Vanaprastham

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the third ashrama in the Vedic ashrama system, see
Vanaprastha
.

Vanaprastham
SND Films (France)
Pranavam Arts (Kerala)
Release date
January 2000 (in theatres)
Running time
119 minutes
CountriesFrance
India
LanguageMalayalam

Vanaprastham: The Last Dance (

Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, and Kukku Parameshwaram in supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Zakir Hussain
.

Set in the 1950s in Travancore, the plot follows a lower-caste Kathakali artist Kunjikuttan (Mohanlal). Subhadra (Suhasini), a member of 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

FIPRESCI prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival. The film won three awards at the 47th National Film Awards—Best Feature Film, Best Actor (Mohanlal), and Best Editing (A. Sreekar Prasad), and six awards at the 1999 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor (Mohanlal). In 2014, Vanaprastham was screened retrospective at the 45th International Film Festival of India
in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section.

Plot

The story revolves around a male Kathakali artist 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 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, 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.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 1999, where it was selected at 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

mise-en-scene and well-crafted production, director Karun offers poignant commentary on the political and mythic role of artists in a rapidly changing society, and the fine line between the characters they play onstage and off".[4]

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:

1999 Cannes Film Festival

Competed at the Un Certain Regard section

1999
AFI Fest
(United States)
1999
Istanbul International Film Festival
1999 Mumbai International Film Festival[6]
47th National Film Awards[7]
1999 Kerala State Film Awards
1999 Filmfare Awards South
Other awards

Soundtrack

Vanaprastham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Universal Music France
ProducerZakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain chronology
Saaz
(1998) 		Vanaprastham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(1999) 		The Mystic Masseur
(2001)

The music for the film was composed by

Universal Music France, it was released on 1 October 1999 in Europe.[8][9]

Vanaprastham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleLength
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

Indian cinema, Vanaprastham came ninth in the poll for finding the "greatest Indian film ever".[16][17] In 2016, on the occasion of India celebrating its 70th Independence day, news agency NDTV compiled a list called "70 Years, 70 Great Films" and Vanaprastham was among the four Malayalam films that found place in the list.[18]

References

  1. ^ Panicker, Prem. "Illusion vs reality". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  2. Festival-cannes.com. 1999. Archived
    from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  3. Iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. ^ Levy, Emanuel (21 May 1999). "The Last Dance". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. ^ "rediff.com, Movies: The Rediff Review: Vaanaprastham". 8 November 2001. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Festival awards 2000". Fipresci.org. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. ^ Variety staff (11 July 2000). "Film faves win kudos". Variety. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Vanaprastham - Zakir Hussain". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  9. Amazon.ca. 29 February 2000. Archived
    from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  10. ^ Warrier, Shobha (11 March 1999). "Payback time!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  11. ^ Jeshi, K. (4 March 2011). "A passion for pain". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. ^ Warrier, Shobha (16 June 1999). "Hat-trick!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Warrier, Shobha (7 June 2005). "India's Best Films: Mohanlal". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  16. CNN-IBN. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original
    on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  17. CNN-IBN. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original
    on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  18. ^ "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

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