Ullozhukku follows the story of two women whose skeletons in the cupboard come crashing down after the death of their family member in a drama set against the floods. The story here is simplistic but told through such precision that it almost peels off like layers from an onion. It is almost meditative and poetic while briefly offering tense moments which are subtly shocking. But as they say, if you allow the women to rule the world there won’t be any wars, something that the story acknowledges in a wonderfully constructed screenplay standing at a touch above 2 hours. It is compelling and leisurely paced while the focus solely lies on the character dynamics, that acts as a driving force for this incredibly well written screenplay. 

It is often seen in a Malayalam film that the setting is so important. And here, the backwaters of Kerala play a very important character in the film. The setting of an area flooded due to incessant rains is a searing metaphor for the mood of the drama that is glum and brooding. In fact, the floods are almost like an indication of the surge of issues that the characters would be subjected to, even as truth which is buried deep within the ground(read : inside a person) would begin to surface. And that essentially is the crux of the film which introduces conflicts that are conflicting with the perspectives of different characters. 

Another strong aspect of the drama is its characterization of all characters that have their own vested interests in the situations that they find themselves in. Very early on, the viewers are privy to the character of Anju forcibly married away to a stranger, even as her heart lies with another man. This, while her husband is diagnosed with an illness that prompts her to have a secret affair even while taking care of her husband. The dichotomy of the situation here is deliberately planted in the minds of the viewers where the lines of morality are blurred and literally washed away with the floods. You aren’t sure on whether to synpathize with the character of Anju or fault her for her actions. She is still serving her husband relentlessly, so should she be allowed some leeway? These are the questions that continue to haunt you through the twists in the screenplay that leading to the death of a family member. 

Even as the drama progresses, you see a different perspective to the tale featuring the character of Leelamma, the mother-in-law of Anju. She has slowly come to terms with her loneliness even while watching each of her family members be separated, either by choice or death, while pinning all hopes on Anju and her little baby(unaware to her that the baby isn’t his son’s). Yet, there are a few secrets that she holds close to her chest as well that completely changes the perspective in the drama. And so the questions haunt you – would it be right to blame Leelamma? Is Anju right on her path? Who gets to decide the happiness of an individual? Do other characters also have stakes in this? The bittersweet but righteous ending is sufficient to answer all these questions even as all characters were shown to be grey by the end of it. The subtle amount of emotions brought to the table by the end of it(and throughout as well) sums up the screenplay which was extremely well constructed and searing with its perspective in many ways.