When Sons Take Mothers For Granted: Team Kausalya Supraja Rama Speak About Their Film

The women in director Shashank’s films always play a key role, and not just as a tool for the protagonist’s character development. We can see this in his breakout film Moggina Manasu (2008), which is a coming-of-age story of two girls, in the blockbuster Krishnan Love Story (2010), which explores how an abusive household affects a woman in her subsequent relationships, and even his recent film, Love 360 (2022). His next film Kausalya Supraja Rama deals with the theme of toxic masculinity.

There are parallels between the film’s lead character Rama (played by Darling Krishna) and the director, Shashank admits. “When I was in my 30s, I was the kind of person you see in the trailer. I had these thoughts because I was raised like this. The era in which I was born was a very male-dominated one. Later on, as I became a filmmaker and started reflecting on myself and reading more, I realised the nature of my thoughts.”

The film, which stars Darling Krishna and Milana Nagraj, has a tagline which reads, ‘The tale of a real man’. When asked who is a real man according to her, Milana says, “A real man is someone who respects women. I do not want to get into complicated issues here, but if a man, in any relationship, respects a woman and where she is coming from, I would say he is a gentleman.”

“A real man is someone who keeps his surroundings calm,” says Krishna. “A man has to keep his environment calm. It doesn't matter if he does it respectfully or tactfully or smartly.” When asked his opinion on the statement, Shashank laughs saying, “My thought process behind the statement lies in film. If I say it now, there is no point in watching it.”

Kausalya Supraja Rama starts with two school kids describing the difference between men and women. “Men beat and the women eat,” says a young Rama, explaining that the role of men is to give while the role of women is to receive whatever is given. The trailer then cuts to scenes where the child is exposed to his hyper-masculine father who frequently abuses Rama’s mother. Darling Krishna, who is known for the Love Mocktail series and other romcoms such as Lucky Man (2022) and Love Birds (2023), plays the adult version of Rama in the film, who comes to terms with his misogynistic ideologies when he starts seeing his mother in a new light after a woman enters his life.

“Supraja means ‘a good son’,” says director Shashank, “The film is about the bond between a mother and a son, and how we as sons take our mothers for granted. We tend to forget that she is also a woman who faces the struggles of every woman in this society. Once we see her as a mother, we just see her as a separate entity. As I mentioned earlier, I used to be in a similar space as the character. I have also behaved in a way that was hurtful to my wife and she had to just accept it. That was wrong.”

“The concept of a woman just accepting the wrongs done to her and staying silent is overrated,” says Milana, “People often praise mothers for tolerating the struggles, but why should she?”