The Tamil anthology film Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum directed by Vasanth Sai won the Best Film award in Asian cinema category at the Bangalore International Film Festival (Biffes), that took place between February 21 and 28, 2019.
The film is based on short stories written by Jeyamohan, Adhavan and Ashoka Mithran. It stars Parvathy, Kalieswari Sreenivasan and Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli in the lead, with Karunakaran in a supporting role. Director Vasanth Sai made his comeback with this film after his Moondru Per Moondru Kaadhal.
Sivaranjiniyum looks at the lives of three women, their resilience against domestic violence, and how they navigate family dynamics, early marriage and pregnancy. Sivaranjini is a college student and an athlete who plays at the national level, Devaki is a working woman, and Saraswathi loves cooking and tends to her baby all day.
Director Vasanth made the film as a tribute to his late mentor, director K Balachander, whose films gave prominence to women, and featured them in roles of substance. Sivaranjiniyum… is a small budget film with cinematography by NK Ekambaram and Ravee Roy, and editing by Sreekar Prasad. The shoot was completed in 2017 and the film premiered at the 2018 MAMI film festival in Mumbai and International Film Festival of Kerala.
Following the screening of the film at Biffes, a discussion on gender sensitivity was organised by Hitashini, an online magazine. The panelists spoke about women’s issues in and outside cinema, and the importance of setting up an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at all workplaces. Director Champa Shetty, who made the Kannada film Ammachi Yemba Nenapu in 2018, based on stories by writer Vaidehi, said at the event, “Sivaranjiniyum testifies that nothing much has changed as far as the oppression of women is concerned. Only its pattern and design have changed over the years.”
Recommended
According to a report in The Hindu, the members spoke about taking films such as Sivaranjiniyum… and Ammachi Yemba Nenapu to smaller towns and rural areas.
Image Courtesy: YouTube
****