Kottukkaali is one of those films that will let the audience get a peek into the lives of people from the rural parts of south India. Despite education being widespread in many parts of the rural region, the locals are still stuck in many age-old traditions. There are women who are not allowed to live life on their own; inter-caste marriages are looked down upon, and couples who dare question their families are either killed or forced to get married to the person of the family’s choice. Kottukkaali, directed by P. S. Vinothraj, is one such story of a woman who is being taken for some rituals because she dared to choose her own life partner.
Spoilers Ahead
What were Pandi and Meena getting ready for?
Pandi and Meena were getting ready for a journey with their respective family members. Though Meena remained quiet while getting ready, her body language and her gaze proved that she was not ready for the journey. Her mother, Shanthi, and her father were also joining in on the trip along with Pandi’s family. Initially, Rani and Muthu, Pandi’s sisters, were bickering about Meena, but the man stood up for the young woman. Anybody would assume he and Meena were married, and his sisters were not happy with the alliance right from the start. It was obvious that Meena had done something awful as per Pandi’s family and that was the reason she was now being taken to meet a swamy who would help her forget the evil things and let her accept the life as decided by her parents and other family members. Meena also noticed a rooster was tied to a large rock so that it would not walk away from the house and free itself. This rooster was kept around for the family to be taken with them for the ritual. The rooster fastened to the large stone was a metaphor for Meena’s life, as she was forced to stay at home in case she decided to defy her family and social customs.
What was Pandi’s sister Rani bickering about?
As Pandi was driving his bike with two of his friends riding pillion, in the rickshaw, the scenario was tense. Rani and Muthu began to curse Meena and her fate. They constantly referred to her as the Kottukkaali, which could be loosely translated to “The Adamant Girl” in Tamil. It was through their conversation that the audience would learn that Meena was in love with a man from a lower caste, and she was adamant about marrying him. Since she had been betrothed to Pandi from a young age, the family was against her plans to marry her lover. This was the reason every family member, including her father, believed a ritual had to be performed on her to make her forget her lover and accept Pandi as her partner for the rest of her life. Pandi turned out to be just like the rest of the family, who believed the ritual would help Meena and he would finally be able to marry her. Throughout the journey in the autorickshaw, Meena and her mother Shanthi refused to speak up in their defense, which was their way of not letting the sisters get to them.
Were the prayers successful?
The family made a pit stop at a small shrine of a local deity they believed in to offer prayers before heading for the rituals. This was crucial because things had to be done systematically for the results to be in their favor. Meena remained quiet, as so far no one was willing to understand what she wanted from her life. She was adamant, and so were her family, which made her join them for the prayers. Rani, Pandi’s younger sister had to stay outside as her menstrual cycle was on. The norms state that she could not enter the temple on the days of her bleeding, and since Rani was raised on these ideas, she chose to follow them. Midway through driving, Pandi could not drive his bike anymore, and he joined his sisters and his betrothed in the autorickshaw.
What procession do they come across?
After the prayers were over, the entire family was en route to meet the swamy. So far, she’d hardly spoken to anyone out of spite and anger. She realized her family would never understand the logical reasoning behind her decisions. On their way, they came across a young girl’s first period being celebrated, and at the same time, the whole event glorified the role of the mother’s brother in taking care of his niece so much so that he began to have feelings for her, and he would want to marry her eventually. The uncle-niece marriage system has been going on for centuries and this was made clear by the makers and the director that Meena was Pandi’s niece. Pandi had been betrothed to Meena for a long time, and both the families were okay with it except for the bride. Meena’s facial expression was a giveaway that she was being forced to marry her uncle, and her mother, who is the groom’s sister, was sad and a silent witness to how everyone else was making decisions for Meena rather than her mother or the bride herself.
Why did Pandi beat up Meena?
As they were following the procession, the song turned out to be an earworm for Meena, and she began to hum it. Meena humming a song that was basically about a person taking care of his spouse triggered Pandi, and he began to slap and beat her up right in the autorickshaw. He could not stand the fact that his fiancée was singing a song and thinking of her lover while doing that. Everybody came to Meena’s rescue as Pandi’s rage was unstoppable. Pandi blamed everyone in the family for not keeping an eye on Meena, as he claimed this led to her wandering off and falling for a man from another caste. There were many things about Meena that were bothering him, and it began to simmer up in his head. Not that that could ever serve as justification for Pandi’s actions. He was a misogynistic casteist man who only wanted to control the women around him, including his mother, sisters, and now Meena. The soon-to-be bride remained quiet when she was being physically assaulted, as she wanted to put up a poker face and be unperturbed by anyone’s rage, anger, and badmouthing.
