An engrossing drama about two women

Perumazhakkalam' is a 2004 Malayalam film which won the National Award for 'Best Film on Other Social Issues'. It is an intense human drama based out of West Asia where three friends from India live together and the protagonist, who is one among the three gets into serious trouble after he accidentally kills one of the other two.

This unfortunate incident takes place as one of his borrowers refuses to repay the debt and in a fight, the abovementioned innocent loses his life. What happens after with the laws of the land pronouncing a death sentence on the offender and how he manages the subsequent sequence of events both abroad and back home in Kerala makes for the rest of the story.

In 2006, the film was officially remade as 'Dor' in Hindi by Nagesh Kukunoor, the director who was then rapidly getting noticed for his brand of filmmaking. Putting together an ensemble cast of Gul Panag, Ayesha Takia and Shreyas Talpade, all relatively new in the Hindi film industry, the film had a haunting melody by Shafqat Amanat Ali ' Yeh Honsla'…. which is still remembered for the rendition.

Kukunoor set in Rajasthan where he could highlight the patriarchy prevalent in the households there and made Ayesha Takia the wife of the victim and Gul Panag, the guilty person's spouse who badly wants a letter of apology from Takia to set her husband free. Slight changes were also made to the storyline where Takia takes a different route to realization and helps the favour seeker.

This was dramatized to highlight the compelling reason behind Takia's change of heart and also showing her the path to freedom from the oppressive conditions she was trapped in.

While Malayalam film patrons liked the film and it also received critical acclaim, the box-office response in Hindi was not all that good, as the film was blamed for a' lethargic pace'. Despite the cold shouldering at the BO, the film was nominated for many Awards in various film festivals and was given its due among a selective, art film loving crowd.

The English press however praised the film for a 'world-class feel' all over from Kolkata to Chennai. The performances of Ayesha Takia and veteran Girish Karnad too came up for very favourable mention. Ultimately, it remained an ambitious attempt to introduce a new experience in movie watching for the Hindi film patrons which did not appeal to them.