Trivikram Srinivas On How Female Characters In His Films Have Not Evolved With Time

There are many hits to his name, but the one criticism that has persisted with the works of writer-director Trivikram has been the portrayal of women in them, with the lowest point being the two female characters in this year's Agnyaathavaasi. Hemanth Kumar CR, in a recent interview, asked him why this is so. Excerpts:

A lot of people complain about how you write women characters. Except for A…Aa and Aravindha Sametha, almost all female characters you've written since Nuvve Nuvve have pretty much been the same…

I think it's because of the women I've known and the place I grew up in. A lot of things have changed now, and in this scenario, we expect stronger female characters. We were inspired by the stories of Rani Lakshmibai and Rudhramadevi for a long time because there were so few predators back then. Maybe even things weren't as scary as I now. The women in my family have not faced any dire situations in their lives. I can't fathom acid attacks because of love failure either. Back when I was growing up, I haven't come across a situation where women would be scared to venture out of their homes.

Somehow, I have envisioned them as being innocent, or being protected by either their father or brother. I think I definitely need to change. I have been living in a utopian world while everything around us has been moving towards dystopia.