Why were the other cousins speculating?
There was another bunch of cousins who took a detour from the people on the road to purchase some alcohol. This was only for some strength and courage, as they knew there could be showdowns between the families pre- or post-the rituals. The cousins also speculated Meena could be pregnant with her boyfriend’s child, which was the reason why she was insisting on getting married to him. There wasn’t an ounce of truth to the theories as there was no evidence. The family chose not to go to the police in this matter. The police would follow the law by the book, which would allow Meena to live life on her own terms since she was an adult.
What was the other obstacle the family faced?
As the family continued the journey, they came across an ox in the middle of the road. The animal refused to move away from the road despite many attempts by the family members, including Pandi as well. It felt like the obstacle was a godsend for Meena, as it only delayed their journey. The ox was moved by the daughter of a farmer who lived close to the road. This indicated that women as beings have a calming effect on animals. This also proved that women as a gender having compassionate features, were exploited and controlled by other women and men for their benefit. The family had a small scare when Shanthi felt Meena might have run away on the pretext of wanting to attend to nature’s call. Thankfully, that did not happen, as Meena was not planning to give them what they expected.
Was Meena silent for a reason?
The family finally reached the place where they could meet with the swamy to carry out the rituals. Meena remained mum as she knew she would never change her mind about marrying the person of choice. Especially after experiencing Pandi’s controlling, abusive nature, she was sure about not wanting to make him her life partner. The family had delusional notions about the rituals and their after effects. Even though Meena’s father claimed he would kill her if she had not forgotten her lover, the daughter was okay with being killed. It was obvious Meena was not afraid of death, as she knew she would have to suffer the consequences of falling in love with a man from another caste. However, she wanted to fight for the love. Meena probably thought she could live on her terms on the other side after passing. This thought may have helped her remain calm on reaching the place for her rituals.
Did Meena get cured of the evil spirit?
The family witnessed the swamy conducting rituals on another woman, who was married. From the looks of it, the ritual was being joined by the lady’s husband and his family. The woman who was subjected to the rituals remained quiet and immobile throughout, even though the swamy chose to touch her inappropriately. This was not an easy watch as it was a raw portrayal of how women were treated in rural regions. They had no agency over their bodies, as any holy man could touch them in the name of curing her. There was no clarity on what kind of ritual was being conducted on the said woman. It could be implied that the rituals were being conducted to cure her of infertility. This again points at the fact that people were not sensible enough to understand every female body was different, not all of them could conceive, and there could be many legitimate medical reasons for it. Meena and Pandi’s family were impressed with how the swamy worked wonders on the woman and her family. They had hoped Meena could be cured as well. If common sense had prevailed on any of them, they’d realize no ritual could make Meena forget her lover, even though she knew she would be subjected to beatings. Meena remained adamant for the reasons stated above, but her family, including Pandi, were in denial right from the start.
Kottukkaali ended with Pandi being deeply affected by the ritual he witnessed that was performed on the woman. The woman was asked to carry the lifeless body of a rooster that had been sacrificed for her. He might have felt it was wrong, and there would be no real results coming out of it. Pandi probably was also not sure what the swamy would do to Meena once the rituals began. He may have sensed Meena genuinely despised him, and that he could not live a happy life with her. As he walked away, his family members brought him back and asked him repeatedly to join the ritual for his betrothed. The movie ended with Pandi not joining the rituals. There could be plenty of reasons behind his move to back away. Pandi might have realized Meena could never love him. Their eventual marriage might cause resentment, which could lead to them falling apart. Pandi may not have wanted that for him, as he is a typical alpha figure who would never believe in getting divorced. Pandi could also be wanting to take revenge on Meena by letting the ritual not take place. This would make her resolve to marry the man she loved stronger, but her father might kill her. We believe a misogynistic man like Pandi would want such women to not remain alive as he believed she was a threat to their perfect society. These are mere speculations, but the bottom line was Pandi did not agree for the rituals to be conducted on Meena.
