Vaanaprastham

Infobox Film
name = Vanaprastham


director = Shaji N. Karun
writer = Shaji N. Karun
Reghunath Paleri
Pierre Assouline (story)
starring = Mohanlal
Suhasini Mani Ratnam
Mattanoor Shankara Marar
Kukku Parameshwaram
Venmani Haridas
Kalamandalam Gopi
Venmani Vishnu
producer =
Mohanlal
Pierre Assouline
Suresh Balaji
Guy Marignane
distributor =
cinematography = Santosh Sivan
Renato Berta
editing = A. Sreekar Prasad
Joseph Guinvarch| released = 1999
runtime = 119 mins
language = Malayalam
music = Zakir Hussain
imdb_id = 0202055

"Vaanaprastham" "(The Last Dance)" (1999) is an Indo-French-German produced feature filmcn | date= July 2008, directed by Shaji N. Karun. The film is in Malayalam. It stars Mohanlal, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, and Mattanoor Shankara Marar. The film's music is composed by Zakir Hussain [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202055/fullcredits#writers Cast (IMDb)] ] . The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999 [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202055/awards Awards (IMDb)] ] .

Plot

The story revolves around a male Kathakali dancer 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 disapproves of 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 Arjuna from the epic Mahabarata on stage, his dance is witnessed by Subhadra (Suhasini), a well educated member of an upper caste family. Defying the norms of India's rigid caste system, they have a son, but it soon becomes clear that Subhadra loves the character Arjuna from his stage performances, and not Kunhikuttan the dancer. More in love with the valiant, noble hero of the Mahabarata, than the 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.

Awards

The film has been nominated for the following awards since its release:

1999 AFI Fest (USA)
* Nominated - Grand Jury Prize - Shaji N. Karun

The film has won the following awards since its release:

2000 Istanbul International Film Festival (Turkey)
* Won - Special Prize of the Jury - Shaji N. Karun 2000 Bombay International Film Festival (India)
* Won - FIPRESCI Prize - Shaji N. Karun 2000 National Film Awards (India)
* Won - Golden Lotus Award - Best Film - Vanaprastham - Shaji N. Karun
* Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Actor - Mohanlal
* Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Editing - A. Sreekar Prasad, Joseph Guinvarch

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0202055|title=Vaanaprastham