“We are indeed at crossroads when it comes to gender sensitivity and gender equality and a movie highlighting the issues that women deal in day to day life will surely unravel the many layers of the problems we face.”
So wrote actor Rima Kallingal on her Facebook page on International Women’s Day last, while simultaneously releasing the poster of anthology film Crossroads. The film that “celebrates womanhood” through 10 independent shorts by 10 directors is in theatres this week.
Crossroads is a project of the Forum for Better Films, a collective of top directors of Malayalam cinema. “We wanted to do something to highlight current issues faced by Malayali women and came up with the idea of an anthology, which many of us could contribute to,” says veteran director Lenin Rajendran, chairman of the forum.
He has helmed the segment Pimbe Nadappaval (The Shadow Woman). The other segments have been helmed by Rajeev Ravi, Madhupal, Nemom Pushparaj, Pradeep Nair, Babu Thiruvalla, Ashok R. Nath, Sashi Paravur, Avira Rebecca Albert and newcomer Nayana Sooryan.
While Pimbe Nadappaval is the story of a young bride, Madhupal’s short Oru Rathriyude Kooli, based on a short story by P.F Mathews and starring Padmapriya in the lead, is the tale of a sex worker who finds herself in the company of a child, following an accident. Avira’s Charivu, starring Srinda Arhaan, meanwhile, talks about how a young woman, travelling alone in a taxi on a hartal day, deals with the lascivious attention of the driver and her courage that is born out of fear. Nemom Pushparaj’s Kaaval is the tale of an army widow forced to navigate the world on her own...
Similarly, each segment in the anthology deals with various faces of womanhood.
“It talks more about different moods and emotions that women encounter in the course of their lives. All 10 shorts feature women of different ages, from a 15-year-old to an 80-year-old. Through the individual stories of each woman it becomes the story of all women,” adds Madhupal. For example, Oru Rathriyude Kooli, which unfolds over the course of a day, essentially deals with the concept of motherhood.
“In each segment, the story reaches a crossroad and from there each of the protagonists find their way forward. Hence, the title of the film,” says Nayana, director of the segment Pakshikalude Manam, with Mythili in the lead. “She is a keen birdwatcher in search of an elusive, brilliantly plumaged bird that she calls Pavadachutti Kavathi. She also represents every woman who has had to chose between chasing her dreams and her family,” explains the newbie director, the only woman director in the group.
Mamta Mohandas, Isha Talwar, Mythili, Priyanka, Anjali Aneesh, Richa Panai, Punnasseri Kanchana, Manasa and Anjana Chandran play the lead roles in the other films. Other big names in the industry such as editor -director Mahesh Narayanan, writer-director Jayaraj, musicians Sooraj S. Kurup, M. Jayachandran, Bijibal, Ramesh Narayanan and cinematographers like Madhu Ambat, M. J. Radhakrishnan, Azhagappan and K.G. Jayan have worked on different segments of the film.