Revising Utharam: The Weight of Forgotten Truths

I think more than ghost stories, most people are afraid of the unknown. The unknown when transforms into a more fearful truth can devastate a person’s entire existence. V.K Pavithran’s 1989 movie Utharam is based on Daphne Du Maurier’s short story “No Motive”. It follows Balu’s quest to uncover the truth behind the mysterious and unexpected suicide of Leena, his best friend Mathew’s wife and someone he considers family.

Balu’s investigative skills as a journalist lead him to some strange and unexpected revelations about Leena’s past. He discovers that Leena had a completely different personality and a shocking, forgotten history. Despite being a generous person and loving wife of Mathew, Leena lived a seemingly perfect life, content and unaware of her repressed memories. Her life as a poet and a loving partner to Mathew appeared nothing short of perfection. Yet one fine day she decided to take her life in the spur of the moment.

Unlike most mystery movies that focus on ‘who’ committed the crime, Utharam delves deeply into the question of ‘why’. The forgotten truth about Leena that unexpectedly re-emerges triggers a chain of memories that she is unable to face. Balu and Shyamala encounter people who knew Leena at various stages of her life, unveiling a poignant tale involving social stigmas related to rape, teenage pregnancy, and sex, which adds to the movie’s current relevance. The callous society that judged Leena, regardless of her innocence, played a significant role in her fate. This fear of judgment, even years later, might have contributed to her tragic end.

Deep down, Leena’s yearning for her child and her guilt profoundly affected her. She expressed her helplessness and the feeling of being robbed of her essence through her poems. The answer to ‘Who is Leena’ is the core truth that the audience grasp by the end of the movie. The forgotten past that inadvertently caught up with her overcame the safety net that she had formed by not knowing the details over the years and ultimately wrecked her life.

Utharam is not just the story of Leena but also reflects the experiences of Shyamala and many other women whose normal lives are disrupted by exploiters.

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