Jio MAMI 2023 | Vinay Forrt’s Malayalam film Aattam lands punches at patriarchy, no holds barred

A powerful statement against patriarchy without disguising toxic masculinity as a mental health issue and not a vile social and cultural construct like many blockbuster Malayalam movies have portrayed, Aattam lands punches at all corners, no holds barred.

Director Anand Ekarshi.

Written as he remained locked inside his home in Kalamassery near Kochi during the pandemic, Ekarshi's script is a study of the behaviour of groups and individuals within the prevailing social structure. "The film is not inspired by any real-life stories," says the director, a busy actor and director in Malayalam theatre. "It explores if justice is the responsibility of an individual or the society."

A Master's in psychology, Ekarshi was initially not set out to make a movie. His packed theatre schedule allowed an occasional music video or a corporate ad film. But when his fellow theatre actors asked him to take the lead for a first-time feature film production, he didn't hesitate.

"My theatre friends said they have never had a chance to act in a film. They asked me to write a story and said if I directed the movie, they would all be with me," recalls Ekarshi. "I wrote for them."

It took Ekarshi three months to come up with a script. A 10-minute scene was soon filmed with money borrowed from a neighbour. Malayalam cinematographer Anend C Chandran shot the scene without charging his fee. "We pitched the video to producer Ajith Joy (Mukundan Unni Associates) and he said he was ready to make the film," says Ekarshi, who has never received formal training in filmmaking.

Aattam's ensemble cast has only two actors with experience in movies — Vinay Forrt (Fahadh Faasil-starrer Malik) and Kala Bhavan Shajohn (Drishyam). Shajohn plays the theatre production's lead actor Hari in the film while Forrt is Vinay, the company's former lead actor. Kollam-born Zarin Shihab, who appeared in five episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series The Family Man, is Anjali, the only female actor in the play.

Zarin Shihab, who appeared in five episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series 'The Family Man', is the only female actor in Aattam.

"It was a collective decision to cast a woman in the role of an individual who is seeking justice," says the director. The other 12 actors — all men — represent the society that is demanding its own form of justice. Forrt had acted in several plays with Ekarshi, one of them Karnabharam, a Malayalam adaptation of Kavalam Naraya Panicker's Sanskrit play in which Ekarshi played the role of Bhishma. Shihab was selected from five actors shortlisted (from 100 entries) for an audition with Forrt.

The film was shot mostly in a house in Kolenchery near Kochi during February and March last year. "It was challenging writing for 13 characters who appear throughout the dialogue-intensive film," says Ekarshi, a keen watcher of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. "I like Farhadi's study of individuals in A Hero, A Separation and The Past," says the director, who made a short film after becoming one of the three Class XI students chosen from his school after a three-day film camp in Kochi in 2006.

Aattam, which was selected for Film Bazaar Recommends last year, followed a rigorous regimen during production. "There was a 35-day rehearsal of all scenes," says Ekarshi. "The actors would come every day in the morning and leave by evening. They were all focussed. We wanted to make sure they all had a good transition from stage to screen. It was tough."

Aattam, which will be screened during the International Film Festival of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram in December, is expected to be released theatrically in January next year.