When news of a terrible rape case surfaces, it is common to see the #NotAllMen hashtag trending on social media. However, many argue that this response shifts the focus from the issue of abuse to self-defense, and using it in the context of sexual violence can be unempathetic. Incidentally, it is amid the public outcry over the brutal rape of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata, Anand Ekarshi’s Aattam, which ingeniously addresses the theme of sexual violence and the question of ‘whether all men?’ wins the national award for the best feature film, on Friday.
The film explores the outlook of a group of theatre actors who become aware of a sexual crime committed against the lone female artiste by a perpetrator who is hiding among them. However, when speaking to THE WEEK, Ekarshi noted that the core idea for his debut movie was centred around sexual molestation or gender study, but an exploration of a group vs an individual dynamic.
READ MORE: Filmmaker Anand Ekarshi on the making of 'Aattam'
Ekarshi, who is a post-graduate in applied psychology, notably critiques majoritarianism, and announces in Aattam that there exists only a delicate boundary between majoritarianism and democracy. “A collective can make erroneous decisions, especially when personal interests are involved. So, I have always believed that the individual holds greater strength than the collective,” he said back then.
Ekarshi had been acting in plays since he was 10 and was later part of a theatre group named Lokadharmi. In 2013, he won a national-level short film competition, which, in turn, found him his only stint as an assistant director―for Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha (2015). Interestingly, the majority of the cast for the film constitutes of Ekarshi’s colleagues and friends in Lokadharmi. In fact, the film’s story was formed around the cast— the project originated from a short trip Ekarshi took with his theatre friends during the pandemic.
The film had its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). While talking to THE WEEK for an interview, Ekarshi spoke about an experience from that World Premiere and several other world stages. He said men and women reacted differently to the film―something he had observed in all the five screenings he had with audiences. “Many of the women spectators told us that they went emotionally numb and silent for a couple of hours after the screening. Each of them recounted a similar experience in their own lives, navigating situations where they not only confronted sexual violence but also grappled with the challenge of convincing others to believe their account. Meanwhile, the film affected men differently. One guy came to say: ‘Finally, I felt like I got a slap on my face. I felt that I was part of that group [of men portrayed in the film].’” Ekarshi said.
Aattam was produced by Dr Ajith Joy, a medical doctor and a serial entrepreneur.
