All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women of ‘Aattam’ (The Play) take Shakespeare’s words seriously. But they play their part as they like it. The masks drop at regular intervals exposing the real motives of each character.
After running the film festival circuit, ‘Aattam’ is now on an OTT platform, offering an intriguing glimpse into the male psyche. Here, what you see is not what you get.
The 11 men and only woman (Zarin Shihab) of a theatre troupe navigate several shades of grey as they try to wriggle out of a crisis. After a night of revelry at a resort, Zarin is groped in her sleep. She knows who it is, though she was unable to see the perpetrator’s face.
The rest of the thriller unfolds at a dining table where tonnes of dirty laundry are washed. The men play the blame game and debate the next course of action. Should the culprit be thrown out of the troupe? Can the victim’s version be trusted? There is subtle slut-shaming, and the burden is always on the woman to prove her case. ‘Aattam’ delves into gender dynamics with finesse. While the men show empathy towards Zarin, underlying rivalries skew their perspective. There is friction between the two main male artistes (Kalabhavan Shajohn and Vinay Forrt) as one leverages his “film actor” clout to snatch the protagonist’s role from the other.
The movie oscillates between trust and deceit, uniting people from different walks of life — chefs to journalists to travel agents — through their passion for art. Yet, under the veneer of their creative pursuits, all are flawed humans.
A compelling drama with nuanced performances from the entire cast.
(Published 16 March 2024, 02:46 IST)
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