Age as Gothic in the Tamil Film <i>Thalaikoothal</i>

This article discusses the 2023 film Thalaikoothal (dir. Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan). The film depicts the travails of a poverty ridden son who has to choose whether to continue spending what little money he has on the medical upkeep of his aged, comatose father, and thereby deprive his own child of the upbringing she deserves, or perform senicide ( thalaikoothal) on his father, thereby ending his life. The film critiques an important issue in some parts of India, the tradition of thalaikoothal. In doing so, the film exploits the ‘negative aesthetics’ that are a mainstay of the Gothic sensibility. Moreover, the cinematic style adopted by the director elicits the gloom and horror that is so conducive to the Gothic affect. This article will analyse how the film makes use of the Gothic to bring to light a tradition in parts of South India that needs a thoughtful and critical reconsideration.