Vaanaprastham - 1999
(The Last Dance)
Vaanaprastham is about the identity crisis an actor faces where his individual identity is overshadowed by the identity of the character on the stage.
Set in the early 1930s, Vaanaprastham says the story of Kunjikuttan, the illegitimate son of a landlord in a lower cast woman. The landlord rejects the fatherhood of Kunjikuttan. He studies kathakali, the classical dance form of Kerala and becomes one of the most reputed kathakali artists of the time.
Kunjikuttan meets Subhadra, a high society woman, during a kathakali performance in a palace. Subhadra falls in love with him, not with the actor Kunjikuttan, but the role of Arjuna the hero of Mahabharatha he played on the stage. She urges him to make love with her, wearing the costumes of Arjuna. Subhadra announces that she is pregnant. She gives birth to a son, but doesn't allow Kunjikuttan to see the child. Only once she allows him to see his son in the costumes of Arjuna. Thus Kunjikuttan, a son who was deprived of his father earlier is deprived of his son too.
The film ends with Kunjikuttan's last performance as Arjuna along with his daughter in his wife Sharada as Subhadra, Arjuna's love, thus creating a shock to Subhadra, among the audience. Thereafter Kunjikuttan disappears after sending Subhadra a last letter.
Vaanaprastham was selected to the competitive section of the Cannes international film festival. It won the National film award for best film and Mohanlal won the National award for best actor for the second time. It also won Shaji the State award for the best director.
Direction & Screenplay: Shaji N Karun
Cast: Mohanlal, Suhasini, Kalamandalam Gopi
Cinematography: Renato Berta, Santosh Shivan
Music: Zakir Hussain
Other films by Shaji N Karun:
| Piravi |
Swaham |
Nishad |
| History of Indian Cinema |
Indian Parallel Cinema |
History of Malayalam Cinema |
| Malayalam Parallel Cinema |
Malayalam Middle-Stream Cinema |
| Malayalam Cinema Database |