Elippathayam(The Rat Trap)
“Elippathayam”, also known as “The Rat Trap”, is directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Although there are several appearances of actual rat traps in the movie, it is not the main focus. The title of the movie is nothing but a metaphor for the feudalism that took place all over India in the 1950s. The movies revolve around the main protagonist, Unni is completely oblivious to the ongoing changes in India at the time and continues to alienate himself, hence he is stuck in his own world like a rat in a rat trap. He lives with his two younger sisters, Rajamma, the eldest of the two, behaves as a mother-like figure. She seems as if she is trapped by her brother’s dependence on her as she carries a tremendous amount of workload on her back. Sridevi, the youngest sister is easy-going and carefree with a rebellious streak. While Janamma, his older sister, does not live with them, is married with children of her own.
The Indian New Wave was brought about in the 1950s, which was led by Bengali cinema and its main purpose was to bring light on several socio-political issues like caste, poverty, communalism, etc. Elippathayam focuses a lot on realism by bringing these points forward. In the end, this period of movies that gave light to issues like the ones that Elippathayam portrayed, came to an end because it didn’t have any entertainment value.
What is quite intriguing about the movie is how instead of it being a movie for pure entertainment, it talks about the issues going on in India at that time. Rather than having experienced actors, inexperienced people from middle-class families, or landless laborers, with no makeup and normal plain clothes. The main purpose of the film is to focus on the overall idea that the film brings out, and not the way some famous actor/actress acts.
Another interesting aspect of this movie is the relationship between the characters. Unni the brother is the head of the family. He lives with his two younger sisters, Rajamma, the eldest of the two, behaves as a mother-like figure. Sridevi, the youngest sister is easy-going and carefree with a rebellious streak. While Janamma, his older sister, does not live with them, is married with children of her own.
Unni is the head of the family who controls the land, the shares, and everything that goes on in his family. The two sisters are made to be at his disposal all the time while he sits around all day doing nothing. Such examples were when Rajamma fell sick, but the main focus of that scene was to get Unni his coffee. She seems as if she is trapped by her brother’s dependence on her as she carries a tremendous amount of workload on her back. Even when Shreedevi’s potential husband came to their house, Unni refused to give some of his shares to his “legitimate heir”. This brings about the position of women in society back in the 1950s.
Elippathayam in its entirety is an outstanding movie. It brought out the much-needed problems during Feudalism in India. The main protagonists represent certain types of people who are ignorant, lack courage, and introverted when it comes to facing socio-political issues that affect the whole nation.
— Sada, Anusha, Vishnu