Many people urged me to watch this movie when it first came out, but I didn’t have the time, and there were limited showings in my area. Recently, it became available on Amazon Prime, so I finally got to see it. The movie features four different stories, each about 30 minutes long. It is directed by Vignesh Karthick (Remember, Yours shamefully!). I’ll be reviewing just the first part here, with separate posts for the others. Let’s dive into the first one, “Happy Married Life.”
This plot isn’t your typical love story. Forget grand gestures and happily ever after. This one dives into the life of a woman after marriage, highlighting the small changes she undergoes but with a with a hilarious twist. The story starts with a couple in love for five years, ready to take the next step. The girl wants to get married but hesitates, and we don’t understand why at first. She eventually agrees, and they fall asleep.
But what if, after the “I dos,” everything flipped? The girl becomes the breadwinner, and the guy stays home. Sounds crazy, right? That’s exactly what happens in the first story of this movie.
The director cleverly shows how women’s choices are often dismissed. When he wakes up, he’s forced to wear traditional clothes, struggles to speak in public, and faces dowry demands. His career is ignored, and it’s both hilarious and eye-opening to see him wearing a thali or mangal sutra. After the wedding, the male protagonist struggles to adapt to his new environment.
He’s unsure where to sit or who to talk to, and he feels out of place. As the days pass, he does all the household chores and becomes frustrated. He’s criticized for not wearing the thali/mangal sutra all the time, not doing chores properly, and being denied visits to his parents and friends. His partner, though supportive, doesn’t understand his struggles, leading to a heated moment where she slaps him, waking him from the dream.
In the morning, he proposes two new options after getting a realization from the dream. Everyone lives in the same house, or they alternate staying in each house every month. I have seen couples lively separating but visiting in laws often. (It’s all objective until none is suppressed.) There’s opposition, but he (the male lead) stands firm, arguing that nothing will change unless someone takes a stand.
One more reference comes from a movie called Idea of You, where a young man falls in love with an older woman with a daughter. Most important questions that daughter inquiries about whether he is a feminist or not. That was nice, and it made a pause for a sec.
Coming back, this movie isn’t just about women suffering under patriarchy. It shows that men also pay a price, which often goes unrecognized. The word “feminism” might trigger some people because it contains “fem,” but the movie makes an important point. It questions if women alone can bring about change in their married lives. It’s refreshing to see the male lead realizing this and speaking up.
What if he was a typical man who believed in the patriarchal system? He might wake up relieved that things didn’t change. He could’ve thanked God million times! Lol!!!
On the flip side, some women might fear change and accept the system. There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s their choice. This reminds me of the 1984 movie “Aval Appadithan.” The female protagonist, despite her chaos and trust issues, falls in love with the male lead, only to find out he’s married to another woman. When she questions the new wife about women’s liberation, she smiles and says she doesn’t know much about it. The lead agrees; that’s why she’s happy.
I don’t believe in equality; I believe in equity. Feminism has brought progress across domains. Thanks to those beautiful and strong women out there. But to take it further, men need to understand that they are also victims of the system.
True progress requires understanding that both genders and the issue prevailing. The constructed social norms of today affect both. This film serves as a thought-provoking reminder that change is possible, but it takes collective effort and empathy. Watch it, reflect on it, and let’s push for a better world.
Ending this with a quote from Swami Vivekananda
Educate your women first and leave them to themselves; then they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them.
Cheers!
PS: Watch it Amazon Prime
Thank you for reading ♡!
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Random Whys 
Thank you Anirudh for the comments. I am leaving you with few questions to think on.
1. Why Traditional expectations are forced on women and expected to carry on?
2. What does wearing Thaali indicates ? (read the history of how it originated and how it differs across systems)
3. What does the kid (both gender) learn has to learn from father/mother on family its values?
4. What is primary income and secondary income? is it the numbers or hustle based or gender based?
5. What is social conditioning & family values (individual) ?
I cant give the answers as it differs from person to person. Hope you find your own answers :)
PS: Ad-hoc burner mails don’t build dialogue
Well ofcourse a woman’s life changes after marriage because she enters a new house so it’ll take her time to adjust to the new house. A househusband wouldn’t have to face the same things because he’s not moving into a new house. There are househusbands who do the same as well. But what’s wrong with wearing a thaali everyday? If the wife is not changing her surname then this is the least she should do, same for household chores because afterall she needs to manage house properly. And tbh if a woman is focused on her career so much then she shouldn’t marry. After marriage, her career will be sidelined because she’ll have to manage home + kids + elders. Usually wife’s income is considered secondary income.
Like I said, after marriage a woman’s life does change a lot and she should be prepared for those changes. Traditional expectations will always be there which have to be fulfilled by women. Just saying that men don’t do it doesn’t mean women also should not do it. These things create problems in family and men can also choose to not love or give time to such wives which I have seen happen. Usually such wives creates a lot of issues between guy and his parents which results in him becoming distant from his wife.