Malayalam

Quote:
Raghu, the only son of Raghava Chakyar was born late for him. So he poured his entire love and affection on him. Raghu, studying in an engineering college in a far away city has to arrive at his home to attend the engagement ceremony of his only sister. But he doesn’t. The father starts his endless wait for his son. He daily waits at the bus stop till the last bus from the town also returns. Raghava Chakyar comes to know from newspapers that Raghu was taken into custody by the Police for political reasons. He reaches the capital and meets the higher Police officials. But they pretended helpless as there is no proof that Raghu was taken into custody. Raghu’s sister comes to understand that he probably would have died in police custody after being tortured, but cannot bear to tell this to her father. The old man’s grip on reality slowly slips and he starts dreaming that his son is with him.Read More »

Quote:
In ancient Kerala, where Tantra/Maya held sway, Thevan, a novice singer from a caste of folk singers (Paanan), narrowly escapes from slavers and finds himself lost. While fleeing, he stumbles upon an eerie household in the middle of a forest with a seemingly benevolent master and his servant. The master welcomes him, but it soon becomes clear that he is a malevolent goblin from folklore known as Chaathan, who has taken on the master’s identity. The creature from darkness ensnares anyone who enters the house as its lifelong servants. The story delves into whether Thevan and the current first servant can break free from the goblin’s control.Read More »

A drama centered around four women at Kuttanad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.Read More »

Mukhamukham arouse controversy as the theme of the film was the degeneration of leftist politics and came under attack from the leftist parties of Kerala.

“Even before it was released there were rumours that it was an anti-communist film. When it was released, it was criticized as anti-communist. I think it has something to do with film literacy. We are not able to react to a film naturally. Instead we are aghast that a communist drinks alcohol and we pick on that. That is not the way to approach a work of art.” – AdoorRead More »

Swayamvaram is a Malayalam feature film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Critically acclaimed upon release, the film marked Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s debut in feature film. The film starkly portrayed the middle class angst of the post-Nehruvian society and the transition of Kerala’s middle class into a modernist society. Although the economic and social crises of the middle class is pervasive in the film, the emphasis is on the existential problems at an ontological plain. This film marked a transition in Malayalam film aesthetic as it was the first break with social realism and an attempt to come to terms with the disillusionment in ideologies.Read More »

Kora and his brother Onan gather four men to go on a gaur hunt in order to make some quick money. Their journey progresses through their dreams, desires, fears, fantasies and struggles.Distanced from their families and loved ones, sharing stories help them remember and appreciate their inescapable pasts and make bonds. When the real and imagined nature turn out to be larger than their will and strength could handle, they learn the harsh realities of the endeavor they have taken up.Read More »

Synopsis:
The film interprets a story from the Uttara Kanda of the epic poem Ramayana, where Rama sends his wife, Sita, to the jungle to satisfy his subjects. Sita is never actually seen in the film, but her virtual presence is compellingly evoked in the moods of the forest and the elements. The film retells the epic from a feminist perspective, and is about the tragedy of power and the sacrifices that adherence to dharma demands, including abandoning a chaste wife.Read More »

Quote:
Aravindan’s finest b&w film chronicles three days with a circus in a small town in Kerala. A series of high-angle shots, as the circus drives into its new location, introduce us to the village. Several sequences use a remarkable quasi-documentary effect combined with minutely choreographed action e.g. the sunset as the manager (Gopi) directs the raising of the big top. The episodic film tells of a soldier who befriends the circus strong man in a toddy bar and shows how the bizarre characters from the circus including the dwarf merge with the local populace.Read More »

Adoor’s second feature film made five years after Swayamvaram achieved commercial success in Kerala, while reaching an artistic height.

Its structure is that of a festival in a village temple. I wanted to create an intimate experience of everyday rural life. It is structured in such a way as to look natural, as if there are no outside interventions. During the course of the film, the festival comes full circle, parallel to it is the inner development of the character as well.Read More »