Sara's review: Anna Ben's film is a lighthearted take on societal expectations of women

Jude Anthany Joseph’s Sara’s revolves around a young woman who is told to sacrifice her career and dreams when she gets pregnant. An unconventional romantic comedy, the movie is a light-hearted take on how society and the family put pressure on young couples in matters concerning relationships, marriage and reproduction. Without getting preachy, the film manages to make its point while addressing a few common social stigmas. 

From a very young age, Sara — played convincingly by Anna Ben — has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t want kids. She’s an aspiring filmmaker and when she meets Jeevan (Sunny Wayne), who shares her notions about parenting, they hit it off. They eventually fall in love and get married. As fate would have it, Sara accidentally gets pregnant and her decision to keep the child comes at the cost of her filmmaking dreams. 

Even though the movie talks about the sensitive matter about a woman’s right to embrace motherhood, it shuns heavy-handedness while making its point. This approach works to a large extent because the message it tries to deliver comes as a breath of fresh hair. The film doesn’t try to showcase motherhood as a burden but it causes one to reflect on the sacrifices women have to make to raise kids. It also talks about how patriarchy has made raising kids solely a woman’s job. There’s also a line about misunderstanding choices for feminism which is how, unfortunately, most perceive it today. 

The film also highlights the discrimination faced by women in the film industry. From being denied the right to direct her own script because of her gender to being told that her duty, like that of most women, is to eventually have kids and raise them, the film doesn’t hesitate to address uncomfortable questions. There’s a powerful sub-plot about a veteran actress wanting to make a comeback but is waiting to be permitted by her husband to don the greasepaint again. There’s also another interesting sub-plot involving a male gynaecologist who has a better understanding of motherhood than most men. 

Anna continues to impress with her choice of stories. She's slowly emerging as the flagbearer of films with unconventional storylines. With an appropriately lively yet subdued performance, she makes us empathize with her character and root for her. The supporting cast also does a very nice job.

Sara's is being streamed on Amazon Prime Video.