Social satire

Agraharathil Kazhuthai (அக்ரஹாரத்தில் கழுதை, Donkey in Brahmin neighbourhood,1977, Tamil)

Director & Screenplay: John Abraham

I bet you do not know of an avant-garde director from Kerala whose 2 out 4 films that he made in his short life time made in to the list of best Indian movies. His second movie, Agaraharathil Kazhuthai in Tamil was listed in IBN Live's 2013 poll as the '100 Greatest Indian Films' of all time. His 1986 film, Amma Ariyan (1986), is the only South Indian film to make it to the British Film Institute's list of 'Top 10 Indian films'.
Abraham is supposed to have been a nomadic character who had a problem with the bottle and establishment. He fell off a roof and met his untimely demise when he was just neglected as a drunken vagabond and prompt treatment was not instituted at a public hospital.

Did Nieztche say that?

This quirky story is a social satire which takes a deep jab at the Indian populace, specially against the people of the Brahmin community.

A college professor, Narayanaswami, comes home to find a stray foal (baby donkey) sitting in front of his home. The neighbour tells him that the foal's mother was beaten up and killed by some passers-by when it had injured the boy who was trying to prank the donkey. Narayanswami, a kind hearted bachelor, takes in the foal and provides food and shelter.

Pretty soon, people around him were unhappy with the presence of the animal and they think that he is going slightly mad. The helper-lady refuses to clean the foal's droppings. The landlord insists that the foal must go. At his college, Narayanaswami and his new companion is the butt of students' graffiti and jokes. The principal also puts his foot down to maintain dignity to the college.

Off he goes to leave the foal at his village with his parents. He pays the mute girl, Uma, who helps around the house to keep an eye on the pet. 

The villagers, mostly fussy Brahmins who are more interested with traditions and rituals are not comfortable with the presence of Sinna, the foal. Narayanaswami's brother and his morosely infertile wife move into the family house.The young boys in the neighbourhood have a field day creating mischief and blaming it on Sinna. A prayer function is disturbed, a match making ceremony is unceremoniously sent into a disarray and many other pranks occur, blaming it squarely on Sinna. The cheeky kids were doing all this because Uma is busy satisfying her carnal needs clandestinely at a disused temple with some bloke. 

Pretty soon the fruit of the union shows up. Surprisingly, nobody is bothered that this young unwed girl is walking around with a gravid uterus. Even, Narayanaswami who makes his regular trips back home is unperturbed. 

John Abraham

Many moons passed and Uma delivers a stillbirth. The midwife disposes of body of the newborn at the footsteps of the temple saying that the child of the God must go to the God. Perhaps the guy who fathered the child must have been a priest.

The last straw came when the dead baby came in the path of a Brahmin who was about to perform his daily godly duties. A mayhem occurs. Somebody mentioned that Sinna was seen carrying a cloth bundle. The public decided that Sinna had to go. Some bandits were summoned to beat the poor animal to pulp, to death. 

Slowly people start feeling guilty. The main man who initiated the attack on the foal started seeing visions of a donkey. He started telling people that the spirit of the donkey was sent by the Gods to protect the village. One by one pleasant things started happening. A 82 year old paralysed lady miraculously started walking and the barren Narayanaswami's sister in law conceives. 

Narayanaswami who returns discovers that the villagers plan to build a temple for Sinna to act as their guardian. 

After that, the story becomes fuzzy. Verses of Barathi are read in flowery Tamil with words that rhymes with fire (Thee). There is a suggestion that the distraught couple, Uma and Narayanaswami burn the whole village down!

In the Tamil culture, they are many proverbs which put donkeys in a bad and derogatory light - dull, stupid, uncultured,etcetera. The story shows how people have no qualms in harming and being mean to a fellow being even though they seem to be the 'chosen one' to fulfil divine duties in the world. They spend their whole life in religious work being vegetarian in the hope of not harming lives and elevating their position in the cycle of rebirths but paradoxically have no qualms about ill mouthing fellow beings and indulging in violence and worldly pleasures.