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Nakshatra Borgaonkar's avatar

I love cinephiles on substack

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siru kadhai's avatar

Beautifully captured the essence. Absorption versus consumption. Perhaps why Sara Suleri said, "Men live in homes, women in their bodies." One learns who and why capitalism was created. Perhaps by those who didn't know how to live.

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Anoddyellow's avatar

So interesting the way you have broken this down and spoken about the lack of vouyeuristic gaze and also how usually the free woman through male eyes such a strange creature. Reminded me of Deepika's character in Cocktail.

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Jeet Bhattachariya's avatar

You penned it beautifully. This movie flowed like a timid river, beautifully expanding on the characters emotions..

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Aishwarya Balasubramanian's avatar

Brilliant reading and unpacking of the story. Makes me want to watch the film even more 👏🏽

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Charulatha Banerjee's avatar

Thank you for this. I see movies simply - like listening to a story- I am incapable of analysis in this medium. When I saw AWIAL it was a compelling watch, the performances were so real and so much one could relate to. But I did not quite get the end. Reading your piece made me see it in a different light.

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Suzanne Oommen's avatar

This is the review I was waiting for!

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𝙅𝙤 ⚢📖🏳️‍🌈's avatar

I don't understand the distinction between consumption and absorption that you're drawing here, as I understand consumption of women's bodies but not absorption nor the interiority of absorption. Your piece was interesting in that you're writing of women reacting to and desiring men, and my personal definition of the female gaze is more analogous to something of the gaze resembling the Bechtel test - outside of men, without speaking of men.

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