Female Characters in Riffle Club

I watched Rifle Club yesterday. I was so excited for two reasons - Syam Pushkaran and Vani Viswanath. I was thrilled to see Vani's comeback in a film made by the most progressive creators in Malayalam.

However, I didn’t like the movie, especially because of how lazily the female characters were written. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen many people calling this out. None of the female characters had any real depth or purpose in the story. They seemed to exist just to tick a box for female representation, not because they had any organic relevance to the plot.

Vani Viswanath’s character, in particular, was disappointing - she had a role less important than most of the male characters, which felt like a complete waste of her talent and a disrespect to the star she once was. And that scene where Unnimaya and Darshana tie their hair in sync during the climax? One of the preachiest moments I’ve seen in recent films. What was even the point of Ponnamma Babu's and Surabhi's characters?

Actually, the lack of well-written female characters isn’t usually an issue for me. I care more about how well the story flows and how organic the characters feel, regardless of their gender. But since this is from some of the most progressive filmmakers in the industry, it feels especially disappointing. I really dislike when characters, male or female, are added just for the sake of representation.

As a whole, the movie didn’t work for me either. The script and making felt messy and lacked an emotional connection.

What did you think about the female characters?