Writing 14: Cinema’s Struggle to Show the Telugu Ammayi Story

A Critique and Celebration of the Telugu Ammayi Katha

Writing 12 in a lot of ways was my test teaser to this piece. If it is not obvious I absolutely adore Telugu movies because they were such an integral part of my family growing up--some of my favorite moments with my Nanna are central to movies, like him taking me to Yevadu the day before a competition I was extremely nervous for to ease my worries. And till date I have a tradition of watching at least part of a movie the night before my exams as a coping mechanism because of that memory. Some of my closest friends I bonded with over Telugu movies and I write so much about those movies here.

But this is not to say I do not have issues with them. I ranted about the quality of film shifting post the rise of Pan India in Writing 12. Now I want to talk about a topic so close to my heart: the portrayal and treatment of women (the ammayi) in Telugu movies. I am a strong believer there is a lot to critique but also things to celebrate.

As a little girl watching Telugu movies the question was always who is your favorite actor, and it made sense. Almost every commercial movie had an almost non existent role for the actress. If the popular (but in no way perfect) Bechdel test was used pretty much every Telugu movie I grew up on would fail. Female characters were written to exist as the love interest, show up for the songs, and disappear.

And this isn’t just in the past -- some of the most iconic movies in the past year do this exact trope: Devara, Pushpa 2, and Guntur Karaam to name a few. The lines the lead actress speaks are almost exclusively about the guy and then she dances in a song (most times extremely well) and disappears.

Beyond the minimal scope in the script my true issue lies in the misogyny and toxic masculinity around the female characters. The trope of the main actor slapping the heroine for no reason other than he is angry and gets away with it is so incredibly frustrating to watch and problematic. One specific mainstream actor I think slaps the girl in every single one of his movies. After the heroine explicitly says to stop staring at her legs, the hero in Ala Vaikuntapuramlo proceeds to sing a whole song about her… legs. And this song is one of the most popular in Telugu and don’t get me wrong, it sounds good but the context matters. And these aren’t necessarily the fault of the actors if that is what the script says and is so extremely normalized but the amount of people that okay these moments is scary.

This gets even dangerous when the fine line between portrayal and inspiration gets blurred. Arjun Reddy, a film I have not watched till date, getting cult status is terrifying when considering the misogyny and toxic masculinity portrayed in the film and the connotation that a relationship means any boundary can be crossed. Jokes at the expense of women in what is now considered comedy family dramas perpetuates the age-old narrative common in Indian communities that uncle’s can make fun of aunties.

In a culture where film is so deeply intertwined with life, and the literal concept of Telugu cinema banisa exists, the distinction between portrayal and reverence is mandatory. It needs to be stated explicitly that a character is problematic in promotions and that they should not be taken as an inspiration for the youth watching the film or we will create cycles of repeating what is seen in film. Young boys will start to believe that toxic masculinity and treating women as less is justified, and young girls who watch these movies can believe their worth is less and their treatment is normal.

Now, although it is the bare minimum, cinema that does write complex, detailed female characters that have an individual identity needs to be embraced.

So on a slightly more positive note here are some works that I truly enjoy for the female characterization and definitely love watching.

Sekhar Kammula is one of my favorite directors for the characterization of the lead actresses in his films. In Godavari, Sita is a girl who is combating the expectation of wedding that a 20 something year old girl faces in her time with her dreams of financial independence and independent identity. In Anand, Roopa is a fiercely independent girl who is afraid to depend on anyone else due to her life circumstances and the film is truly her story. In Fidhaa, Bhanu is such a refreshing, imperfect girl who exists with her own views, sometimes frustrating us as the audience but truly one of a kind.

A love story oftentimes will have somewhat of an equitable writing for the guy and girl, but some that truly stand out for me in recent times are Sita Ramam, Shyam Singa Roy, Hi Nanna, and Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju. The female character has her own struggles at some level and are not portrayed as perfect, but they have character development and make you want to root for the story.

One of my favorite actresses of all time is Anushka particularly because some of her movies are what I associate with women-centric Telugu films. Arundati is a phenomenal film that may have given me nightmares for weeks but has brilliant acting prowess and scope to show that a women-centric film can and will succeed. Her role in Baahubali stands on its own because she has a substantive role that affects the plot as does Ramya Krishnan, the other women characters are definitely slightly debatable but a win is a win. Size Zero is a film I want to write a whole substack on because it fundamentally addresses the insecurities of so many girls especially in a very strict beauty standard of thinness in India. Miss Shetty Mister Polishetty resonates with me at such a deep level with her characterization of an independent woman who does not want to trust anyone and her journey through the film of learning to open up.

And there are also the films that commercially failed but realistically I deeply believe had extremely nuanced characterizations of their heroines. Dear Comrade is the first Telugu movie I saw where the hero exists to provide support to the heroine for when she is ready but not speak on her behalf. Ante Sundaraniki balances comedy with social commentary to uplift Leela’s strong character and exhibit her worries throughout the film, drawing parallels between her and her sister’s life disbanding the narrative that a woman's worth is tied to her ability to have children. And this one wasn’t a flop but deserves more hype, but Pelli Choopulu is one of my favorite films primarily for the characterization of Ritu Varma’s story in this movie.

I know there are a lot more movies that I missed, and I like to believe that it is a good sign because it means the complexity of girl’s stories are being written and celebrated beyond just being a part of a movie for the sake of it.

And as a Telugu ammayi, here’s to hoping for a future of portraying more beautiful Telugu ammayi stories on screen.