Vanaprastham
Vanaprastham | |
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Release date |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
Countries | France India |
Language | Malayalam |
Vanaprastham: The Last Dance (
Set in the 1950s in Travancore, the plot follows a lower-caste Kathakali artiste Kunjikuttan (Mohanlal). Subhadra (Suhasini), from an aristocratic family, sees him perform Arjuna. Lost between reality and fiction she falls in love with the character. Their relationship leads to the birth of a child, who is hidden away by Subhadra from Kunjikuttan for almost a lifetime.
The film premiered at the
Plot
This article needs an improved plot summary. (June 2020) |
The story revolves around a male Kathakali artiste Kunhikuttan, 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 paternity. Poor, unhappy, and stuck in an arranged marriage that provides no respite, 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, an educated and married upper-caste woman, niece of the Dewan and an aspiring composer. Impressed by his performance she invites him to play Arjuna in her adaptation of Subhadraharanam. Defying norms of India's rigid caste system, the two have an affair which results in the birth of a son.
It soon becomes clear that Subhadra loves the character Arjuna from his stage performances, and not Kunhikuttan the artiste. 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 their 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.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Kunjikuttan
- Suhasini Mani Ratnamas Subhadra
- Mattannur Sankarankutty Mararas Raman
- Kukku Parameswaran as Savithri
- Venmani Haridas as Vasu Namboothiri
- Kalamandalam Gopi as Kunju Nair
- Venmani Vishnu as Pisharadi
- Kalamandalam Kesavan as Thirumeni
- Bindu Panicker as Bhageerathi
- Sindhu Shyam
- Arun as Child Kunhikuttan
Release
The film premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 1999, where it was selected in the Un Certain Regard section.[2] In 2014, the film was screened retrospective during the 45th International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section.[3]
Writing for
Prem Panickar of Rediff wrote, "From a viewer's point of view, it is interesting that after watching the film, you come away talking of the passionate 'virtual love story', of the stunning visuals, of Mohanlal's brilliance and Suhasini's surcharged performance -- but rarely, if ever, of the director. Perhaps that is Shaji N Karun's biggest victory. He is there, in the meticulously etched story and the sparse, telling dialogues. He is there in the use of Kathakali as a medium -- inspired, perhaps, by his mentor, the late Malayalam auteur Aravindan's 1988 opus, Marattam."[5]
Awards
The film has been nominated for the following awards since its release:
Competed at the Un Certain Regard section
- 1999 AFI Fest(United States)
- Nominated - Grand Jury Prize - Shaji N. Karun
- 1999 Istanbul International Film Festival
- Won - Special Prize of the Jury - Shaji N. Karun
- Won - FIPRESCI prize - Shaji N. Karun
- Won - Best Feature Film - Pierre Assouline, Mohanlal
- Won - Best Actor - Mohanlal
- Won - Best Editing - A. Sreekar Prasad, Joseph Guinvarch
- Won - Best Actor - Mohanlal
- Won - Best Director - Shaji N. Karun
- Won - Best Editor - A. Sreekar Prasad, Joseph Guinvarch
- Won - Best Sound Recordist - Lakshmy Narayana, Bruno Tarrière
- Won - Best Processing Lab - Prasad Colour Lab
- Won - Best Make-up Artist - M.O.Devasya, Saleem
- Won - Best Actor in Malayalam - Mohanlal
- Won - Best Cinematographer – South - Santosh Sivan
- Other awards
- Won - Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actor - Mohanlal
- Won - Mathrubhumi Film Award for Best Actor - Mohanlal
Soundtrack
Vanaprastham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Universal Music France | ||||
Producer | Zakir Hussain | |||
Zakir Hussain chronology | ||||
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The music for the film was composed by
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Subhadra" | 5:56 |
2. | "Smile" | 3:44 |
3. | "Kunhikuttan" | 3:59 |
4. | "Elanga" | 2:31 |
5. | "Kamini" | 5:29 |
6. | "Puskara" | 3:04 |
7. | "Dark Melody" | 4:27 |
8. | "Subhadra 2" | 7:18 |
9. | "Taal Mantra" | 4:32 |
Total length: | 41:00 |
Legacy
Vanaprastham was the first Indian film made in
References
- ^ Panicker, Prem. "Illusion vs reality". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- Festival-cannes.com. 1999. Archivedfrom the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- Iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (21 May 1999). "The Last Dance". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "rediff.com, Movies: The Rediff Review: Vaanaprastham". 8 November 2001. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Festival awards 2000". Fipresci.org. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Variety staff (11 July 2000). "Film faves win kudos". Variety. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Vanaprastham - Zakir Hussain". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- Amazon.ca. 29 February 2000. Archivedfrom the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Warrier, Shobha (11 March 1999). "Payback time!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Jeshi, K. (4 March 2011). "A passion for pain". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Warrier, Shobha (16 June 1999). "Hat-trick!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Taliculam, Sharmila; Warrier, Shobha (22 August 2000). "'Indians go abroad to watch Indian films!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Ramnath, Nandini (25 September 2018). "The man in the middle: How acclaimed film editor Sreekar Prasad has stood out while blending in". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Warrier, Shobha (7 June 2005). "India's Best Films: Mohanlal". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- CNN-IBN. 12 May 2013. Archived from the originalon 14 January 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- CNN-IBN. 26 April 2013. Archived from the originalon 15 November 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ "Happy Independence Day: 70 Years, 70 Great Films". NDTV. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
External links
- Vanaprastham at IMDb