Nature Influencing Characters- An Analysis of the Malayalam Movie Iyobinte Pusthakam

Space and place are two complex concepts in literature. These can in turn affect the course of characters, situations and the plot of story. Presently in visual media, especially in movies; a relation between nature and surroundings can be traced. Both nature and surroundings influence each other. Malayalam cinema is going through many different paths which are always open for study. Each movie in it is incomparable in plot, techniques and narration. A relation between surroundings and characters can always be drawn. Keith H. Basso is an important cultural anthropologist who found a noticeable connection between nature and human beings. Nature always creates mystery and wonder. Nature always has a great influence in the human evolution and culture formation. Tagore’s ‘The Religion of Forest’ says the link between forest and ancient Indian culture. In the same essay, Tagore represents the European belief on nature as a war between good and evil. ‘IyobintePustham’ is analysed in both these views. The forest depicted in the movie can be interpreted as a provider and protector to its character. In another sense, it mirrors the goodness and the evils in the mind of characters. Forest is an important archetype in human history and culture.

how nature is a part of culture and lifestyle for the people of Arizona. He highlights the idea of place upon self and self upon place. According to him there is connection between nature and man which can be seen below: As places animate the ideas and feelings of persons who attend to them, these same ideas and feelings animate the places on which attention has been bestowed, and the movements of this process-inward toward aspects of the external world, alternately both together-cannot be known in advance. When places are actively sensed, the physical landscape becomes wedded to the landscape of the mind, to the roving imagination, and where the mind may lead is anybody's guess.(Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language among Western Apache by Keith Basso) In Malayalam Cinema this concept becomes applicable in many movies. But it is best suited for the movie 'IyobintePusthakam'. Here the central force is forest which governs all the characters. Its influence can be seen throughout the story. Here more than a landscape and background, it is a character. The central traits of forest become the traits of characters too.
Forest becomes the witness of all events and happenings. Besides the story plot, there is an indication of urbanization and liberalism. How forest influences characters and their traits can be seen below. SMART  is not a feeble character as it appears to. She has an extra-ordinary will power which she acquired due to her life situations in forest. AngoorRawthoor, a brutish outside intruder represents natural calamities which comes silently but destroys everything abruptly.
The brutality starts right from the beginning of the film. The film begins with a Bible verse. "The aged aren't always wise, nor do the elderly always understand justice" Job 32:9. It mainly focuses on Iyob; who thinks that what he does is justice. The power of brutality originates from outside during the pre-independence era which is through the presence of British rule. At the end of the British domain and passed on to the peacefully living people.
The peace among people is interrupted by the newly powered Iyob. Iyob is being adopted by Harrison seeing the extra ordinary sign of brutality in his eyes. He is asked to hit and kill his own people. It becomes a pleasure to move around and beat his fellowmen on the instruction of Harrison. On the instruction of his master;Iyob kills the man, who was in affair with Kazhali. After that the first sign of brutality is done to Kazhali; who was the mistress of Harrison. Iyob throws the pregnant Kazhali out' when he knows that Harrison is dead. When Iyob does this brutality Ivan and Demitri were kids. The seeds of Brutality were sowed in It was the civilized world which gave shelter to Aloshy who was abandoned by forest.
Without Aloshy the forest was well balanced with the dominance of the brutish triangle.
When Aloshy returned to the forest then the static nature was disrupted. He had civilized nature embedded in him. Even after along years, when Aloshy came; he was not acceptable to his house. There were attempts made by the Ivan and Dimtri to expel Aloshy out from forest. It was the very attempt made by forest to get rid of a civilized man out from it.
The Communist and Naxals in the movie are representatives of manly nature among brutish men. They stand for the rights of men. The brutish triangle tries to expel and suppress these men. Due to the intervention of Aloshy and Communist; Chemban acquire some humaistic characteristics. After that Chemban is also unwanted in the forest. When Iyob become more humanly, he too is expelled from forest. Thus, the forest expels whoever does not run parallel to its nature. The character of Rahel is very interesting. She is the ever-flirting character in the film. Expect Iyob; she flirts with everyone in the film. Being the wife of Dimitri, she flirts with Ivan, shares bed with him; she tries to flirt with Aloshy and finally she flirts with Rawthoor.
