← Back to Directory
Panchathantram
Movie

Panchathantram

2022 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

Veda Vyas Murthy is a retired All India Radio announcer whose daughter doesn't want him to work any longer. When a publishing house announces a story-narration contest, Veda Vyas' interest to tell stories is kindled. He narrates five different stories with the theme of the five senses: Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, and Touch.

Overall Series Review

Panchathantram is a Telugu-language anthology film comprising five distinct short stories, all narrated by the protagonist, Veda Vyas Murthy. The stories are linked by the theme of the five human senses: Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, and Touch. The overarching narrative features Veda Vyas, a retired All India Radio announcer, who decides to pursue his passion for writing by participating in a competition against the wishes of his daughter. The embedded stories explore universal human experiences like finding work-life balance, the search for a compatible life partner, the anxiety of a father, and the tenacity of a couple facing a terminal illness during pregnancy. The film’s focus remains firmly on human emotions, family bonds, and the idea that passion and purpose are not restricted by age. The core drama centers on the intergenerational conflict of an elderly father pursuing his creative ambition against a daughter who insists he rest, ultimately championing the individual's merit and will.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

Characters are judged by their personal struggles, talent, and emotional resilience rather than any immutable characteristic. The primary conflict is based on age and professional ambition versus a desire for rest, a struggle of merit and will. The narrative contains no elements of vilifying a specific demographic or lecturing on privilege/systemic oppression.

Oikophobia1/10

The film centers on everyday human and family drama within the existing culture, treating family and community institutions as shields against chaos, such as supporting a couple through a life-threatening illness. The plot celebrates the personal pursuit of traditional art forms like storytelling and shows respect for the idea that life can begin at any age, exhibiting gratitude for life's opportunities. There is no deconstruction of heritage or framing of the home culture as fundamentally corrupt.

Feminism2/10

The stories generally uphold a traditional and complementary view of gender roles and relationships. One story explicitly celebrates motherhood by portraying a baby as a ray of hope for a couple facing a crisis. Male characters are depicted as protective husbands and passionate individuals, not as bumbling or toxic. The daughter's initial resistance to her father's career pursuit is a minor element of control but does not translate into a broader anti-male or 'Girl Boss' trope. Women are depicted with agency, but within a framework that respects family structure and vitality.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative is structurally normative, with central plots focusing on finding a life partner and the strength of a husband and pregnant wife. The family unit presented is the traditional male-female pairing. There is no centering of alternative sexualities, deconstruction of the nuclear family, or lecturing on gender theory.

Anti-Theism1/10

The core themes revolve around transcendent concepts like peace, will, love, and tenacity in the face of suffering, suggesting an adherence to higher moral law. The narrator is even named after a revered sage from Hindu tradition, implicitly rooting the film in a spiritual and cultural context. The movie is focused on humanistic emotion and struggle, entirely free of hostility toward traditional religion or an embrace of radical moral relativism.