‘Ullozhukku’ and the complicated business of inheritance

In Ullozhukku, the first feature film by writer-director Christo Tomy, the women are not only confined to their home, but also unable to find terra firma. Set in Alappuzha, Kerala, during the monsoon, the film looks at the aftermath of a death in the family, as relatives gather in the house for days to mourn the deceased. Forced to sit together and grieve (not unlike the tradition of sitting Shiva under Judaism), the characters slowly reveal secrets and own up to their transgressions.

This Malayalam film, which released in June, is founded on the relationship between Leelamma (Urvashi) and her daughter-in-law, Anju (Parvathy Thiruvothu). Both are caregivers to Thomaskutty, the ailing man whose death sets the film in motion, yet their purpose in the film is at odds. In the hands of any other actor, Anju the pregnant widow would be an unsympathetic character—after all, she cheats on a dying man. But as played by Parvathy, Anju is an incandescent being. There is anger at her circumstance, but also the light in her determination.

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The film makes no mention of patriarchy, yet reminds us how limited a woman’s choices are. Forced to give up a previous romantic relationship due to religious differences, Anju also forsakes her job and accepts Leelamma’s son as her husband. Soon enough, Anju is confined to the role of caregiver with no employment or financial independence or prospects. The drudgery of caregiving is mechanical, yet Parvathy comes alive with a kind of loose tension.

When Thomaskutty dies, the flooded home, in turn, becomes the symbol of a possibility of a happier future. If inherited by the widowed, adulterous, pregnant daughter-in-law, the house has the potential to finally become her home. In India, where inheritance by women is often turned into a morality tale, the question of whether Anju ‘deserves’ the house becomes paramount.

Succession is lightly worn as legacy by men. But for women, inheritance is a very complex legal matter which involves jumping through many hurdles—primarily, a hostile legal framework. For example, only in 2005, Hindu women, through an amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, gained equal inheritance rights to her family assets. (Unsurprisingly, Dr Ambedkar, in 1948, had suggested a reformist Hindu Code Bill which proposed equality of inheritance rights of widows.)

Succession is rarely straightforward. In India, religions are allowed flexibility to deal with succession as a personal matter. In Ullozhukku, there is a clever engagement with the issue of inheritance rights of widowed daughters-in-law. The film does not make a mention of the tangled legal situation of inheritance by the widow and her illegitimate unborn child, but hints at the financial destitution that awaits. It is also revealing to look at the law that applies to widows such as Anju. For matters related to the succession rights of Christians, the Indian Succession Act of 1925 is applicable, and needless to say, the law is complicated.

Religious freedom, a constitutional right, has led to development of personal religious laws. Sadly, such laws have developed at the expense of women, often siding with confusion over cogency. The poll plank of the central government of implementing a Uniform Civil Code is not likely to help. Take the instance of the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code, 2024: the issue of reform in the structure of the Hindu Undivided Family to allow greater participation of widows has not been addressed. There are several other provisions in the Code which erode the agency of women; when gender justice is one of the stated objectives of implementing a uniform code throughout the country.

Ullozhukku offers a fresh look at the consequences of a family as an economic unit for women. It might not be long before the issue of succession rights is not just an undercurrent but the primary focus in a film.

‘Ullozhukku’ is on Amazon Prime.

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