Director: Shaji N. Karun; Writer: Shaji N. Karun, Reghunath Paleri; Producer: Pierre Assouline, Suresh Balaje, Guy Marignane, Mohanlal; Cinematographer: Renato Berta, Santosh Sivan; Editor: Joseph Guinvarch, A. Sreekar Prasad; Cast: Mohanlal, Suhasini Maniratnam, Mattanoor Shankara Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, Kukku Parameshwaram, Venmani Vishnu, Kalamandalam Kesavan, Bindu Panikkar
Duration: 01:54:31; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 19.482; Saturation: 0.167; Lightness: 0.104; Volume: 0.133; Cuts per Minute: 6.270
Summary: The story revolves around a male Kathakali artist Kunhikuttan (Mohanlal ), an admirable and respected performer but a member of a lower caste. He struggles to come to terms with the rejection and estrangement of his father, a member of an upper caste who denies his son. Poor, unhappy, and stuck in an arranged marriage that provides no relief, he gets by for the sake of his daughter.
One night, whilst performing as Putana from poothanamoksham from the epic Mahabharata on stage, his performance is witnessed by Subhadra (Suhasini), an educated and married upper-caste women, niece of the Dewan and an aspiring composer. Impressed by his performance she invites him to play Arjuna in her adaptation of Subhadraharanam. Defying the norms of India's rigid caste system, the two have an affair which results in a son.
But it soon becomes clear that Subhadra loves the character Arjuna from his stage performances, and not Kunhikuttan the artist. More in love with the valiant, noble hero of the Mahabharata, than the lower-caste dancer Kunhikuttan, she rejects him and refuses to let him see his son. Denied access to his son, and rejected by his father, Kunhikuttan returns to the stage, leaving behind his hero roles to play demonic characters, reaching within the dark corners of his mind, becoming increasingly resentful and full of anger, until one last dance which brings the feature to a stunning end Subhadraharanam.
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