Ayyappanum Koshiyum- A Malayalam movie on travails of Masculinity

There is a shot in the film Ayyappanum Koshiyum where a spider web is shown and Koshy Kurien is walking towards it. They film for me is about the insect "Koshy" trapped in the web of patriarchy fighting to survive in it without ever thinking of ways to escape from the web

 The movie revolves around two men fighting to salvage their bruised egos. One is Koshy Kurien, a pre-college failed middle aged retired Havildar( just a Havildar in his father John Kurien's view) from a rich and influential background, locking horns with straight forward and honest Ayyappan "hybrid" Nair who pricks the bloated ego of Koshy with "2" tight slaps.

 Koshy is a complex and intriguing yet comes out as usual caricature of rich bully. He drags a simple fight that could have ended with a simple sorry, but egged upon by sycophants around him he continues to make the fight into life or death situation.

 A moment of compromise appears and Koshy is willing to go for it, but again the proud patriarch John Kurien question his masculinity and prods Koshy to reject the compromise, which Koshy duly complies.

 Koshy again had a change of heart when his friend shows him the mirror. Koshy even tries to go and ask sorry from Ayyappan, but backtracks when Ayyappan again puts a challenge to his masculinity

  Is Koshy such a vile toxic male. Surprisingly Koshy do have tender side which the honest Ayyappan doesn't seem to have.

   Koshy could go into tears looking at his children who came to meet him in jail, but Ayyappan didn't want to look at his child when his wife is taken to jail. All of Koshy's brashness comes to halt when he realises he can't be with his family for Christmas while  Ayyappan hardly flinches for separating from his family.

    Koshy didn't get angry when constable Jenny insults him and takes it as rightful insult. Koshy is hapless and meek when Kannamma puts him place with a tight verbal slap. But for Ayyappan his physical beating is more powerful than verbal slap.

   Koshy had a meek, voiceless, "domesticated" wife while Ayyappan have a strong and independent wife. Koshy at one instance slaps his wife for not being his strength to stand up to his father. Koshy do look upto his wife for emotional support but with Ayyappan and Kannamma neither will listen to each other.

  Koshy had a moral compass to not involve women and children but Ayyappan doesn't share such niceties. Ayyappan openly threatens to kill kuttamani's family.

  Ayyappan is a wild beast in uniform who will fight to death for the principles he believes in but Koshy is just someone caught in the web of ego that prevents him to express his respect for his driver kumaran.

  Finally Koshy stands up takes the matter into his hands, uses his influence to get back the job of Ayyappan but still had to get into a final showdown to prove that he is no less of man and has no fear.

 If you think you could choose between either of these men as ideal then you are wrong. Both the men are relics and products of Patriarchical society  trying to prove that they fit into the definition of man this society has created for then. 

At the end Koshy had seen the world which he couldn't see because of his privilege and hopefully he could have become a better person than being a strong man.