In Kinnara Thumbikal , Shakeela’s body became the primary text. Her physique—a departure from the slender, conventional heroine archetype of the time—challenged the established beauty standards of Malayalam cinema. While the camera fetishized her, her on-screen persona often projected a sense of agency and sexual appetite that was otherwise absent in the demure portrayals of mainstream heroines. The film’s success lay in its ability to market "transgression" to a mass audience, making the forbidden accessible in the conservative social landscape of Kerala.

While these films were primarily categorized as softcore, they often incorporated traditional romantic tropes.

: Stories typically featured lush, misty tea plantations or backwater settings where illicit affairs or "first-love" narratives unfolded away from the gaze of strict family elders.

This project attempts to move beyond Shakeela’s stereotypical image, positioning her as a protagonist navigating relationships that exist on the fringes of societal acceptance— kinara relationships, implying love that flirts with taboo, betrayal, or moral ambiguity. The romantic storylines are designed to challenge conservative Malayali family norms, focusing on desire, secrecy, and emotional conflict.

Relationships often blossomed in confined environments, such as between a resident and a caretaker, highlighting the friction between private desires and public expectations.

Shakeela often played a woman wronged by society, a lonely housewife, or an innocent woman pushed into difficult circumstances. Her romantic entanglements usually stemmed from a search for solace or protection.