I want to start discussions on patriarchy through my films: Bilahari

As Kerala society is hit day after day with news of alleged dowry suicides, Allu Ramendran director Bilahari says art will play a big part in changing patriarchal mindsets.

His short film

Thudarum

, featuring Swasika and Rammohan as a married couple, released in October after the first lockdown, showed the wife taking control over a domineering husband. In the second part of Thudarum, titled Bhayam, which is set to release next month with the same cast, he shows that patriarchy - particularly in households caught in the lockdown - can manifest in subtle ways.

“We wanted to release the teaser now when dowry and domestic violence issues are raging in the State,” says Bilahari, adding he proudly calls himself a feminist. “Patriarchy is ingrained in not just the men, but also the women in our homes, who silently support it. Parents and wedded couples feel the rest of their existence is about the continuation of being married. And so they have to adjust under any circumstance. When a strong woman character is shown in a mainstream entertainer, it reaches more people and a strong message is delivered.”

Bilahari made his debut through Porattam, which was about the day-to-day issues faced by women. “The patriarchy in Bhayam is subtle, like in ‘allowing a woman to do something’. This should cause offence in the audience. That is how I want to portray this issue going forward. This is the story of women who continue to stay in a difficult marriage, but here, she gets the better of the man,” he says. The 18-minute film is a horror comedy, set in the COVID situation, when a couple is stuck at home seemingly without end.

The change that feature and short films can bring is to focus the limelight in a good way on women’s position and start discussions, because it is the need of the hour, he points out. “Men who are chauvinistic, will, at least to show themselves as being decent, support women in a public forum and even that is the beginning of change. I have a scene in my upcoming film

Kudukku 2025

- which was similar to the one in Nayattu, though I had already finished shooting my film before Nayattu was released - shows a man doing a chore, but it is not the focus, that is just something in the backdrop. That sort of thing can be idealised on screen to start a change,” he says.

Before Thudarum 2 - Bhayam releases, Bilahari is “keenly looking forward to launch” a romantic track, titled Maran song, sung by Sid Sriram for the film Kudukku 2025.

For himself, Bilahari says he can identify when his actions and ideas are still patriarchal and can discuss and change them, with his parents and sister. “I grew up seeing my father make breakfast every day, and it is only after that that my mother gets into the kitchen, so my feminism is not about helping in the kitchen, but it is about being a part of removing the idea of gender-oriented roles at home and in society,” he explains.