Over the last few days, the death of Pune man Ketan Agarwal has shocked the nation. Siya Goyal is accused along with her alleged lover of murdering him. An user on X used a reference from this tragic case and tagged director Rahul Ravindran to make a movie on the atrocities of women on men. Rahul’s last directorial was The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna in the lead.
What the director said
Responding to the user, Rahul wrote a strongly-worded note on his X account. It began, “I don’t claim to know everything bro… so educate me if I am wrong. But I don’t see atrocities of ‘women’ on ‘men’ at all. I see some horrible incidents of sociopathic human beings who happen to be women, committing horrible crimes. On the other hand… I see a self sustaining system that has lasted centuries that suffocates women… that through invisible, everyday micro aggressions, forces them to shrink their identities. That doesn’t offer them an equal world. This is from my perspective. I’ve seen so many women around me suffer silently because of it. And I chose to convey that through this story. I felt responsible for it as a man… because I benefit from the power equation.”
He added, “I haven’t read the details of this particular case yet… I will do so. And if there’s a story that I find interesting to tell… I will do that too. But it would be about one particular woman committing a crime. Not crimes of women on men. There’s a difference, the way I see it. Mind you, such incidents of crime are ghastly and terrible. But what I was trying to do is completely different. Had nothing to do with such crimes.”
Rahul then went on to talk about the details in The Girlfriend, particularly that of the male character played by Dheekshith Shetty. He noted, “Vikram in The Girlfriend isn’t a murderer or a *^%ist. There is no physical abuse. He is in fact faithful. And yet… there’s one section like the original tweet that gets triggered by the film. Ask yourself why that is. But sure… if you or anyone else has a problem… call it out. It’s a healthy habit. I promise to take the feedback and introspect. It’s wonderful for all of us to talk to each other and try to understand each other.”
About The Girlfriend
Written and directed by Rahul Ravindran, it tells the story of postgraduate student Bhooma Devi (Rashmika), who is gaslighted into falling in love with Vikram (Dheekshith), the college stud. She soon finds herself in a toxic situation she cannot seem to extract herself from. Produced by Dheeraj Mogilneni and Vidya Koppineni, the film also features Anu Emmanuel and Rao Ramesh in key roles. The film is available to watch on Netflix.