IFFK 2024: ‘Feminichi Fathima’ is a satirical take on patriarchy

Fasil Muhammed's Feminichi Fathima subtly tackles patriarchy with a satirical narrative

A few years ago the Malayalam lexicon got a new word, feminichi, a slur for a feminist or a woman with an opinion. Fasil Muhammed presents the term in a new light with his directorial debut, Feminichi Fathima (Feminist Fathima), which premiered at the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala in the competition section.

The film’s layered narrative does not give patriarchy a tight slap. Instead it is told in a subtle but satirical way that the point is not lost either on the characters or the audience.

The protagonist Fathima’s life revolves around her home – her extremely conservative husband, Ashraf, who teaches at a madrassa, their three kids and her mother-in-law. She is always at the beck and call of her husband, be it to switch on the fan or fetch his footwear and is subjected to his taunts for everything she does. He is livid when Fathima refuses to bear another child. The unhappy mother-in-law adds to her misery.

Resigned to her fate, Fathima never bothers to react. But her simmering frustration reaches breaking point when her eldest child wets the mattress in his sleep. Her repeated attempts to clean it fail and she is forced to sleep without the mattress on her cot, thus escalating her back pain. Ashraf refuses to buy a new mattress and stops her from buying one, paying monthly instalments, saying it goes against their religion to buy anything paying an interest! When she lugs home her neighbour’s old mattress, he opposes that as well. Fathima has no other choice but to find a way to buy one on her own.

Fasil, who is also the writer and editor of the film, smartly weaves in situations and dialogues that organically bring out a transformation in Fathima. There is no dramatic revolt, she just finds her voice. “This is the feminism that I know of. It is all about updating oneself with the changing times, irrespective of the religion that you belong to,” says Fasil, a spot editor in Malayalam films, who started his career by making short films and is currently directing the third season of the popular web series, Tuition Veedu, streaming on YouTube.

Fasil says that he placed the story in a Muslim context because of his familiarity with that milieu. “I arrived at the title first because I liked the sound of it. The story was different then. It changed when I went to stay with my sister. I woke up in the morning listening to her talking to herself when she found that her son had wet the mattress in his sleep – moothram thattikkandu kondu nadakkernnu, ini ayinte manam povulya. It means she was trying her best to ensure that he does not wet the mattress and now the stink won’t go away. That dialogue stuck with me and I developed Fathima’s story around the scenario,” says Fasil.

Fasil admits that he has seen countless Fathimas around him. “I always wondered why they were not responding. It was a deliberate decision to present it in a satirical way because I believe in entertaining the viewer even when you are presenting a contentious, serious issue,” he states.