She is the lustful brutish force in the film. She disperses desire in all. The desire in Ivan for Rahel kills Demitri. This rivalry and killing is similar to that jealousy between Cane and Abel. She further embeds desire in Rawthoor and asks him to kill Ivan. Thus, she is the destroying force which kills sibling and men of contact. After Ivan and Rawthoor being killed; Rahel is alone in the huge mansion. There is no option than killing herself. The killing act itself is done in a very lustful manner. Thus, Rahel is a character who shows the forest vitality in a lustful manner throughout the film. The end of Rahel marks the end of violence the forests. Whatever is outside the land is generally considered as manly.
There is a lady from communist party who fights for the rights of the ordinary people in the forests. She is from the civilized world. She is very brave and has great will power.
Due to this quality, she is suppressed and crushed in all her endeavors. She is the representative of manly from the dominating and wilderness.
In a conversation between Chemban and Aloshy it hints that Tamil men are more kind towards the working class and they do not cease their women. The sons of lyob especially have that brutish quality of captivating women for their pleasure. Aloshy is an exemption.
When the brutality is over; the manly communist power acquires the well-being of man. The is evident here. Forests gave its way to the civilized culture and it came to be a house to be peacefully lived in.
Forest always gives shelter to all in need. It gave shelter to Harrison, Rawthoor and to Aloshy. At first time thought he was expelled from forests; after many years when he came, he was given shelter. Then when his siblings try to kill him brutally, it was the forests that save him. Forests give him lifeback and restore his health. At last, when it sheds all its violence and brutishness again it is gives shelter to the manly communist and ordinary men. It never holds up its traditions. Through Kazhali, forest uploads its superstitious nature. The manly nature of communists is a wide contrast to the balance of forest is maintained and acquired each time. When Annama dies; the poor orphan girl is murdered, when Aloshy is explode, when Chemban and Martha is unwanted, when Rahel, Ivan, Rawthoor is expelled and finally when it gave place for communist forests maintains its balance. Forests are not static in its nature. It is very dynamic and changes its attitudes with situation and circumstance.
Forest can be seen as an archetype of birth, death, power, rebirth, self-sufficiency, violence and regeneration. All the stages of forest can be seen in the film through characters.
The birth of characters in the movie is shown, the death of Kazhali, self-sufficiency of Chemban and his wife, Kazhali and Martha, re-birth of Aloshy when his brothers try to repress him, the violence of Rawthoor like a natural calamity and finally the regeneration of forest back to its calmness by the end of the movie. Forest can also be taken as the mental journey of characters in their own course. "Real Liberation comes not from glossing over or repressing painful states of feeling, but only from experiencing them to the full" (The archetypes and Collective Unconscious-C.G. Jung) The above quote shows that forest has influenced each character in its own way and through the journey with forest they have their own self liberation and self-realization. Forest is depicted very well in the film. There should also be a thought that how the depiction is used in the film and how it was felt like. The spectators view 'IyobintePusthakam ' with a difference of opinion. The film was a box office hit. The depiction of forest and surrounding is one major cause. Forest is depicted with such aesthetics as never before. The colour medium used in the film is not the bright one as seen in the films nowadays. It is slightly dim as seen in movies especially that of the 70's. The forest is seen to be dazling and attractive than the real one. Martha's costume and that of communists shows the will power inherent in them. The lustful nature of Rahel is evident in her costume, make-up and her body language. So there is anachronism in the film. The silk sari which Rahel puts in is more of a modern one. The language used in the film especially the bad words seem to be similar. In spite of all odes and even the film has a great significance to be studied in all its aspects. It has more allegiance to a new generation style in many aspects; through it is a period movie. Nature's influence on man is very well seen in 'IyobintePusthakam'. The brutality, calmness, love and lust of characters in the movie are very well reflected by nature especially the forest. The movie is the most suitable one for the study of nature and characters. In 'The Religion of the Forest' Tagore says that our frame of mind guides our attempts to establish relation with universe either by conquest or by union through cultivation of power through that of sympathy. Here it is clear that in human life there is either an intermingling with nature or a withdrawal with nature. These are very well shown in the movie taken. The character always associates with the two extremes of forests which is the very essence of the concept told.