Not so feel good “Home”

• Romanticizing of bullying and toxic relations in the Malayalam movie ‘Home’

  

 

“You are not extraordinary, you embarrass me” -a frequent dialogue by character Antony-starring Sreenath Bhasi to Oliver Twist-his father in movie “Home.”  The performances by Indrans as father- Oliver twist and Manju Pillai who played the role of mother-Kuttiyamma received great attention.  Home released in 2021 is an Indian Malayalam film directed and written by Rojin Thomas.  The movie was in the limelight for various reasons. The producer of the movie -Vijay Babu- is an accused in a case of sexual assault of a fellow actor. The harassment case and the very subject of the movie sprout discourse. At the announcement of the 52nd Kerala State Film Awards there was backlash and criticism about home not being considered for the award, particularly Indran’s performance. But does home deserve any celebration at all? 

The movie falls under the ‘feel good’ genre but is wrong on various levels. Mainly right from treating the mother of the family-Kuttiyamma as the stereotypical ideal mother who sacrifices her career and health to raise her family. The movie portrays the story of filmmaker Antony-Oliver’s son who is under pressure to complete his upcoming movie climax. The lead character Antony takes a break from workplace to “home” where the rest of the story progresses. The home consists of Kuttiyamma-Mother, Appachan-Grandpa, Oliver twist and Charles -younger brother. 

There is character Oliver Twist longing to get love and attention from his sons, particularly Antony who is home after long. Oliver is bullied throughout by Antony. One day Oliver attempted to narrate a magical incident that happened in his life years ago but Antony only smirked in disbelief.  On the other side the film also portrays Antony’s girlfriend and their family. Antony looks upon his girlfriend-Priya’s father-Joseph who is defined as successful.  There are instances where Antony compares Oliver to Joseph. He questioned Oliver - “look at his achievements and qualifications, and what have you got.” 

As the story progresses Oliver tries to make sense of things by learning mobile technicalities and social media, this only further adds to the insults Antony spewed against Oliver.  Later on, Antony realises from an event at his girlfriend’s house that the magical incident that happened in the life of Oliver is in fact real- the story narrates about the time when Joseph was saved by Oliver.  Knowing this, Antony’s character shows empathy towards Oliver. The entire movie is based on how the character Antony’s bare minimum is hailed and how his definition of success is only portrayed as valid. The worth of Oliver is shown as dependent on extraordinary instances that happened in his life. 

 Oliver didn’t get any sort of respect or felt seen in the movie. Antony’s aggression and toxicity to people around him are shown as mere imperfections of a guy under pressure. This is problematic for various reasons, especially when the character does not rectify this until the end of movie. It is portrayed to accept the entitlement and male ego of Antony who belittles his girlfriend, humiliates his father and is manipulative and abusive towards his family.

 The problem with the movie is not just the portrayal but also its glorification of societal stereotypes that call to normalise and enable toxic relations.  Antony is a bully, but in the movie his behaviour is guised as “mere imperfections.” He stays the same from beginning to end of the movie without remorse nor change. Even when Antony starts to look at Oliver differently, he chooses ‘pity and sympathy’ and not respect. The pain caused to Oliver is romanticised and benevolent abuse creeps in most scenes in the movie. 

“Kuttiyamma-used to work as a nurse, she quit her job and its great we have a nurse at home. She takes care of everyone here”- is said by Oliver Twist. There are many other lines like these said along soothing background music, only to glorify “sacrifices' ' made by the mother figure. On the contrary, there is no instance in the movie where Kuttiyamma is treated with the respect she deserves. The unbearable knee pain and her health is mocked at. There’re comments that are direct and subtle like, “She doesn’t even know to make tea” -towards other women in the movie infantilizing their characters. Antony’s aggression towards people around him is suffocating to watch. The makers of the movie have given the character the power to decide who to make a laughing stock.

 The story goes along with his decisions and towards the end also makes it look like it’s alright to disrespect people around you, it's normal -approving insensitivity. It shows that a person's worth depends on the productivity and capitalistic value they add. It is clear by the contrast between Joseph and Oliver's twist. 

Oliver Twist had to cite an extraordinary event from his life that surpassed the achievements and qualifications of Joseph, in order to be accepted, acknowledged or even seen. But does it at least solve or add any value to Oliver’s position in the family? Not really. They hail him as a hero without acknowledging the treatment he received until then. There’s no accountability nor rectification of the way Oliver was treated all the way long. The movie was unfair to Antony’s girlfriend- Priya, played by Deepa Thomas- who is shown as the needy clingy girlfriend begging for Antony’s attention.  Scenes involving Priya were portrayed as funny, and Antony disrespected her too. The lead character Antony makes it look like- the attention he gives are an act of charity.  It is portrayed in a way where Antony finally realizes he is comfortable at home. Movies like “Home” that show love and abuse co-exist are problematic. The portrayal of “not expressing love is ‘cool’ does more harm.  Thereby home has got it all wrong right from start to end. The fact that the movie is celebrated shows how much in-depth it's conditioned to make it look like insensitivity and disrespect are just normal imperfections that do not subject to change. It gets worse when Antony ends with the note” I am imperfect at home”