Director: K. Balachander; Producer: Kavithalaya; Cinematographer: Raghunatha Reddy; Cast: Kushboo, Yuvarani, Vichitra, K.S. Gajalakshmi, Vineeth, Nasser, Madan Bob, Delhi Ganesh, Charlie, Mukesh (Malayali actor)
Summary: A confused film abstractly bemoaning
communal violence but actually more
concerned with the victims of police violence.
After losing her parents in communal riots,
Sriranjani (Kushboo) seeks refuge in Ooty
where she meets Kesavan (Mukesh), who is
recovering from being jilted. Kesavan is
involved in a car crash and Sriranjini is
abducted by a stalker, Reddy (Nasser), a fan of
her music. Kesavan eventually manages to get
to Hyderabad, searching for Sriranjini, while a
pair of young lovers they befriended obtains
parental permission to stay together, allowing
them to join in the search for Sriranjini amidst
the communal riots besetting the city. Sriranjini
and Kesavan, eventually united, witness how
the police, mistaking the young lovers for
rioters, brutally murder them, allowing the film
to end badly while detracting attention from
the issues involved in communal violence. The
title refers to the jasmine flower, but its design
in the film and on posters scored off the word
‘jathi’ (caste).
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