Nagavally: A Rereading to Visualize Subjugation

Sameer Mecheri

• Nagavally ‘resists’ introduction

• She is deeply penetrated into the silver screen audience of India.

• No ‘exorcist’ could bring her in control

• Nagavallys are multiplying in the society day by day

• She is nailed inside a Bus from Delhi

• Govindachamy threw her from the train.

• She has been broken into pieces before she attain puberty

• She is numerous

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• Let me ‘open’ the Manichithrathazhu for two reasons

1. To get the male dominated discourse in the film with the help of Gaze

2. To reread the film with a new(I think) perspective

Gaze in Power Creations

• A number of Gazes film

• Spectator’s gaze• Character’s gaze • Male gaze• Female gaze • Director’s gaze etc.

Gazes in the Film

• The female statue

• Half naked

• Submissive

• The motionless representation(subjugation)

• A sign that promotes the male gaze in the film

• Ganga’s first appearance

• Accompaniment of a red light

• The music of the particular scene

• Frighten the spectators

• Signification - the presence of a blood thirsty female spirit

• Nakulan’s gaze

• His potent gaze compels Sreedevi to withdraw

• The gaze becomes powerful when Nagavalli dances

• The camera focuses on to the face of three male characters looking at the girl who is dancing

• All had the same expression and gaze

• Whereas the girl had different colors around her and she seems to be happy.

• The lines of the song are the solid evidence of subjugation

Have you ever

Seen me once?

Have you ever

Tried to recognize me?

The girl in your heart is dancing

The Road

Not

Taken

• This is the way the director leads us

But

A rereading is possible

• The married life of Ganga and Nakulan is a failure

• She never loved Nakulan.

• Her passion was reading

• Among the books she loved poetry more

• Poetry ‘poisoned’ her

• She was passionately in love with the lines of P. Mahadevan, the poet

• Gradually the love shifted from the lines of Mahadevan to the soul of the same

• She tried to kill Alli as she is Mahadevan’s wouldbe

• Ganga could not go into Mahadevan in reality as she is married to another man

• To meet him sexually she pretended as psychotic

Conclusion

• Gaze in film is a discourse that defines the role of women

• Yakshi is a constructed reality, the absence of ‘Yakshan’ is crucial

• Women are ‘twice removed from reality’1. Accusing the disease

2. Curing the disease

• The woman is passive to the active gaze from the man

Your Patience is Much Appreciated !!

Thank You

Sameer mecheri