Most of us know some intelligent, spunky women with jealous, insecure, violent husbands/partners, and wonder why they haven't dumped them. The brilliant Malayalam film Uyare (High/Height) by Manu Ashokan explores what can happen when she does. It underlines how many Indian men have no clue they are a**holes — including the good guys. In fact, it juxtaposes what happens when a woman chooses a flying career, emblematic of the highest an independent, ambitious woman can achieve, and how she becomes an air hostess after a disfiguring acid attack from a jealous boyfriend, especially in a profession in which beauty is considered a basic requirement."

Malayalam cinema is streets ahead of the rest of Indian cinema. It has offered a joyous tsunami of recent good films — including Kumbalangi Nights, Sudani From Nigeria, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Ee Ma Yau, Eeda, and more. And now, Uyare, Ashokan's debut feature, raises the bar so high, we look forward to see what Meghna Gulzar comes up with in Chhapaak, starring Deepika Padukone as an acid attack victim. Uyare has something in common with both Take Off and Neerja, but persists with a woman's rebirth in this lifetime.