Symbolism is a very sticky business, both to use and to comprehend, yet if cleverly done could be greatly rewarding. Intelligent
films in Malayalam have always had a rich tradition of symbolism to address ideas
of social, psychological, ideological or religious bearing using brilliant
metaphors. These parallels have in the past not only added layers to our
thought processes, but have also been enriching our taste over the years. Following
is a list of some of the greatest metaphors used in Malayalam Cinema,
some of which bask in plain sight, while others, you got to dig a great deal to
even locate.
Maybe it wouldn't make an awful lot of sense to those who haven't watched these films already.
Maybe it wouldn't make an awful lot of sense to those who haven't watched these films already.
13. The
Glass Unicorn in Akale (2004)
The collection of delicate
glass animals that Rose so compulsively treasures is a metaphor for her fragile
self. The glass unicorn- a mythical horse with a horn distinguishing it from
other horses- is her favorite piece in the collection that represents her dissimilarity
from other girls and the fantasy she lives in. Later when Fredy accidentally
breaks the horn off of the unicorn, it reflects his failed attempt to make her
‘normal’. Although credits for the symbolism wholly goes to Tennessee Williams
who wrote the play the film is based on, Shyamaprasad did a good job
visualizing it.
12. The
Butterfly in Papilio Buddha (2013)
The rare and endangered
species of butterfly found exclusively in the Western Ghats is used here as a
metaphor for the displaced and oppressed Dalits.
The identity struggles of this tribal population hopelessly battling for foot
space in a fanatic world that is eager to grab their lands is synchronized here
with a strong political rebuke. Another recurring motif is of ‘Buddha’ likening
it to Buddhism that the subjugated lot embraces in order to escape cast
oppression.
11. The
Magnifying Glass in Bhoothakannadi
(1997)
The watchmaker’s magnifying
glass is a metaphor for his heightened fears that more often than not seem
baseless to others. For instance he lights torch in broad daylight for his fear
of snakes. He sees the world through this glass that also brings him in
conflict with reality. The ‘hole’ in the prison wall that opens up a new world
for him in captivity also adds layers to this window of hallucination. It is
these vistas of life that he frames within his psychological magnifying glass
that leads to his eventual breakdown.
10. The
Railway Lines in Samantharangal
(1998)
In Samantharangal, the disparities in values and predilections of two
generations are said through the deteriorating relationship between a principled
father and a pragmatic son whose ideals running ‘parallel’ to each other never
agrees to reconcile. The parallel views are reflected in the title, setting and
the fate of characters in this Balachandra Menon film through ‘railway lines’
that forever runs parallel to each other. The father is a stationmaster, and the
premise for the climactic mayhem is also set on the tracks.
9. The
Wall in Mathilukal (1989)
The eponymous ‘walls’ in
Adoor’s adaptation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s novella of the same name, is
used as a metaphor to the confines of freedom and thereby of a world imprisoned
within walls. Initially it is just a barrier in the prison that separates the
protagonist from his love interest, but eventually in light of his reluctance
to leave when released, it is revealed that he sees the world outside as bound
by taller walls, reminiscing the colonial rule, campaigning against which is
what got him in in the first place.
8. The
Fruit in Guru (1997)
It shouldn’t come as a
revelation that ilama-pazham, the enormous
fruit that is the central motif in this fantasy film is used as an allegory to religious
beliefs as it is pretty much spelt out. In the land of the blind, when the
blindness caused by the pulp of the fruit is eventually cured by the seed
within, it is established how the clue to liberation from blind religious servitude
lies within its core values. The movie makes a strong statement against the prevalent
communal violence that has been gnawing our society from within.
7. The
Rolling Shutter in Shutter (2012)
Given the nail-biting
suspense that builds over the course of the film leaving little mind space for
much else, many perhaps failed to notice the metaphor for societal hypocrisy straightaway.
The eponymous ‘shutter’ that sets the premise locking the protagonist in the
knotty predicament, is an allegory to the closed eyes of a moralist with double
standards. He who squints at even the slightest liberty enjoyed by his
daughter, covertly ventures to click with a prostitute in the refuge of the said
shutter leading to the confinement and the traumatic events thereof.
6. Rain in Thoovanathumbikal (1987)
In Thoovanathumbikal Padmarajan used rain as a metaphor for love in the
life of Jayakrishnan that directly reflects on his dicey relationship status
with the enigmatic lover, Clara. In addition to the parallels with the events in
his life, rain is clearly used as a tangible character that empathizes with his
predicament so much so that the slightest mood swing is reflected in the
overcast sky and the intensity of the drizzle. This is one of the earliest
examples where rain was associated with love and passion in Malayalam films.
5. Electricity
in Oridathu (1987)
The film discusses in detail
the probable impact of modernization on people and culture through events leading
from the electrification of a rural community. Here electricity is a metaphor
for ‘progress’ and hence change in society, and the habitual resistance of man to
any change is brilliantly portrayed through the analytical understanding of G.
Aravindan’s genius. The movie has often been criticized for being
anti-progressive, but the societal inertia shown is only natural and the public
response in the film can easily be interpreted as the shortsightedness of a
selected few.
4. Kathakali
in Vanaprastham (1999)
In Shaji N. Karun’s psychological
magnum opus, the line between life and art is way too muddled, and there are various
instances of Kathakali dance routines forming metaphoric basis for real life as
well as of real life doing the same for the art. One such case is when Arjuna,
one of the many characters Kunjikuttan enacts on stage, forms the basis of a
hypothetical construct by Subhadra whom she falls in love with and even
conceives a baby with while totally unmindful of the artist inside the makeup.
3. Mother & The Dead Body in Amma
Ariyan (1986)
John Abraham’s melancholy journey of a mission to deliver bad news has
two very heavy-duty metaphors. The first equates “mother” to “mother land”, one
of them fretting for her children and the other for her citizens. The second
one draws parallel between the “dead body” and the “lost cause” that today’s
youth unites and fights for. Amidst the ever-growing clique that joins to
deliver the information to his mother, there are other great direct and
indirect blows made on a failing system.
2. The
Rat Trap in Elipathayam (1981)
Adoor’s symbolic ode to the
fall of feudal system is an internationally acclaimed film with remarkable
cinematography. The titular ‘rat-trap’ that is used in the film to constantly
ambush rodents from the once prosperous homestead is a symbol of the isolation
and paranoia felt by the central character who is oblivious of the changing
time and the decline of the feudal system outside his mansion. It also draws
parallels with the fate of the trapped rodent but expanding any more on that could
be a spoiler to the troubling climax.
1. Nature in Kanjana Sita (1977)
And now Buffalo in Jallikettu (2019)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic write-up. I am surprised I found this blog only now. Keep writing.
ReplyDelete