Prithvi Konanur’s Kannada film Hadinelentu (Seventeeners) begins with visuals of classrooms being cleaned, students exiting a pre-university campus, and teachers signing off for the day. Parallely, a couple in Class 12 — Deepa (a brilliant Sherlyn Bhosale), who hails from a Dalit working class family, and Hari (Neeraj Mathew) from a privileged Brahmin family — record a sex video in one of the empty classrooms in the afterschool hours. The video is leaked online and it wreaks havoc, unsurprisingly so. Parents are summoned and college authorities get involved. Within a matter of days, the issue snowballs into a debacle involving court hearings and police investigations.
In a sequence nested in a crucial point in Hadinelentu, moments before the climax, the families of Hari and Deepa stand separated by the front door of the former’s house. Hari, his mother, father, and their lawyer are seated in the living room of their sparsely-spaced apartment, looking distressed and contemplating the next course of legal action. Hari’s mother had just seen Deepa, her mother, and their lawyer and close aide Jesse out of their apartment. Standing on the other side of the door, the situation Deepa’s family finds themselves in may technically be similar to that of Hari’s. But with the odds stacked disproportionately against them, it is clear that they are fighting different battles.
The potential impact of the court trials and the police investigation on their children’s respective futures is looming over both the families. Yet, it is evident that Deepa has more to lose. While Hari’s mother (Sudha Belawadi) is coming to terms with the fact that the video had leaked from her son’s phone, Deepa’s mother, unable to get to grips with the situation, wonders whether Hari’s family is willing to get her daughter married to their son. This scene is a microcosm of Hadinelentu’s central theme and the issues that arise from this skewed balance of power.
Authorities involved at all levels, especially the college management, claim to be interrogating the issue impartially, assuming that a level-playing field exists between the two parties. But the realistic drama, which unravels like a police procedural, underlines exactly how untrue this assumption is.
For instance, when the vice-principal Seetha (convincingly played by Rekha Kudligi), who later steps up as the principal, confronts the students about their actions, she is surprised that a “good” and academically bright student like Hari is embroiled in this matter. In contrast, her very first statement directed towards Deepa is gendered. “At least he is a boy, shouldn’t you have been more careful?” Seetha questions Deepa. The kindness of saving the parents from further distress, by not showing the video to them, is also only extended to Hari’s family and not Deepa’s. Through numerous such instances, the Pinki Elli? director skillfully shines light on the deep-seated gender, caste, and class divides that play out in favour of Hari.
Most of the characters in Hadinelentu exhibit shades of grey and are driven by their own motives, which greatly contributes to ensuring that the film doesn't lose steam midway. If former principal Badri (Ravi Hebbar)’s inaction is fuelled by his incompetence, Seetha’s active interest in the central issue stems from her desire to move up the ladder.
At the same time, the director’s impassive, judgement-free, and unbiased treatment of the two young protagonists — in a film that reflects the extent of their differences fueled by socio-economic backgrounds — comes as a surprise. Not that Hari and Deepa are shown to be flawless, but their depiction is accompanied by a tinge of naivete and innocence.
Even as she is about to take the stand in court, Deepa continues to reminisce about how they met and fell in love. Traditionally, viewers would see this montage in the initial portions of the film. Its placement towards the end in Hadinelentu is an interesting choice, serving as a counter image to the ‘love cures all’ trope. By now, we are aware of the grim reality of how couples are forced to part ways and people have to change themselves to survive.
Nonetheless, one also wonders if it was the director’s way of saying the ‘heart wants what it wants’, and that romantics would cling on to love when the going gets tough.
Hadinelentu is a razor-sharp social commentary. Additionally, it also persuades its viewers to think deeper about the age of consent for sexual relationships, which makes it particularly relevant.. The movie was screened at Chennai International Film Festival on Tuesday, December 19 this year.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.