9 Things That Stayed With Me After Watching Dorothy

9 things stayed with me, even after I closed my Netflix tab on Dorothy.

Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with one of my professors about Dorothy, a film that explores gender roles, identity and the performance of masculinity. Some of the observations from that conversation stayed with me. I finally watched the film today, and here are nine things that caught my attention.

1. The Match Cut

Karthi kisses his girlfriend and suddenly hears a whistle. Whistle Iyya arrives, and they rush towards him, requesting his help with their marriage. They even fall at his feet. The next scene is a marriage scene. But there is a twist. The girl is standing as a bride, but the groom is someone else!

I loved this transition. In just one cut, we understand what has happened to Karthi’s love story. It is almost funny, but also cruel. There is no time to process heartbreak. The editing does the job!

2. “Why Aren’t You Crying?”

After the song, we learn that Dhanam’s brother has found his sister’s lover. He holds her by the hair and drags her towards the car.

Karthi notices Subbu crying and asks him, “Why are you crying?”

Subbu asks him in return, “Why aren’t you crying?”

This question stayed with me. A woman is being dragged away, and Subbu is visibly disturbed. But Karthi seems unaffected. Has he become so used to witnessing violence that it no longer affects him?

3. What We Learn and What We Unlearn

As children, Subbu and Karthi grow up in a place where fighting, beating women, witnessing a beating, abuse and ignoring their decisions are part of everyday life. Subbu imitates his family members and repeats what he sees and hears. But as Subbu grows older, something changes. He begins to understand himself and distances himself from the people around him. Others notice this change, but Karthi doesn’t. Instead, he mocks Subbu.

There is an interesting contrast here. Subbu eventually questions the very things he was taught at home. He even becomes someone who educates Karthi. Karthi, who once accepted these beliefs, eventually begins to listen to him in the last few minutes of the film.

4. Hiding Is Part of the Movie

Almost everyone seems to be hiding something. Subbu hides his sexual identity from Karthi. Karthi hides the fact that he has been given the responsibility of killing Subbu. Subbu’s father hides the actual reason for his mother’s death. Dorothy’s death is hidden, her death is open for the audience’s interpretation.

But there is another layer to this. Karthi has learnt to hide his emotions, too. The society around them decides how men should behave and even how they should express sadness.

Hiding is not just a plot device here. It shows how people are conditioned to live.

5. The Real Issues

There were a few things I couldn’t stop thinking about. How did Dorothy marry Subbu’s brother? What was her life like in that household?

I also found it difficult to watch Kalai’s behaviour. There is a scene where he hits a theatre vendor because he hasn’t been given a hot samosa. We see him drinking in almost every scene. It made me wonder how someone is supposed to live with a person like who drinks 24*7, always loud, picks up fight randomly and many more. 

Another disturbing aspect is how women themselves become part of the system that oppresses them. Dhanam’s mother joins her husband in beating their daughter. People who have experienced oppression sometimes end up enforcing the same rules on others.

6. The World of Dorothy

Something about the setting stayed with me. The period Madurai feels like a place frozen in time. Stories of murders, suicides and violence are shared so casually that they seem like ordinary incidents.

Subbu even tells Karthi where his mother’s and sister’s bodies were found. What disturbed me was how casually this young boy speaks about something so painful.

Women are either absent, silenced or remembered through their deaths and belongings. Anyone who tries to live differently seems to face violence. What makes it more disturbing is that everyone appears to have accepted this way of life.

7. The Storeroom

Towards the end, Whistle Iyya brings a truck box containing the belongings of the women in the house.

The scene where these things are dumped was difficult to watch. These are not just objects. They once belonged to people who lived and had their own identities. Throughout the film, we hear about women who are no longer there. We see their belongings and learn that their deaths didn’t affect them. 

Even in this scene, we notice Whistle Iyya taking his son’s ring and wearing it. His dislike towards Karthi is also visible. I liked how these small actions reveal so much about the characters.

8. Kindness and Understanding

One of the things I liked was how Subbu eventually questions the beliefs he grew up with.

I also liked the moments when Subbu receives kindness from the women in the film. Karthi’s mother, in particular, seems to understand him in a way Karthi cannot. In a film where people keep teaching each other to become harder, these small acts of kindness feel important.

9. The Reunion

The reunion between Karthi and Subbu, accompanied by Ilaiyaraaja’s music, is another moment I loved.

After everything that happens, seeing them together again is emotional. Karthi has to confront not just the person Subbu has become, but also his own ideas and prejudices.

The music adds so much to the scene. I liked how the film allows us to see this change through their relationship.

There were many things I liked about Dorothy: the match cut, the dialogues, the silences, the editing and the little details in the characters’ behaviour.

But what stayed with me most was the question of why people are taught to suppress certain emotions.

Why is crying considered a weakness? Why should boys learn to express sadness through anger? Why are women expected to tolerate violence? And why do people who question these expectations become outsiders?

I wasn’t just watching what happened to the characters. I was also thinking about the society that made them who they are.

Do you like stories that make you choose between different options?
Then What did Ravi do? is for you