SonyLIV’s upcoming Indian Original film ‘Wonder Women‘ has social media abuzz. It is the next film from acclaimed director Anjali Menon, who’s back to directing a film after four long years. Her last film was the stellar film ‘Koode’, which released in 2018. A new film from the creator of gems like Ustad Hotel, Bangalore Days and Koode is certainly cause for excessive hype coming the way of ‘Wonder Women’. The film is slated to release on SonyLIV on November 18, which is this Friday.
The cast of ‘Wonder Women’ is another thing that has the interest of movie lovers aflutter. It stars Nadiya Moidu, Nithya Menen, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Sayanora Philip, Archana Padmini and Amruta Subhash in an eye-popping ensemble cast. Producers Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua Sara have assembled a dream team for ‘Wonder Women’ on SonyLIV.
‘Wonder Women’ chronicles the coming together of a bunch of women – all expecting mothers, who join an organisation meant to empower women about to give birth; a safe space for women as they enter the most confusing, nerve-wracking time of their lives. It is a subject that will resonate with women of every demographic.
Which is why there’s a fact about ‘Wonder Women’ that is quite baffling. The film will release only as an English language film, not Malayalam. The dialogue is predominantly in English, with a smattering of Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam. Which makes one wonder about the target audience of ‘Wonder Women’. Is Anjali Menon’s film meant only for urban, English-speaking cosmopolitan women? Going by the makers’ focus on using English as the medium of communication in the film, it certainly seems so.
More importantly, will ‘Wonder Women’ gain wide acceptance among Indian audiences? Will it be watched and enjoyed by those who don’t speak fluent English and/or get the flavour of the humour and other nuances of a story told in a language they’re not too comfortable with? Several Indian movies have been made in the English language in the recent past – Being Cyrus, Everybody Says I’m Fine, Finding Fanny, English August, and several others. But none found favour with the common Indian masses. All the aforementioned films, and others of their ilk, were watched, even appreciated, only by the elite few.
So, is it to be concluded that ‘Wonder Women’ is an elitist movie – made solely for the viewing pleasure of sophisticated urban women? Or is the film a progressive step for Indian cinema? Will it open the floodgates to a deluge of Indian films made in English?
What do you think?
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
