India, Nov. 14 -- IN THREE OF Senna Hegde's films - Katheyondhu Shuruvaagidhe (Kannada), the National Award-winning Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam and the more recent Avihitham (both in Malayalam), the women get amazing character arcs. If the first was about a young woman discovering life after a heartbreak, the second was about another asserting her right. Avithitam (Illicit), on the other hand, is about women, but primarily features men, though most of the women on screen have agency.

Of all his movies, by now called the Kanhangad Cinematic Universe (Senna laughs at this, but says, "Who are we to stop people from giving it a name?"), Avihitham hits the hardest, though it has a healthy vein of humour running through it. The story can be narra...