Freedom Fight

I would undoubtedly say that this is one the most refined politically corrected movie I have ever seen in the last 2 decades. The movie regardless the five shorters unleash a string of social issues that people don't even care. This one is indeed a breakthrough. 5 Carefully knit plots, sewed artfully with subtle acting, candid shots and seamless transition from one to another captivates you.

It is about time we paid tribute to the amazing content curation team at SonyLiv. If they are enthralling us with era-defining series' in Hindi like "Scam 1992" (2020), "Tabbar" (2021) and "Rocket Boys" (2022), they have delivered nothing but scintillating cinema with their direct-to-digital releases in Malayalam, that too in a variety of genres.

From the tantalizing emotional thriller that was "Kaanekkaane" (2021) to the laugh riot "Thinkalazhcha Nischayam" (2021), the mindbending "Churuli" (2021), the heartwarming "Madhuram" (2021) and finally the spine-tingling "Bhoothakaalam" (2022), SonyLiv has maintained a stunning 100% hit rate with Malayalam so far and continues on the same vein with the incredible anthology "Freedom Fight".

A project spearheaded by visionary director Jeo Baby, who gave us the Best Malayalam Film of 2021 in "The Great Indian Kitchen", "Freedom Fight" encapsulates five hard-hitting stories of people fighting for their own personal freedoms in an apathetic world. While Malayalam anthologies in the past have offered up some stunning cinematic moments, other than the maestro Adoor Gopalakrishnan's "Naalu Pennungal" (2007), none of them have managed to impress with every single one of their distinct segments. It is here that "Freedom Fight" breaks the norm, delivering five stellar shorts that resonate with you, each in their own different way.

Akhil Anilkumar's "Geetha Unchained" features a terrific Rajisha Vijayan as a quintessential young IT employee, struggling with relationships and troubled men who she can't seem to quite figure out. Often denied the freedom of choosing whom to love and weighed down by the weight of society's expectations, it is an oft-repeated story of a young girl breaking free, that is, however, told in a very different, quirky and wacky manner. Using rich montages and meta-references, we get more insight into the protagonist's trials and tribulations and almost get to feel her pain and suffering up close. A terrific short, accentuated by splendid supporting performances from Renjit Shekar and Sminu Sijo.

Kunjila Mascillamani's "Asankhadithar" is perhaps the closest short in the anthology to "The Great Indian Kitchen", covering the sensitive issue of the lack of women's bathrooms in the unorganized retail sector. Not only does the young director cover the social issue with grace and nuance but she combines experienced performers like Srindaa with a bunch of salt-of-the-earth amateurs and actual social workers to lend the story more credibility and realism. The narrative never shies away from showing us the harsh reality of what these women go through on a daily basis and the sheer misogyny that stands in the way of finding a permanent solution to this issue.

Fracies Louis' "Ration" delivers its social message in the most realistic and authentic of ways, by showing the disparity between a rich and a poor household, much like Boon Joon-Ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" (2019). To add insult to injury, the poor in this instance is plagued by a false sense of pride which gets them into trouble after they are asked to hold onto a piece of frozen fish that the rich family want to use for an upcoming feast. Kabani shines as the misguided yet prideful homemaker out to defend her family's 'honour', while Jeo Baby provides able support as the quarrelsome husband.

The fourth segment "Old Age Home", directed by Jeo Baby is purely performance-driven and hits home thanks to incredible displays by National-Award winner Joju George and veteran actress Rohini. Depicting an elderly gentleman's slow descent into dementia, Joju portrays the character with immaculate ease and perfection, making us feel every dilemma and stress point, often with just his eyes. Rohini makes a splendid foil, playing the role of his home nurse, who takes to him after the rest of the family starts to pretend like he doesn't exist. An understated yet powerful take on the vagaries of old age and how even family cant be taken for granted to care for you in times of distress.

The anthology saves its best segment for last with the resounding "Pra Thoo Mu" by Jithin Issac Thomas with soars thanks to powerful performances from Unni Lalu and Sidharth Siva. A telling tale of class struggle and the ruling elite bullying their blue-collar workers, the director packs so much punch into the short 20-minute narrative that you are left disturbed and reeling from the tumultuous ways the events of the story unfold before you. Watch out for the sensational adrenaline-pumping song "Lakshmana" with incredibly meaningful lyrics penned by the director himself, elevated by the tunes provided by Arun Vijay.

