‘Ennu Swantham Janakikutty’ Quietly Celebrates The Might of Womanhood

India’s cinema industry is one that rarely commends its writers. Films are often said to belong to the lead male actor or, at best, the director, if he or she happens to be prolific. In a notable exception, M. T. Vasudevan Nair is one writer who elevates the value of a film the moment he associates himself with it. Seeped in Kerala’s rural roots, his magnificent oeuvre in literature and cinema is well documented and widely credited. Therefore, it was a matter of great joy when the wordsmith decided to expand one of his much-loved short stories into a full-fledged screenplay in Hariharan’s Ennu Swantham Janakikutty.

Set somewhere in Kerala’s Thrissur district, Ennu Swantham Janakikutty is told through its adolescent central character. Fondly called Janootty (Jomol), the bespectacled ninth-grader is unheeded in her own home for various reasons. On occasion, Janakikutty herself breaks the fourth wall and reveals that every person in her parental home harbours their own little agenda. She is aware of being considered less attractive than her well-groomed sisters. However, quick-witted, well-read, and sharp, Janakikutty makes no bones about looking down upon those very women. The nonchalant protagonist also harbours a secret affection for the family valet’s son, Bhaskaran (Sarath).

The Matrilineal Household

In the initial minutes, M. T. and Hariharan introduce us to the environment, the characters, and their general feelings toward one another. The matrilineal family has husbands working in distant places. The lady of the house, Meenakshi (Ponnamma Babu), is married to a wealthy NRI, Madhavan (Shivaji). Relatively short-tempered, her life revolves around their only daughter, Sarojini (Rashmi Soman). Meenakshi’s younger sibling, Kunjootti (Manka Mahesh), is hassled for myriad reasons: a possibly straying husband, an unemployed son, an unmarried second daughter, and a persistently ill youngest child. The notable disparity in wealth compared to her sister is also a matter of heartburn, but Kunjootti seldom expresses her anguish.

Through a melodious musical number, director Hariharan takes us through the grove surrounding Janakikutty’s home. She hops around munching guavas, looking for squirrels and parakeets. By her own admission, no one at home has time for her. Why, then, should she be meditating indoors?

The Arrival of Muthassi

Ennu Swantham Janakikutty’s plot begins to take shape when Janootty’s maternal grandaunt, Unichiri (Valsala Menon), enters the story. One whom Janakikutty fondly calls Muthassi, Unichiri is no ordinary octogenarian. Notorious for eloping with a Tamilian worker in her younger days, Muthassi is also known to have caused heartache to her own sister — the mother of Meenakshi and Kunjootti. Saddled with old age and abandoned by her own children, Muthassi seeks solace in her maternal home — the house she grew up in. Initially reluctant, Meenakshi and Kunjootti eventually decide to let her live with them.

It is Muthassi who opens up a vivid kaleidoscope of fantasies in Janakikutty’s imaginative mind. Be it the mythical tale of Kunjathol — the yakshi and her accomplices — or the ways of coquettish household helps who seduce rich and healthy men, Muthassi’s stories weave ideas into the young girl’s pubescent mind.

Also an avid reader of Kottarathil Sankunni’s Aithihyamala, Janakikutty unknowingly learns about supernatural beings — until she comes face to face with the angelic Kunjathol (Chanchal) herself.

The Truthful Yakshi

Kunjathol, as most yakshis are known to be, is fond of chewing tobacco with betel leaves. During their first encounter, Kunjathol expresses her affection for Janootty, knowing how marginalized she is within the large, affluent family. A victim, an object of ridicule, and predominantly lonely, Janootty often receives brickbats for speaking her mind — something Kunjathol herself relates to. After exchanging pleasantries, Kunjathol introduces Janootty to her “Woman Friday,” Karineeli. It is worth noting how the friendly yakshi, belonging to the Namboodiri clan, quite literally has a servant from a lower caste. Their differences in attire, names, and lingo explain the well-demarcated social construct within which the lower castes serve their upper counterparts — even if they happen to be supernatural beings.

Kunjathol requests Janootty to bring murukkan (tobacco and betel) without anyone noticing, while also inviting her to be a playmate. Janakikutty is perennially afraid that Kunjathol might one day reveal her infamous damshtras, which she is known to use to kill men. Upon realizing Kunjathol’s detest for the opposite gender, Janakikutty is quick to add that evil women exist too.

