“Declaration” is the latest Netflix offering, written and directed by Mahesh Narayan. The movie features Divya Prabha as Rashmi, Kunchacko Boban as Hareesh, Danish Husain as Kailash Bhatia, Loveleen Mishra as Smitha Madam, Kannan Arunachalam as Mr. Suresh, Kiran Peethambaran as Manmohan, and more. “Declaration” follows the story of Rashmi, who, along with her husband Hareesh, has relocated to Delhi in hopes of a better future and plans to settle abroad. However, their plans are foiled when Rashmi is accused of distributing an obscene video.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Declaration’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Movie?
The movie takes place at a time when half of the world was confined to their homes due to the pandemic. Hareesh and Reshmi are middle-aged factory workers working in a medical glove factory to make ends meet. Reshmi is employed in the testing department, while her husband, Hareesh, is responsible for loading and transporting the medical consignments. Rashmi runs into trouble while reducing air pressure and often ends up with a lot full of defective units. As a result, Rashmi was transferred to the washing unit after the manager Dinesh caught her with the carton full of rejects, but he later justified his decision by saying that if she had been caught during the inspection, she would’ve been fired from the job, and the washing area is not very strict when it comes to imposing rules. Both Hareesh and Reshmi share a common dream of moving abroad but are met with disappointment when their visa application is rejected again. Moreover, Rashmi is having a hard time adjusting to her new department and often forgets to put on gloves while working. However, their tranquil life is suddenly thrown into chaos when Rashmi is blamed for a leaked obscene video circulating throughout the factory.
The Aftermath Of The Leaked Video
Hareesh blames Manmohan, the guy who has been helping him through their visa application process, but the latter completely denies playing any role in it. The couple lodged a complaint against Manmohan for morphing the clip. However, the cops allowed Manmohan to leave and confiscated Hareesh’s cell phone, labeling it as evidence and sending it to Lucknow Cyber Wing. The police also pressurized Rashmi for a medical test, and the latter reluctantly agreed, with tears rolling down her eyes. Both Rashmi and Hareesh moved to Delhi in hopes of a better future but are on the verge of losing their jobs and hard-earned respect. Meanwhile, the police are constantly pushing Hareesh to withdraw his complaint, threatening that an ensuing investigation will rob them of their jobs and opportunities. The police are convinced that Rashmi herself leaked the video and coerced her husband to confirm the same to resolve the matter; thus, filing an FIR is pointless, and there’s no point in stretching it any further. It’s clear that they’ve been bribed to look the other way, and there’s more than meets the eye. Harish and Rashmi have gambled everything they have on Manmohan in hopes of securing a visa and don’t even have enough to go back to Kerala. However, it won’t matter, as Hareesh believes that they’ll have to live in shame wherever they go, and the only way out of this is death. But are they guilty, even if they’ve done nothing wrong? Rashmi wants to get to the bottom of this, wishes for the truth to come out whenever it may, and urges her husband to do the same. While pursuing the footage at night, Hareesh notices that the man in the clip is wearing a silver bracelet and decides to find him to prove his wife’s innocence.
Hareesh Questions Rashmi’s Loyalty
At the factory, Hareesh learns from Smitha madam that the manager, Dinesh, is corrupt and isn’t going to last very long if the police decide to probe an investigation into the workplace conditions. Smitha madam has been pleading to senior manager Dinesh, and his associate Suresh, to get the latex checked but was always turned down. She had also filmed evidence showing that the latex materials used in the gloves are defective and potentially dangerous. Hareesh and Ismail take it upon themselves to investigate the matter further. Upon investigating, the duo uncovers that someone had been passing around used materials, endangering the lives of everybody working in the factory. Hareesh also learns, after watching the CCTV footage, that his wife had been sneaking out to the B Block and confronts Rashmi about it. Rashmi informed him that she was on her period and had walked to B block just to use the washroom; however, Danish wasn’t convinced and blamed his wife for prostituting herself, severely beating her, and throwing her out of the house. Hareesh has come to believe that his wife is having an affair after seeing Rashmi leave her apartment and enter another. Hareesh is hell-bent on finding the person in the clip and asks manager Dinesh to transfer him to the B Block.
‘Declaration’ Ending Explained – Who’s The Real Woman In The Leaked Video?
Dinesh noticed the same silver bracelet on Kailash Bhatia’s (the factory owner’s) wrist while he was inspecting the faulty lots and volunteered to show Kailash where the trucks go after they leave the facility. However, the situation escalates when Hareesh is arrested for assaulting Kailash, believing him to be having an affair with his wife. But Kailash decides not to press any charges against Hareesh and labels the entire incident as an accident. And here comes the movie’s biggest twist. Mr. Suresh brings Hareesh to the factory and reveals that the woman in the viral video isn’t his wife. The clips belong to a woman named Poonam, who, for a couple of months, was employed in the stripping unit. However, she was fired when her obscene video with Kailash’s younger brother was leaked. Before manager Dinesh came along, he was the one in charge of the facility. Afraid to face society and his parents again, the woman committed suicide days after she was fired. At that time, no one had really watched the video; thus, it just faded away. But nobody really expected it to resurface again, and now it’s time for it to haunt Hareesh and Rashmi. Mr. Suresh was well aware of the situation but decided to keep his lips sealed as he, too, was involved in reaching a compromise with Poonam’s family, and informing Hareesh about it would be to dredge up the issue once again. Dreading that the issue would resurface again, Mr. Suresh requests that Hareesh and Rashmi withdraw their complaints, promises to take care of their respective visas, and offers the couple to transfer them to Malaysia at the company’s expense to compensate them for the troubles.
But Rasmi turns him down and demands a declaration be put up on the notice board stating that she isn’t the person in the leaked video so that she can prove her innocence. Rashmi had suffered enough and was devastated when her own husband questioned her fidelity. Rashmi also demands to visit Poonam’s home so she can show her husband that she isn’t the person in the video. But Rashmi couldn’t bear the look in Poonam’s mother’s eyes and refused to sign any documents. In reality, the new Malaysian job is just a bribe for them to cover up Poonam’s death. At last, Rashmi gives in to her husband’s desperation and decides to withdraw the complaint, but she denies being a part of his new life abroad. The couple is separated, and Hareesh relocates to Malaysia while Rashmi continues her old job at the Neelam Rubber Factory.
At the end of “Declaration,” the management finally puts up a declaration informing the workers that the lady in the video that has been circulating amongst the workers isn’t an employee of the Neelam Rubber Factory. The film effectively illustrates how women are disproportionately held responsible for obscenity, whether or not they’re involved in it. Manager Dinesh, policeman Manmohan, and even the police pointed fingers at Rashmi’s characters without even hearing her version of the story. Poonam’s situation isn’t too dissimilar in this regard, as she was also, like Rashmi, blamed for the leaked video and fired from the job. Kailash’s brother, the man who filmed the original video, was never held accountable and was just transferred elsewhere to bury the scandal. Just like the rubber gloves, Poonam was also replaced without a hitch. Hareesh, too, in the end, battered away his conscience to get out of the country.
“Declaration” is a 2022 drama film directed by Mahesh Narayanan.
