Aavida Maa Aavide (1998)

Oh, to be a sad and lonely 20-something seeking refuge in TCU (Tabu Cinematic Universe, for all you non-men of culture) during this quarantine, and finding it.

The beginning of the movie made me assume that it was going to be a satirical take on the functioning of police administration in India, and I was looking forward to it. However, that element was lost pretty quickly- I suppose with how there was an absolute lack of censure regarding Archana's mother's activities. From then on, the movie twisted itself into the contours of a classic, archetypal Indian marriage romantic comedy. Tabu as a female cop kicks ASS tho, and of course, it was worth it to watch the movie to see her OWNING it. 

The main "twist" of the movie was more hilarious than I expected. Lowkey spoiler, but this movie was one of the best examples of the "1 man pretending to be 2" trope, and that is one of my favourite tropes of all time, so I was quite entertained by the glorious mess. Also, if you wish to see the famous Nagarjuna-Tabu chemistry, it's so much more hotter and better here than it was in Ninne Pelladatha. After watching this, there was no doubt left in my mind about the "alleged" relationship between them. In fact, I kind of ship them now. 

The major strong point of this movie for me was how well the two female protagonists were written. Both Jhansi (Heera Rajagopal) and Archana (Tabu) were women with depth, and neither of the two conformed to any stereotype. They had their individual strengths and weaknesses, their own paradoxes, as regular women do. I have no choice but to stan. Also, I'm quite glad that this movie was made when it was made, because there's no chance in Ayodhya that it would have been allowed to pass now, reason being its subversion of Lord Rama as the ideal husband. Although the Ramayana allusions got tiring after a while, the climax made them worth it. 

Unlike most 90s (or even contemporary) movies that I have seen, Aavide Maa Aavide had a very consistent approach towards its notions of the "modern woman", and by consequence, her fraught relationship with the traditional patriarchal structures. The character of Jhansi being a case in point- she embodies not just the usual "not afraid to take on powerful men on" streak, but also extends it to other women by empowering them, both by words and actions. However, she does not appear preachy in any of this. The element of sisterhood is again, rarely seen in Indian cinema, and therefore, was quite refreshing. 

This movie was definitely not without its flaws though. Rape jokes are in abundance, and rape culture in itself generalised to a sickening extent. It was as if the moment you started hoping for some really progressive stuff, the movie would balance it out with a healthy dose of good ol' toxic patriarchy. Also, the songs were all over the place. You'd be in the middle of a really emotional scene, only to next see Tabu and Akkineni living out their best lives dancing in CGI effects. Why???

All in all, I have to say that Tabu can definitely salvage anything. I mean, she made Barjatya lowkey tolerable. She's a superhuman. Watch this one for her as a badass female cop, and also for her sizzling chemistry with her (ex?) bae. 

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