celluloid stereotype. In the end, Mosses' sexuality in Mumbai Police remains a dirty old secret that ruins him.

And exactly seven years later, came one of the finest gay love stories in Indian cinema — Moothon (2019). Though the larger story is about Akbar’s reign in the dark underbelly of Mumbai, at the core is a tender love story between two young men. In the backdrop of Lakshadweep is where Akbar (Nivin Pauly) meets Ameer (Roshan Mathews), the beautiful mute, and falls madly in love. Though Akbar takes his time to accept his feelings, Ameer knows it all along. Geethu Mohandas sets up a gorgeous landscape for their love story to unfold and it's gentle, sensitive, teasing, and erotic. Typically no one in that land understands their love leading to Ameer’s suicide. That’s when a devastated Akbar migrates to Mumbai to live a life of denial and debauchery. Interestingly what truly revives Moothon from plunging into mediocrity is this sensitively etched romance that’s also the only thing that lingers.

In premise, Radha Krishnan (Dileep) in Lal Jose’s Chanthupottu (2013) isn’t gay. He is just an effeminate young man. The after-effects of having a granny who encouraged him to dress up as a girl from childhood. And Radha is mocked by men and befriended by women in that village. Eventually his “manliness” is accepted only after his lover gives birth to his child. But the catch is how the film inadvertently smeared the image of gay men in the state. The overly effeminate mannerisms were instantly labelled as a gay prototype and, thereafter, gays in Kerala had to live with that title for the longest time.

While the gay character who briefly makes an appearance in Action Hero Biju (2016) is depicted as desperately horny, and is trying to inappropriately touch the repulsed cop.

Mohanlal’s Allapicha Mollaka in 2003 released Kadhayattam short film series is based on writer OV Vijayan’s works. Mollaka is a Madrasa teacher and a much-married man who develops feelings for a young lad. But, surprisingly, the footage that’s being circulated on the internet comes across as obscene, with Mollaka looking more like a predator than a man in love. Clearly, the execution and performance lacked nuance.

My Life Partner (2014) has a triangular love story involving two men and a woman. The man tells his lover to marry a woman for a child and later abandon her. If the film is a superficial attempt to explore gay romance, what’s unbelievable is the reaction of the gay partner when he is confronted about his sexuality. While it is natural to be in denial till your young adulthood, it’s difficult to buy his ignorance at this stage in his life. The writing and execution are a letdown.

In 1986, Padmarajan attempted a refined glimpse into the world of homosexuality in Deshadanakili Karayarilla. In school Sally and Nimmi, who belong to dysfunctional families, are inseparable. Sally is the boisterous one to Nimmi’s composure. And their bond carries the film forward, till that tragic closure. But it took us several more years to process that Sally’s feelings for her best friend Nimmi were more than platonic. Back then Padmarajan showed how to do it with tact.

In Amal Neerad’s Bheeshma Parvam (2022), the much-married Peter, who is also an indifferent partner eventually exposes himself when his eyes take stock of his film’s star actor. His desire cannot be more eloquent in that scene when he gazes at him through his large, coloured glares.

As Mathew Devassy (Kaathal) has received both love and hate — trolling of Mammootty's social media posts — from a Kerala society that has for long seen, for instance, the Mammootty and Mohanlal quick kiss on the lips, in a song picturisation from the 1983 film Naanayam, as simply bromance and having no queer undertones, it will take several decades for it to accept the LGBTQIA+ community.