Akshara Haasan’s AMNP Is Busting Sexual Stigmas

Amazon Prime Video has unveiled the trailer of its latest Tamil offering Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu. The film is written and directed by Raja Ramamurthy and stars Shruti Haasan’s sister, Akshara Hassan in the lead. The trailer looks impressive, unique, and fun yet informative.

Akshara essays the role of a girl who comes from a very conservative household. She behaves prudish when hears any talk of sex or sexuality. Akshara sets out to do things that are considered taboo for her age and the first scene of the trailer captures the sexism that girls are subjected to daily.

The trailer highlights how older people call teenagers ‘papa’ and makes it hard for them to express their needs. The shopkeeper in a scene is shown depicting stigma around menstruation by offering to cover the sanitary pads in a dark packet. Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu (fear, innocence, coyness, chastity) explicitly shows the traits traditionally expected in an ‘ideal Indian girl’ and on the other hand, stress the importance of nurturing a sex-positive culture both at home and in society.

The film was screened in several international film festivals, including HBO’s South Asian International Film Festival, Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival at Boston, Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Atlanta Indian Film Festival, Tasveer South Asian Film Festival at Seattle and the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival in Canada.

“When Raja narrated the story to me, I instantly knew I wanted to be a part of this film. Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu is a slice-of-life, light-hearted watch. It’s a coming-of-age drama where a young girl struggles to find a balance between her desires and family pressures. I believe that every young adult will relate to my character in the film,” Akshara said. Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu, the coming-of-age dramedy film, is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 25