Trama

Five women and a transman from different social strata who face overwhelming pressure in their daily lives due to their body image issues

The script titled B 32" to 44" is a satire on "the perfect body myth", that narrates the stories of 6 women from different social strata and the overwhelming pressure they are facing in their daily lives because of their unmodified bodies and their responses to the male-gaze. B is also a philosophical inquiry into how we inhabit "Breast", a body part women have and how "breast", in turn, inhabits and uses us. Their stories are interwoven as each character is connected to one another in some common social settings. The story has a positive ending with each character surmounting her trauma and finding an anchor to move on.

Narrative and Treatment The script follows a non-linear narrative traversing the lives of 6 female characters, their conflicts and their moments. There are certain meeting points in the script where each character is connected to one another in some way. The film ends with each of them transcending the stereotypical body images and building a positive emotional and physical being.

Character Bible Malini, in late 30s (Played by Ramya Nambessan), a respected government official, who heads up an orphanage and a rescue center for children, is struggling to get back to a normal family life post her mastectomy. The indifference of her husband clearly equates her breast-removal to the physical inadequacy construct. Malini tries to win the attention of her husband but fails as he is not able to accept her new self and her new body post mastectomy.

Iman, Early 30s (Played by Zarin Shihab), who works in the corporate sector as a hospitality manager is haunted by her poor-career growth as she believes it is influenced highly by the size of her breasts. Her failed marriage (a hint of the same has been there in the film) has also contributed towards her low self-worth. Despite her experience in the hospitality sector she is denied promotion at work owing to her appearance. Later, Iman supports Rachel (another lead character who gets touched inappropriately at the hotel where Iman is working) as a witness, despite the pressures she had from the management of the hotel.

Jaya, in her late 20s (Played by Ashwathy B), is a working class woman. Jaya who works as a domestic help (in the apartment where Malini stays) is the sole financial support of her family (that lives in a slum of Kochi). She becomes a lingerie (bra) model as she is spotted by Malini's husband, an advertising professional. She does this to pay off the financial burden created by her husband.

Ziya, in late 20s (Played by Anarkali Marikar), is a becoming- tran-sman (someone who believes she/he is trapped in the body of a female) and a model photographer.The story starts with Ziya and the visuals of her/his breast dysphoria and her/his experiences while facing the general public. Transcending the limitations of her/his body and the perceptions of the society during her/his journey to become a man, she/he paints and draws images of women who have faced the similar trauma regarding their breasts.

Rachel, In mid 20s (Played by Krisha Kurup), who is an aspiring actress gets the shock of her life when she is violated physically by a senior filmmaker during an audition session (as he presses her breasts during an audition session). She presses charges against him despite the tremendous pressure she had from her boyfriend (who happens to be an aspiring cinematographer). Her narrative talks about the obstacles a lower-class woman faces including victim-blaming as she went ahead filing a case against the filmmaker who touched her without her consent.

Nidhi, in her teens (Played by Raina Radhakrishnan), is a secondary school girl (a minor from an upper-class family) who happened to carry an accidental pregnancy. She is a mother of a 4 month old baby as her story opens. Her plot discusses her urge for breastfeeding her baby and the way her parents try to separate the baby from her.