Aattam Film Review: Anand Ekarshi's Directorial Debut Shines in This Powerful #MeToo Drama With Exceptional Performances (LatestLY Exclusive)

Aattam Movie Review: In Aattam, a drama troupe is invited to celebrate the success of their play at a resort. There are drinks, and there is playful banter. A couple takes time out to get intimate in the shadows. The only female actor in the troupe drinks with the men around her. She is comfortable with them, but that cannot be said about the men. Some are judging how much she has drunk. A misogynist colleague tells his wife to ask the actress to wear her clothes properly, even though there is hardly anything scandalous about what she is wearing. Funnily enough, the next minute, another male actor strips off his clothes to jump into the pool in only his underwear. Onlookers find it funny; no one's judging. In the hullabaloo, the leading star picks up the actress and throws her into the pool against her wishes. The night goes on. The actress goes to sleep in her room, and that's when an incident happens that threatens to break the troupe. Aattam Movie Review: Vinay Forrt, Kalabhavan Shajohn and Zarin Shihab’s Malayalam Film Impresses Critics!

The actress is Anjali (Zarin Shihab), part of the drama troupe called Arangu. The man she accused of molesting her is Hari (Kalabhavan Shajohn), a popular film star whose inclusion in the troupe helped in getting the play more visibility. He had also replaced Vinay (Vinay Forrt) as the lead of the play. Vinay, who has been in a secret relationship with Anjali for years and is the first one to learn of the incident, decides to use it to expel Hari from the troupe by getting a senior member to hold a meeting regarding this. The rest of the film unfolds over these members meeting and then deciding whether Hari deserves an expulsion through verbal arguments and if Anjali is even telling the truth.

Watch the Trailer of Aattam:

Writer-director Anand Ekarshi makes an impressive directorial debut with Aattam, a dialogue-driven, performance-boosted drama that is not about the incident but how people react to it. It throws light into the #MeToo movement and reflects on how a male-driven system brings out their biases in making their perceptions on whom to side. Some believe the victim, some want to give the accused a fair hearing, some want to blame the victim; everyone jumps to their conclusions, either because they hate the accused, it's a matter of their egos, or simply because they are defensive about what he may or may not have done. Some just fear what will happen if she goes to the police. One thing is forgotten in all this: empathising with the victim.

It has been said by now in the earlier review that Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men plays a major role in the narrative style of Aattam. We are never shown the incident per se; instead, the film wants us to get the picture through whatever tidbits we get, which are also the same that the characters on screen get as well. But what makes Aattam interesting is how Ekarshi approaches the narrative style. If 12 Angry Men was about one man's conviction in trying to convince other jury members that there isn't sufficient evidence to prove an accused guilty, the same tactic is given a different standpoint here. When the troupe members come out with the loopholes in the story presented to them, it is not out of a sense of justice but more out of a self-serving nature. There is a mystery, but it is not a whodunit in the end.

Aattam is not about being black and white; it is about the grey nature of humans who adapt to the developments around them, where the sense of justice takes a backseat. The film is more about trying to expose the double-sided nature of people, even in the little scenes. For example, the principle-spouting actor, also a lecturer, whose sleazy nature gets revealed in a comical moment. A senior, respectful member is belittled behind his back because he stays at a house owned by his wife, who earns more than him. Even Vinay's garb of a supportive boyfriend is more to hide a fragile ego and a male saviour complex, as he continues to dig a hole for himself in trying to make Anjali's trauma his own (often reminding me of Shane Nigam's character in Ishq). A Ranjith Cinema OTT Streaming: Here’s Where To Watch Asif Ali, Namitha Pramod’s Malayalam Psychological Thriller Online!

Aattam is a very cautionary tale and deals with the themes of #MeToo movement with the sensitivity they deserve. The film becomes a mirror of how we ourselves react when we become privy to such discussions. It nudges us to empathise with the survivor while at the same time not jumping at the next available conclusion without available facts. The fact that it does so by baring the nature of mere mortals reacting in the face of such moral complexities and tested by their own greed without getting preachy is the most commendable.

Of course, a film like this won't get the happy ending we usually look out for. And yet, I like the bittersweet ending where Anjali manages to put her voice across through a platform she has known and loved all her life. Zarin Shihab (The Family Man, India Lockdown, Trishanku) is fantastic in the role, particularly shining in the third act, and I hope I get to see her more in Malayalam cinema. Even the rest of the cast, from known faces like Vinay Forrt (what a range, man!) and Kalabhavan Shajohn (briefer screentime in comparison, but still effective in raising ambiguity) to actors who I don't remember seeing much on screen, are all excellent in their roles.

Final Thoughts

Aattam stands not merely as a cautionary tale but as a mirror reflecting our own nuanced responses to moral quandaries, especially when it comes to dealing with something as sensitive as a sexual harassment incident. Despite its two hours and 19 minutes of runtime, this was a film I wish would have gone on for some more time. With a brilliant pick of actors and a pretty arresting screenplay that is thoroughly dialogue-driven, debut director Anand Ekarshi makes a stunning directorial debut that deserves to be talked about beyond borders.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2024 09:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).