Ravishing Female Housekeepers

Having been familiar with Malayalam literature and cinema from yore, I observe how housekeepers often find themselves in the midst of heavy stereotyping. A common prototype is that of a woman who gets seduced by her sex-starved young master, becomes pregnant, and is eventually ousted from both the family and social circles.

In the highly women-led canvas that M. T. Vasudevan Nair sculpts in Ennu Swantham Janakikutty, the story projects somewhat opposite shades for this group. Be it in Kunjathol’s backstory or in Janakikutty’s immediate family, housekeepers are described as urvashis who can tantalize even the sanest of men. It is as if part of their role demands the use of sexuality to extract necessary favours. Muthassi even mentions how this sensuality is passed down through generations of housekeepers. This could also be a misconception that upper-class women in wealthy families cultivate among themselves. However, they do not hesitate to pass on this “knowledge” to the younger generation.

Teenage Love, With Its Innocence Intact

It was not just Janakikutty who was in love with Bhaskaran. Her first cousin Sarojini, too, experiences her first taste of infatuation with the young lad. While their liaisons remain devoid of a done-to-death love-triangle clash, it cannot be denied that the seemingly straightforward Bhaskaran is a clever tease when it comes to sweeping these women off their feet — women whose families enjoy a higher social status than his. As their interactions begin, Bhaskaran repeatedly addresses Janakikutty as a child, assuming she probably fancies gifts such as chocolates and comics. It is only after Sarojini’s sudden arranged marriage that he begins to treat the teenage girl as an equal. Did he do so with an agenda? Only M. T. would tell us.

Domestic Tedium and Unmarried Women

Ennu Swantham Janakikutty also spotlights the familial status of young Malayali women in the mid-’90s who were considered to be of marriageable age. Sarojini is appreciated for being well adorned and made up, even as she sashays around her home. Her pleats are intact and her clothes impeccable. However, her request to invest in a television set is promptly denied. One can observe how the elderly decision-makers spend money only after considering its long-term worth.

Sarojini’s younger cousin Devu, on the other hand, is constantly flipping through film magazines and dancing to Bollywood hits, besides occasionally going out with Sarojini. Both women could not get through the dreaded tenth standard, and their impending marriages are more of a headache for the family matriarchs. Janakikutty, for her part, never really understands their psyche, and understandably so. These women consciously ignore Janakikutty and she, in return, finds them narcissistic and arrogant.

Not Without Regular Horror Film Tropes

Janakikutty is a loner. She lives in a huge bungalow and has stopped yearning for company. Instead, she finds comfort in the courtyard, the birds, the fruit trees, and the like. She is often deeply invested in reading fiction that abounds in superstition. When the distant grandmother turns up to live with them, Janakikutty’s penchant for the supernatural grows even stronger.

The white-clad spirit, Kunjathol, is no less a stereotype. Complete with mirror-like, light eyes, Kunjathol is fiercely protective of people who are kind to her. She harbours vengeance against men, and her other dislikes are clearly stated too — not to mention the frightening damshtras. Local priests and sorcerers are constantly employed by Janakikutty’s family to exorcise the alleged spirit from her body.

When Janakikutty Comes of Age

A synergy of multiple genres, Ennu Swantham Janakikutty is also about the lead protagonist’s evolution from a bickering adolescent into a poised young woman. As the film commences, we see Janakikutty speaking directly to the audience. It is as if the viewer becomes her friend in the absence of those around her. It almost feels like a cinematic echo of Madhavikutty’s Balyakalasmaranakal, with the era and incidents changed. The locales and family dynamics remain, more or less, interestingly similar, and so do the names. Eventually, through Janakikutty’s experiences, the screenplay seamlessly outlines her journey into womanhood. The youngster not only becomes more fearless about her choices but also grows more compassionate and less needy.

Celebrating the Power of Womanhood…

Ennu Swantham Janakikutty is a film that is willfully crafted to empower its women viewers. Within the matrilineal family framework, both the positive and negative protagonists in the film are predominantly women.

Women, in all their might, comfortably sideline the men in the house despite their occasional financial dependence on them. Ennu Swantham Janakikutty depicts a world where women run the system, with men rendered as mere providers. This makes the film worthy of a tribute on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

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