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Prismatic family
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The film, Our Family, in its free-flowing narrative portrays three generations of trans-gendered women
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FAMILY OF FOUR The film subverts popular notions of the State, community and family in the patriarchal world
In a radical alternative to notions of the State, community and family, filmmakers Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, professors at the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai attempt to change our notion of the family. Their film, “Our Family”, subverts all ideas of the family whether they are patriarchal, biological or heterosexual, to give it new dimensions and dynamics.
The film, set in Tamil Nadu, sways between the lives of the family of three generations of three extraordinary trans-gendered women – Aasha, Seetha and Dhana and their friend, Pritham K. Chakravarthy who used the aesthetic form of dance to craft out the passage of Aravanis. Pritham dramatically re-enacts her poignant and exemplary journey to becoming a trans-gender. Her expressions, gestures and words to recreate the pain and joy to discovering the gendered self in this polarised world of male and female, are visually stimulating.
The use of the ‘feminine’ mirror can be seen as a metaphor of the many layers of this journey from masculinity to femininity and also reflects the conflicts between the gendered selves at the point of Nirvanam or liberation. When Dhana says that Nirvanam for her means that she can no longer choose to wear male clothes at midnight and walk on the streets at midnight, and that she can’t do the same as a female, mirrors the dilemmas that both men and women face when boxed and viewed in fixed, stereotypical roles. What was exhilarating was the natural formation of the unconventional family, a family that defied blood and heterosexual ties and when Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association in Chennai says that hers is a small family of four, it also brings the debate of family planning and reproduction as forced versus natural.
In a free-flowing multiple narrative, the film breezes through as an engaging and thought-provoking glimpse that feelings of belonging, family and community are transcendental.
What is commendable is definitely the careful portrayal of the community, without any hints of exoticism.
“Our Family” is a well-edited movie, without much technical detailing. It also takes you to the Pal Utru Vizha or the 40th day of celebration of Nirvanam, with meanings of alternative terms typing out on the screen.
The end, which sits through a discussion of what this closed-knit community requests from society, is very simple – that we see them as human beings.
Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar will be present at the Vikalp-Films for Freedom screening of “Our Family” which was awarded the certificate of merit and special mention at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF 2008), on April 19, 6.30 p.m. at Nani Cinematheque, Centre for Film and Drama, 5th floor, Sona Towers, 71 Millers Road. For more information on the movie, visit http://ourfamily2007. wordpress.com
AYESHA MATTHAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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