The ultimate message of Dorothy is embracing one’s sexuality something which has been explored previously too; but the difference lies in the landscape chosen by Karthik Subbaraj. The movie also does a fine job in exploring toxic masculinity and caste pride. The performances by both Sanath and Rishikanth is excellent particularly the former. Keerthy Suresh in a short but impactful role also makes her presence amply felt. One minor issue with Dorothy is the hurried transformation of Rishikanth’s Karthi.
Recently I saw the much appreciated and discussed movie Dorothy streaming on Netflix. The film has been written and directed by the maverick Karthik Subbaraj, Sarvanan Chandran also co shares the writing credit. The movie is set in Madras of 1990’s focusing on two buddies with distinct traits. Rishikanth’s Karthi is the aggressor with a certain belief system. Sanath’s Subbu on the other hand is the more sensitive one; he is a misfit to the toxic masculinity surrounding him. How the arrival of Keerthy Suresh changes the lives of the two friends is the basic outline of Dorothy. Her character is the wife of Subbu’s brother.
The strong aspect of Dorothy is its tackling of toxic masculinity, caste dynamics and transgender identity; these are heavy subjects to deal with, but Karthik Subbaraj and Sarvanan do a seamless job in making sure that they don’t come across as half baked. A specific mention must be made of the scenes post Keerthy Suresh’s arrival. Subbu finds a confidant opening up about his feminine side. An emotional sequence featuring the two is a major highlight of the movie.
Unfortunately, people around think that she and Subbu are having an affair leading to a tragic sequence. Subbu’s transformation into becoming more uninhibited after embracing his sexuality has been solidly written and enacted. The caste dynamic comes with Subbu belonging to a dominant caste and Karthi an oppressed caste. The divide comes out in a striking manner through subtle but very effective scenes.
The moral condroum of Karthi has its high points too. The man is absolutely disgusted when he first sees Subbu in a saree. At that point Karthi is going through a deep existential crisis as he has been ordered to kill Subbu. This is followed by an Imtiaz Ali kind of road trip movie leading to a change in Karthi’s belief system.
Yes, the transformation feels hurried; more cohesive writing was needed but Rishikanth sells it. The climactic portions of Karthi realizing that he has fallen in love with Subbu ‘the woman’ and the kiss makes for a good poetic ending.
The music of maestro Ilayaraja is soulful; a special mention must be made of the score post Subba’s transformation. The songs perfectly capture the movie’s central theme of accepting one’s sexuality.