Brahmakamala Movie Review:
It is unusual to see an adult holding toys that children usually play with. In Brahmakamala, that adult is Apeksha. The image is simple, but it immediately places us inside the mind of a woman for whom motherhood has become inseparable from the expectations surrounding her.
Director: Siddu Poornachandra
Cast: Adhvithi Shetty, Ruthu Chaithra, Lokendra Surya, Siddu Poornachandra, Pramila Subramanya, Auto Nagaraj and Bala Rajwadi
Apeksha (Adhvithi Shetty) is married to Raman (Siddu Poornachandra) and is constantly asked the question married women still hear far too often: Enu good news ilva? (No good news) What begins as a casual question becomes a source of anxiety. She wants to return to her in-laws with a child, but there is little sense of celebration in her pregnancy. What she seems to want is not motherhood itself, but what having a child might restore: her place in the family.
Apeksha’s desperation takes her into territory that is morally difficult to defend. Yet the film does not make her easy to dismiss either. Whether a woman pushed repeatedly towards motherhood can eventually make a terrible choice out of desperation. That is a more interesting question than deciding whether Apeksha is right or wrong.
This subject also demands a careful hand. Pregnancy, infertility and the pressure to produce a child are loaded with emotion, particularly for women who have been made to feel that something is incomplete without a baby. The film recognises that pain, but the writing occasionally pushes the drama instead of allowing the emotions to develop naturally.
Gauri (Ruthu Chaitra) brings a different experience of pregnancy into the story. While Apeksha is caught up in what a child could change in her life, Gauri is dealing with the immediate physical reality of carrying one. Ravi (Lokendra Surya), Gauri’s husband is not merely an observer either; his involvement makes the situation increasingly complicated. The parallel opens up an interesting contrast, but the screenplay does not take it far enough.
The film is also slow. It keeps returning to the same central conflict, with Apeksha, Raman, Gauri and Ravi carrying most of the weight while the remaining characters largely function around them. After a point, the screenplay feels as though it is going around the same room rather than opening another door.
Raman’s difficulty expressing himself and his mother’s attitude towards Apeksha bring another familiar tension into the picture. Her concern about a grandchild is understandable; the manner in which that concern becomes pressure is not. The film could have said more through this relationship without spelling everything out.
The Brahmakamala is a flower known for its brief bloom, and that fleeting life becomes a fitting metaphor for the child who drives the story. A life that appears precious and temporary becomes the object of adult hopes, fear and desperation. It is one of the film’s better ideas.
Apeksha remains the film’s most difficult character. Her actions are wrong, but reducing her to a wrongdoer would make the story too easy. Siddu Poornachandra deserves credit for attempting to hold that contradiction.
The subject is strong enough to demand greater precision. Brahmakamala has something worthwhile to say, but its slow pace, repetitive stretches and tendency to explain its emotions keep it from reaching the impact its premise promises.
