Ullarivu: Sumi Mathai's Short Film Questions The Gendered Nature Of Reality

A still from 'Ullarivu (The Awakening)'
'Ullarivu (The Awakening)'Sumi Mathai
Published on
3 min read

I was a forest girly. Located in a remote part of Chhattisgarh, there was no third place for a growing teen in my small town. After school hours, all I had was my gang of boys and the woods where we'd go drink atop rocky lake-side mountains. Those good times meant everything to me. So missing out on certain hangouts just because a particular stream was "not in a good area" broke my heart. Suddenly, amidst the innocuous tomfoolery of a spirited youth, gender had crept in. In the coming years I would learn that it was only the beginning.

There’s a moment in every girl’s life when she realizes the world isn’t built for her, and it always arrives way too early. She's born as a child of the universe, curious and bright, and gets only a few years of living freely before is pushed into 'girlhood'. She learns that the rules are different for her than for her brother. And it is a sobering realisation that marks her for a lifetime of vulnerability.

'Ullarivu (The Awakening)', a powerful short film by Indian filmmaker Sumi Mathai, captures this shift — the quiet yet shattering moment when childhood wonder cracks under the crushing weight of reality. The film depicts a young girl who starts to see the invisible rules shaping her world. Starring child actor Devananda Shamej, it takes us into the lush landscapes of Poonjar, Kerala, where our protagonist moves through her days with the kind of boundless energy and awe that childhood allows. She runs, she observes, she exists fully — until she doesn’t.

Girls don’t get the luxury of just 'being themselves'. That’s a privilege afforded to those who don’t have to constantly calculate their safety, their acceptability, and their place in a world that polices their existence. Mathai’s film lays this bare, but with a poetic tenderness that makes the realisation even piercing. Ullarivu is a tragedy veiled as a coming-of-age story. It’s a meditation on loss — the loss of a kind of innocence; of an unfiltered existence. Through moments that are enough to make a grown woman cry (or even rageful), the film juxtaposes the vastness of the human spirit with the small, shrinking spaces girls are forced into.

"More than anything, Ullarivu exists because of the incredible people who believed in it — our crowdfunders, our cast and crew, and everyone who championed the film. This is a testament to the power of community and the collective belief that cinema can be a space for stories that don’t always fit the mainstream. I hope that support continues for all the voices daring to tell them.”
Sumi Mathai

After a triumphant festival run, Ullarivu has now found its online home on Nowness Asia, a sister arm of NOWNESS. Committed to cultural storytelling, the global video channel aims to work closely with both emerging and established filmmakers to present emotionally resonant and sensorial narratives that provoke inspiration and debate. By paying close attention to regional zeitgeists, Nowness Asia connects a contemporary global audience to compelling stories from the heart of Asia.

Filmmaker Sumi Mathai is a voice that represents that. Her storytelling is rooted in the quiet epiphanies that shape women’s lives. A former advertising professional, she turned to filmmaking to tell the stories that often slip through the cracks. Her work often centers on women at moments of profound realization. She’s drawn to the thresholds, when something shifts — whether it’s a young girl awakening to the realities of the world or a woman standing at the precipice of self-actualization. Her upcoming projects include a feminist series selected for Film Independent’s Global Media Makers workshop and a feature film that was a finalist at the Screenwriters Association of India’s Pitch Fest 2022.

Ullarivu will premiere on March 6 on Nowness Asia. Follow Sumi here.

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