Vanaprastham

Vanaprastham: The Last Dance (French: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced by Mohanlal. The screenplay was written by Karun and Raghunath Paleri (who also wrote the dialogues) based on a story by Assouline. It features Mohanlal in the lead role, with Suhasini Maniratnam, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, and Kukku Parameshwaram in supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Zakir Hussain.

For the third ashrama in the Vedic ashrama system, see Vanaprastha.
Vanaprastham
DVD cover
Directed byShaji N. Karun
Produced byPierre Assouline
Mohanlal (co-producer)
Screenplay byShaji N. Karun
Raghunath Paleri
Dialogues:
Raghunath Paleri
Story byPierre Assouline
StarringMohanlal
Suhasini Maniratnam
Music byZakir Hussain
CinematographyRenato Berta
Santosh Sivan
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Joseph Guinvarch
Production
company
Euro American Films
Pranavam Arts
CLT-UFA International
(in association with)
Distributed bySND Films (France)
Pranavam Arts (Kerala)
Release date
  • 21 May 1999 (1999-05-21) (Cannes Film Festival)
  • 13 October 1999 (1999-10-13) (France)
  • 25 December 1999 (1999-12-25) (India)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryFrance
India
LanguageMalayalam

Set in the 1930s in Travancore, the plot follows a lower-caste Kathakali artist Kunhikuttan (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 Kunhikuttan for almost a lifetime.

The film premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 1999, where it was selected at the Un Certain Regard section, and was theatrically released in France on 13 October 1999 and in India on 25 December 1999. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the American Film Institute's 1999 AFI Fest (Los Angeles International Film Festival). It won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Istanbul International Film Festival and 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
  • Mohanlal as Kunhikuttan
  • Suhasini Mani Ratnam as Subhadra
  • Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar as 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 at the Un Certain Regard section.[1] In 2014, the film was screened retrospective during the 45th International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section.[2]

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
47th National Film Awards[3]
1999 Kerala State Film Awards
1999 Filmfare Awards South
Other awards

Soundtrack
Vanaprastham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
Zakir Hussain
Released1 October 1999 (1999-10-01) (Europe)
Genre
Length41:00
LabelUniversal 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 Zakir Hussain. The soundtrack album was distributed by Universal Music France, it was released on 1 October 1999 in Europe.[4][5]

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 Panavision and Dolby Stereo formats. Mohanlal's performance in the film is often regarded by critics as one of the best performances in his career.[6] Impressed with his work in Vanaprastham, A. Sreekar Prasad was hired by Mani Ratnam for editing Alaipayuthey (their first collaboration), who later becomes his regular editor.[7] In 2013, in an online poll conducted by CNN-IBN on their website as part of the 100 years celebration of Indian cinema, Vanaprastham came ninth in the poll for finding the "Greatest Indian film ever".[8][9]

References
  1. "Festival de Cannes: Vanaprastham". Festival-cannes.com. 1999. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  2. "45th International Film Festival of Goa" (PDF). Iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  3. Variety staff (11 July 2000). "Film faves win kudos". Variety. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. "Vanaprastham - Zakir Hussain". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  5. "Vanaprastham: Last Dance". Amazon.ca. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  6. Jeshi, K. (4 March 2011). "A passion for pain". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. Ramnath, Nandini (25 September 2018). "The man in the middle: How acclaimed film editor Sreekar Prasad has stood out while blending in". Scroll.in. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  8. "'Mayabazar' is India's greatest film ever: IBNLive poll". CNN-IBN. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  9. "IBNLive Poll: Vote for India's greatest film of all time". CNN-IBN. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
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