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AM AH: Malayalam cinema always promises something special, and once again, it didn’t disappoint
By ACL Kalpana
The title AM AH made me pause mid-browsing — and without thinking twice, I hit play. Sitting on my sofa, I suddenly found myself transported to the mountainous land of Kavantha. I am not even sure if Kavantha is a real place or an imaginary slice of green paradise hidden somewhere between the hills of Kerala.
Malayalam cinema always promises me something special, and once again, it didn’t disappoint.
AM AH is a simple yet profound film that gently unpacks the complicated emotions tied to surrogacy, parenthood, and motherhood. Thomas Sebastian, the director, takes his time — no rush, no drama — letting the story flow, scene by scene. It needs patience, and there is a lot of waiting, but, somehow, you feel it’s all leading somewhere meaningful.
The delayed conversations, the almost-distracting narrative — they keep you wondering:
Who exactly is Ammani Amma (played so gracefully by Dhivya Dharshini)?
What is Kunji’s story?
And who is Stephen (brought to life brilliantly by Dileesh Pothan)?
The first half of the movie feels like a quiet trek through the beautiful, misty Kavantha — you are just soaking it all in. And, then, in the final hour, the tension tightens. Suddenly, the pieces start snapping into place, like solving a puzzle you didn’t even know you were holding.
You watch how Kunji becomes Ammani Amma’s adopted daughter — almost by chance. You feel Ammani Amma’s fierce love, her fear, her loneliness — tangled up in the secret she carries.
Suspicion brews. Stephen, the police officer, starts digging.
And through it all, the film shines a light on the messy, heart-breaking world of surrogacy in India — especially over the last few decades, where legal battles and emotional scars have walked hand-in-hand.
At the heart of it all is a poor surrogate mother who is abandoned, along with her child, when the biological parents discover the baby has a hearing disability. That heartbreak, that innocence, that raw cry — it’s what gives the film reveals its poignant title: AM AH.