“Ullozhuku” is a film produced by North Indian banner RSVP and MacGuffin Pictures by Ronnie Screwvala, Honey Trehan, and Abhishek Chaubey. The movie features Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi in the lead roles.

The film’s director and scriptwriter, Christo Tomy, belongs to Pullukad family Changanacherry, and his mother’s family is Manalil, Muttar, Kuttanad, Kerala. He studied at Good Shepherd School, Thengana, Changanacherry. A graduate of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkota, Christo’s short films Kamuki and Kanyaka both earned prestigious National Film Awards, with ” Kamuki winning Best Direction (Swarna Kamal – Golden Lotus) and Kanyaka winning Best Debut Film (Rajat Kamal – Silver Lotus) in the non-feature section. His Netflix true-crime documentary, “Curry and Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case,” also received critical acclaim.

Christo began writing the script for “Ullozhuku” in 2016. The script was selected for the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Co-Production Market at Film Bazaar in 2018 and the NFDC Screenwriter’s Lab in 2017. It also won first prize at Cinestaan India’s Storyteller’s Contest, the country’s largest feature film script competition.

The story is set against the backdrop of incessant rain that disrupts normal life in Kerala, particularly in the below-sea-level region of Kuttanad. Two-thirds of the film focuses on the days between the death and burial of a character, with the burial being delayed due to the tomb being submerged in floodwater.

The script delves deeper than just the flood, which serves as a metaphor for the underlying turmoil in society. The movie’s title, “Ullozhuku,” meaning “undercurrent,” is apt and fitting. The film addresses several pressing issues related to marriage in the community, such as:

• Love affairs among the youth that cross religious and social boundaries
• Parents forcing girls into marriages against their will
• Families concealing chronic illnesses or habits of their children before marriage
• Parents not disclosing defects in the bride/groom that they discover
• Girls/Boys challenge societal conventions, prioritizing their own happiness over family expectations.

The female protagonists delivered outstanding performances, each competing in their own way to bring their characters to life. Kudos to Christo Tomy, the director and scriptwriter, for crafting such compelling roles. Parvathy and Urvashi gave remarkable performances that will remain etched in the minds of viewers.

The film challenges conventional morals and values, leaving a lasting impression. The powerful message lay in the decision of two women—a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, traditionally seen as adversaries—to live together in a patriarchal society.

My takeaway from the movie echoes a line from a hymn sung during funeral services: “Lord, who will be redeemed if you remember all our sins?” This could be adapted to say, “Who among us can live in peace if we do not forget and forgive the sins of others?”