Minnale – A Feminist Dissection

Minnale is touted to be one of the best romantic movies in the history of Tamil cinema.

I loved it as a teen. There was a time when I yearned for someone like Rajesh (Madhavan) – I thought his approach was sweeter than all the other guys’ approaches during that time.

Now, as an adult woman, I realized how problematic GVM’s debut is. I can’t bear sitting and watching the movie for 30 minutes. I listened to it yesterday as I worked and I cringed so hard.

“My Kind of Girl”

First of all, the definition of “my kind of girl.” He sees a random woman playing in a thunderstorm with a bunch of kids and decides she’s his kind of girl. It’s a new type of love at first sight – seeing a woman in flashes of lightning and getting smitten. The whole time, he is only besotted by her beauty and nothing else. I cannot fathom how one can decide that it’s “true love” just based on how one looks. The value looks bring into a relationship is inconsequential. Yet, looks are the first thing most Indian men look for in a woman.

Stalking and Slut-shaming

Half of the movie runs on stalking. Stalking to get to know where she lives, her phone number and shit. Then, stalking to justify his lies. He then shames her that she came when he called her and would have slept with him if he called. She also makes a point that she didn’t be with any guy till now.

Stupid Friends Giving Stupid Advice

Friends who give criminal advice and goad are the bane – Chokku (Vivek) tells Rajesh that if a woman’s marriage is fixed, it doesn’t matter. She’s still available and every trick in the book is valid to snatch her from the engagement. Worse, Rajesh’s grandfather also gives criminal advice that to love, one needs courage. “Courage” to weave a tapestry of despicable lies. He also says that it’s easy to melt women and an apology for all the impostor acts will make her forget, forgive, and accept him. And the misogynistic dialogue about how women can’t be understood.

Lies. Lies. And More Lies and the Portrayal that Women are Dumb

Minnale is a love story built on deception, subterfuge, and dishonesty. Rajesh lies through his teeth. And Reena (Reema Sen) is portrayed as so stupid, she couldn’t smell anything fishy.

All is Forgiven – coz all is Fair in Love

Until I was lied to by a guy I liked, what Reena did, still loving Rajesh after all his deceit seemed acceptable and valid to me. Sometimes you have to go through the same pain to understand the pain of others or comprehend that something you thought as acceptable, now proved to be unacceptable. She even forgave Rajesh’s slut-shaming – that she would have slept with him if he called her coz she came when he asked her out. Toxic femininity, whereby a woman forgives and bends her back at her expense is glorified.

Though Independent and Earning, Still Lets Parents Fix the Marriage and not even Demanding to Get to Know the Guy before Saying “Yes”

I feel that Reena is too meek for her own good. She wouldn’t take a stand or state her rightful feelings and demands. She maintains silence and leaves everyone in limbo to understand her. She then justifies her silence when Rajesh’s lies come out in the open – that how she had roamed around with a guy for 5 days, had asked him when he will marry her, and had held hands with him, so how will she tell her parents about the whole thing. When she does take a stand, it’s either delayed or emotional. Another trait of toxic femininity – letting silence, visage, and tears do the talking.

The Real Hero

The real hero in Minnale isn’t Rajesh. It’s Rajiv Samuel. Coz he is a true gentleman in lieu of Reena. He understood her feelings, acknowledged her love and let her go. In a time when Tamil men won’t and don’t understand consent in 2021, GVM portrayed it 20 years ago.

Trading Women like Objects

Reena is treated like a beach ball where two men play with her. No respect for her feelings. It paved the path for heroine characters written later, specifically Keerthi Suresh’s character in Remo.

Minnale is a big jerk of a movie is my conclusion.