Exclusive: Aishwarya Lekshmi Says She Hopes ‘Ammu’ Can Encourage People To Walk Out Of Abusive Relationships
It’s never easy to talk about domestic abuse faced by women across the world but pop culture has found a way to get the conversation going in a sensitive manner with the help of content. Earlier today, Prime Video gifted us another film that addresses the issue – Aishwarya Lekshmi and Naveen Chandra starrer Ammu. Directed by Charukesh Sekar and produced by Kaarthekeyen Santhanam, Kalyana Subramanian and Karthik Subbaraj, Ammu released on the OTT platform on October 19. The story of the film revolves around Ammu who married a police officer who mentally and physically abuses her until she meets Prabhu, a criminal, and seeks his help to get out of her abusive marriage. The film also stars Bobby Simha, Raghu Babu, Satya, Maala Parvathy and Prem Sagar.
In an exclusive conversation with Hauterrfly, Aishwarya Lekshmi (who plays the role of Ammu in the film) opened up about domestic violence and how she thinks this film is getting the conversation going around abusive relationships and helping people find their way out of toxic relationships. Discussing what’s acceptable in a relationship, Aishwarya Lekshmi said, “I think violence in any form is unacceptable. I think sometimes the way they exercise control is by saying, This is love. This is a form of love that I’m giving you. There are people who are very loving and they try to protect you but shouldn’t be controlled. If they’re trying to show care then that is acceptable but not if it’s controlling. Nobody should control anybody, man or woman.”
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When asked about how several films and series are touching upon the topic of domestic violence, the actress pointed out that as per her no one should have to go through something like domestic abuse in a relationship and she will feel that the purpose of making the film Ammu will be fulfilled if it manages to help even one person come out of an abusive relationship. “I think nobody should have to go through something like this and if at all this film can help someone come out of an abusive relationship, even if it’s just one person then I think our purpose and intent of making this film has been fulfilled,” said Aishwarya.
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Aishwarya Lekshmi also took a moment to thank Prime Video for giving them a platform to get the conversation going about domestic violence and sharing the film’s message with the audience. “Since the film is releasing on an OTT platform like Prime Video, it’s going to stay there which means it could help anybody at any point in time and that’s what Prime Video is doing for us. It’s taking this subject and this film and translating it into multiple languages because you can take Ammu and place her anywhere in any language and it would still be relatable. So, it’s important that this film reaches our audience and if after watching Ammu, even if one person can find the courage or be inspired by her journey then there’s nothing like it,” said the actress.
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Speaking about the subject of the film, director Charukesh Sekar shared, “I’m not aware of the domestic violence statistics but I’m actually glad that more such stories are being spoken about and there’s a space in the creative industry to explore this social issue. I’m glad filmmakers are exploring this theme because it is important to showcase women telling women’s stories and to create female-centric films because the purpose of those films is not to provide a solution but to help start a conversation. I mean, we could be here talking about anything but instead, we’re talking about an important issue like domestic violence and I think it’s great that we are able to do that. Moreover, there are platforms that are open to accepting such content and there are producers to back these projects and actors to play such vulnerable characters. I believe we should continue doing such content because, hopefully, it makes it easier to have such conversations.”
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Also Read: ‘Ammu’ Trailer: Aishwarya Lekshmi Starrer Shows A Domestic Violence Survivor’s Journey Of Fighting Back And Breaking Free
Well, we do agree with Aishwarya and Charukesh. Ammu may trigger some domestic violence survivors but it sure will help the conversation going and perhaps create a safe space for more talk about abusive relationships in general. Ammu is originally a Telugu film but has been translated into other languages and is available for streaming on the OTT platform Prime Video.