TLDR: "Freedom Fight" is the best anthology Malayalam has made since "Naalu Pennungal" (2007) and "Kerala Café" (2009), getting every one of the five shorts spot on in terms of lingering impact, providing thought-provoking commentary and satire on some problematic social evils that deserve to get more attention. Ultimately, what use is cinema if it can't get us thinking and talking about what ails the society we all live in?

Highly recommended!

Freedom Fight was such a bold move in storytelling, touching issues that normally wouldn't appear on screen. We congratulate the screenwriters for such an endeavor👏

Overall, the vibe of Freedom Fight felt like a heterogeneous mixture; it would have been better to make a feature film of each story rather than an anthology

DELICIOUS

-'Geethu Unchained' set a good lead for the movie. Rajisha Vijayan delivered powerful lines and a performance that got us excited, rooting for her freedom from traditional bondage and marriage pressure.

The ending was mind-blowing, the smack on the camera lens was simply fantastic😁

In the second story, here again, we understood the struggle: the screenwriter coughed up some raw truths about female access to toilets.

'Pra. Thoo. Mu.' was painful to watch due to the torture, "viewers' discretion advised". Thanks Jithin Issac Thomas for highlighting the case of feces collectors that most of us are oblivious to

-The editing of 'Geethu Unchained' was creatively carried out, very engaging and amusing.

It was a splendid idea to have Pra. Thoo. Mu in black and white to camouflage some of its graphic elements

-The score of each film merged nicely with the events taking place

BLAND

-The first two stories gave us a great start for the fight for freedom, however, 'Ration' and 'Old Age Home' kinda lost the pace.

It wasn't quite clear what the freedom struggle of was about.

-It's understandable that when you have an anthology each writer will deliver their own interpretation of the central topic; but in Freedom Fight, everyone embarked on separate directions, not remaining true to the passionate spirit of freedom fighters.

Freedom Fight!! An anthology movie that I watched recently which is a mixed bag of stories .Common thread of the film is freedom fighting as every charecters in these stories are dealing with different issues and struggling for the basic privileges they ought to have. The term freedom takes a subjective meaning in each contexts. The whole movie have put together by Jeo baby .

'Geethu unchained' directed by Akhil Anilkumar is and entertaining one. Geethu by Rejisha vijayan have done an appreciable perfomance. She portrays every unmarried women who standup for herself against the set of rules made by the society.she fight for her freedom in her family ,workplace and the partners she involved in a romantic relationship with.

'Unorganised sector' aka 'Asanghadithar' by Kunjila adopted a documentary approach as it discuss about matters faced by women and transgender people in their work place. Sales girls who works in SM.street , Kozhikode struggling for toilet facilities demonstrated in a charming way.

'Ration - kliptha vihitham' by Francies Louis is the flight for freedom of a middle class women to her upper class neighbour who is well-off which reminded me of the movie 'Parasite' 'Old age home' by Jeo Baby is an emotional featurette reveals the physical and mental battles of old age people. This segment gives some heart warming messages about their lives forms the crux of the story.

Last but not the least 'Pra. Thu. Mu.' wow! Like I said wow! I have nothing more to say about this wonderful piece of work by Jithin Issac thomas . Some audience may find it as an unpleasant experience for the reason that raw visuals are captured here. But trust me in this segment we can see all the condescension ,emasculation faced by some sections of the society only because of the work they are doing.

To sum up, the movie freedom fight is an absolutely impressive one which embraced a different approach towards these matters faced by them, sprinkled with a lot of emotions and compassion. Every one should watch this one.

Like I mentioned in title it breaks the fourth wall by interacting it with the audience both literally and metaphorically!

#1. Geethu Unchained Most famous one of all from Rajeesha Vijayan memes now. Best cinematic making of all segments. Quite funny too. But story wise , i do not think , the girl venting out her emotional baggage on a guy , really makes much point at all.

#2. Asanghadithar :Most socially relevant subject. Good performances by Srinda and others. But quite bad film making of all segments.

#3. Ration- simple and crisp story. Some says it's about class politics, not necessarily everyone understand the social relevance.

#4. Old age home : Joju - Rohini : super slow. Joju performance ok. Nothing special !

#5. Pra. Thoo. Mu : Over experimentation and did not make any point.

Over all I think one and two worth watching . Other parts are passable.