19(1)(a) movie review: Nithya Menen and Vijay Sethupathi lead a meditative ode to the idea called Gauri Lankesh

Language: Malayalam with Tamil

19(1)(a) is cinema in Pranayam form. It engages with pressing political issues, but it does not scream like noisy TV debates. Instead, it pauses, it observes, it absorbs, it reflects, it calms.

Debutant director Indhu V.S. draws the title of her film from Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every citizen. The bravely black-and-white name fronts a film that is, in contrast, incredibly nuanced even as it remains unequivocal about its politics and intent every step of the way.

19(1)(a) is the story of an activist-writer quietly planting the seed of revolution in a youngster who is at a crossroads in life. It’s a meditative film about a person identified in the credits only as Penkutty (young woman). Nithya Menen plays that Penkutty who is stuck in an unchanging routine. She runs the house she shares with her father Ganga (Srikanth Murali), manages the photocopying shop he once ran, and hangs out with her friend Fathima (Athulya Ashadam in a stand-out supporting role). Meanwhile, Ganga (Gangettan to everyone) seems to have given up on life. A cloud of resignation hangs over the daughter and Dad – we later discover why.

This woman once possessed a spark, but her life has now plateaued. She tells a well-wisher: “This scooter and that shop are all I have. I don’t know how much longer either will run.”

Then, to paraphrase Casablanca: Of all the photocopying shops in all the towns in all the world, someone walks into hers. And in this, the unlikeliest of places, a viplavam (revolution) is born.

19(1)(a) is about the power of the written word, its potential to light a fire in even the most passive person, about fatalism and how seemingly mundane actions might alter the status quo. It could be the act of questioning those who you assume will ignore your opinion – how do you know for sure until you ask? Sometimes, just taking a photocopy could be a protest.

Alongside Nithya Menen’s track in 19(1)(a), in a world markedly different from hers, we meet Gauri Shankar played by Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi in his first lead role in Malayalam cinema. Vijay had in 2019 done an extended cameo in the abysmal Jayaram-starrer Marconi Mathai.

The link between Gauri, a reputed figure in activist and literary circles beyond state borders, and Nithya’s non-descript character in a non-descript village, is drawn in a lyrical fashion.

19(1)(a) features excellent acting across roles. Athulya Ashadam and Bhagath Manuel as the protagonist’s friends are especially lovely. The casting of a star of Vijay Sethupathi’s stature as Gauri in itself makes a point. Vijay lends lightness to Gauri’s gravitas while simultaneously pulling off the man’s mild sense of humour. In a longer role, Nithya Menen is exquisite. Her pronounced, almost child-like dialogue delivery underlines her character’s extreme timidity. The innocence she conveys, the diffidence and despair all converge in a beautiful scene in which she tells another woman that no one would believe she is going off the beaten track in that moment because (she pauses to gather her thoughts) “so far I have only done what people expect from me.”

In a departure from the norm in India’s male-dominated film industries, Nithya deservedly gets the No. 1 spot in the credits. For this to have happened even though Vijay is a nationally recognised artiste is a measure of Indhu’s commitment to her script and his respect for it.

What an amazing year it is turning out to be for Malayalam cinema, with one memorable directorial debut after another rolling out in theatres and on OTTs. To an expanding list that includes, among others, Ratheena (Puzhu), Nithin Lukose (Paka: River of Blood) and Sajimon Prabhakar (Malayankunju), please add Indhu V.S.

The difference between India’s most high-profile film industry, Bollywood, and Malayalam cinema stares us in the face every step of the way during 19(1)(a). While Bollywood films these days by and large avoid contentious issues when they are not acting as spokespersons of the present Central government and/or its ideology, 19(1)(a) minces no words while doing the exact opposite. The year is 2019. The killings of activists and the government’s bid to suppress free speech are openly cited on screen. Gauri is clearly described by the news media as a human rights advocate, an opponent of Hindutva and an Ambedkarite. His surname, ethnicity and gender may differ from hers, but in multiple ways this film is an ode to the late activist Gauri Lankesh and others who have been targeted by right-wing violence.

Clarity, courage and a liberal ideology alone do not automatically yield great cinema. What makes 19(1)(a) special is its poetic, relaxed storytelling and alluring, pensive tone.

The film has a fair share of flaws. It leaves a couple of loose threads lying around – why, for instance, didn’t the manager at the publishing house inform her boss about the eager visitor she sent away? It is also oblique without any purpose in places, such as in the confusing difference between the Malayalam accents of Gauri and the woman everyone calls his sister (Sreelakshmi), although if you manage to catch the headline of an interview with her you will realise that she is not his blood relative. There is a wordy interaction between the policeman Ismail Ibrahim (Deepak Parambol) and the publisher Anand (Indrajith Sukumaran), and more verbosity from Anand during a conversation with Gauri. There are also moments of self-indulgence (including needless slow motion), particularly in the final scene.

What lingers, however, is the detailing in the acting, visuals and understated observations about life that may or may not be linked to the larger theme – that fleeting instance of sexual harassment, that wilting Communist flag and so much more that could easily be missed.

There is also so much that is said without saying anything. Note how Gauri, a polyglot, favours Tamil, Malayalam and English in his writing – there is no mention of the language that symbolises supremacism for India outside the Hindi belt; the language that commercial Malayalam cinema mindlessly tends to treat as  a mark of being hip and happening, especially in lyrics. Note the genuine and deep affection between an attractive young woman and man with no insinuation at all of a possible romance as is the norm in mainstream films and series not just in India but across the world. Note Ambedkar’s omnipresence in the narrative. Note how Christian devotees, a nikaah and a reference to the epic Badarul Muneer Husnul Jamaal are seamlessly woven into the village of Anchelpetty where the heroine lives, normalising co-existence as Malayalam cinema routinely does. Watch as an activist emerges from amidst a crowd in a church procession at the head of which is a statue of St George, Slayer of the Dragon.

The imagery employed is powerful but Indhu never strays from the narrative’s thoughtful tenor. It is fascinating that she has adopted such a soothing mien for a film that is, at its core, a lament for murdered activists and an indictment of societal cruelty to Dalits. Govind Vasantha’s music for 19(1)(a) is a balm to injured souls, mirroring DoP Manesh Madhavan’s magnificent aerial shots of mist-laden mountains and wistful frames of faces and more intimate spaces.

One of my favourite scenes in 19(1)(a) shows Gauri walking down a scenic leaf-laden path in the countryside while a haunting song plays in the background. Separately, the Penkutty walks down that very path. Cut to him. He turns briefly as if in anticipation of someone.

When one Gauri is gone, another will take their place to walk further down the same road, the film seems to assure us. Gauri in 19(1)(a) is not an individual, but an idea that never dies.

Rating: 3.75 (out of 5 stars)

19(1)(a) is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

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