Sara's

Even though the movie talks about a sensitive matter about a woman’s right to embrace motherhood, it takes a light-hearted approach to make its point. This approach works to a large extent because the message it tries to deliver never gets preachy which comes as a breath of fresh air. The film doesn’t try to showcase motherhood as a burden but it allows one to introspect on the sacrifices women have to make to raise kids. It also talks about how patriarchy has made raising kids solely a woman’s job as the men are the breadwinner. There’s also a line about misunderstanding choices for feminism which is how, unfortunately, most perceive it today.

The film’s half-baked comments on realities that drive the business of mainstream films in Malayalam is another letdown. The film wastes time repeating the obvious and well-known facts for the sake of sounding bold and conscious. The major drawback of Sara’S is that every character in this film is agreeable to a fault. The conservative setting, the outdated belief of women don’t need a life outside family, and hardliners in Sara’s family, who believe in women’s traditional roles, fail to create any dramatic tension in the narration. Sara’S works as an educational film. It could start a conversation in conservative households on subjects that are touted as beyond discussions. Like a pregnancy is God’s will, and humans, especially women, don’t get to have a say in it. But, artistically, it feels inadequate.