NAALU PENNUNGAL (Four Women)

India/2007/Malayalam with English subtitles/Colour/35mm/105 mins

Kerala’s renowned Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s tenth feature is divided into four segments. The Prostitute is on a woman (Padmapriya) who gives up being a street prostitute when she finds a decent lover; but lewd intent and the law catch up with them. The Virgin follows a farmhand’s resourceful only daughter (Geetu Mohandas), who is devoted to her ageing parents. Her brief marriage finds her back at the parental home, her character and future in question. The Housewife tracks a married woman (Manju Pillai) visited by a former male class-mate. She is childless and he uses this vulnerability to try and rekindle their past attraction. The Spinster, set in a middle-class home, focuses on beleaguered parents who cannot find a bridegroom for their eldest daughter (Nandita Das). Being left on the shelf makes her a zero – an exploited, dependant non-person – until she takes an unconventional stand.

“Gopalakrishnan presents his four stories without frills or gimmicks, making his narrative speak eloquently for itself. Each story depicts a different aspect of how India’s male dominated society keeps women poignantly subjugated and undermined by society at large.” – Uma da Cunha

Starring : Nandita Das, Geetu Mohandas, Padmapriya Padmapriya, Manju Pillai, Kavya Madhavan
Director(s) :

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN was born in 1941 in Kerala, India. He studied at the Gandhigram Rural University and in the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. His first feature, One’s Own Choice (1972), brought him world attention, which his subsequent films have steadily sustained. Six among them, Face to Face (1984), Monologue (1987), The Walls (1990), The Servile (1994), Man of the Story (1996) and Shadow Kill (2002), have won FIPRESCI (international film critics’ federation) awards.
Crew : , Benzy Martin(Producer), Isaac Thomas(Composer)
Format : Colour/35mm
Running Time : 105 mins
Country : India
Programme : a celebration of indian cinema
Venue : Mall of the Emirates - CineStar 2, Mall of the Emirates - CineStar 2, Souk Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Theatre
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