Sara’s, On Amazon Prime Video, Is A Simple Film That Deals With A Complicated Issue

Women, especially mothers, have always been portrayed on screen as selfless beings. So much so that pregnancy is considered the most beautiful feeling a woman can experience, resulting in a perception that all girls are experts in handling children. That's what is refreshing about Sara (Anna Ben). She is awkward around children and doesn't want to have a child of her own. The people around her judge her decision but the film, for the most part, doesn't, and neither do we.

Also read: Is Sara's Sara's Choice?

Sara, a filmmaker, stands by her decision of not wanting a child as she is someone who knows what she doesn't want. This is evident when she writes down the names of the actors she doesn't want to work with, due to her bad experiences with them. Or when she slaps the producer who asks for a sexual favour in return for producing her film. In another incident, while waiting for the elevator door to open, she doesn't pay any attention to a random guy who approaches her and avoids him by taking the stairs. She is not one to take the easy way out; not one to give away the script she wrote for someone else to direct just because the producer said so.

At her wedding, Sara is reminded that her marriage and first film are happening around the same time. Throughout the film, Sara has to constantly face several hurdles in her marriage as well as in the making of her movie. A film and a marriage can either be a failure or a success, as both require sufficient time and commitment. The opportunity to make more films natural progression of making the first one; and children are considered to be the natural progression of a marriage.

One of the reasons she gets married to Jeevan (Sunny Wayne) is because, like her, he also doesn't want a child. Initially, he wants to get married and she doesn't. He says to her that there won't be anyone to disturb their marriage, while his mother, Reethamma (Mallika Sukumaran), is staring at them. She further complicates an already complicated issue. She is a woman who vehemently supports patriarchy. There is something so real about her, which is the case for all the mother roles that Mallika Sukumaran plays, as they are, most of the time, antithetical to the selfless mothers that Malayalam cinema is used to.

Also read: Sara's is a Sweet, if Simplistic, Film

The gynaecologist, Dr Hafiz (Siddique), tells Sara and Jeevan that parenthood is not for everyone and it demands a lot of preparations, just like directing. Maybe this is why Jeevan is more inclined towards having a child. He has been around his sister's kids and taken care of them. Similarly, Sara worked as an assistant director for multiple films before becoming a director. She is well aware of the difficulties attached to a hectic job like directing and is sure that she can do it, as she has been prepared for that (and not for parenting).

Shaan Rahman and Vineeth Sreenivasan make a joint cameo playing themselves and recording a song for her film. This is at a time when she and Jeevan are struggling and not talking to each other. The timing of their appearance made perfect sense. One of Malayalam cinema's most successful partnerships appear in the film while the lead couple is going through a rough patch in their relationship.

Sara's is a simple film that deals with a complicated issue. The film is aptly titled Sara's as it is primarily about her choices, her happiness and her aspirations.