Adwaytham

A Malayalam film about a man caught between politics and religion. Shivaprasad is the son of a Namboodiri family but has been disowned by his father. He falls into the hands of a political group and does their work; he is drawn into violence and goes to prison. When his group comes to power he is rewarded: he is put at the head of a rich temple trust. A man punished for crimes is placed by the same system at the top of a religious institution. Three people stand against him. The honest representative of the temple workers, Lakshmi, who is trying to administer the place properly, and Vasu, a former accomplice. Lakshmi is also someone he knew in the past. What the film is interested in is how politics uses religion, and what a person can do once he sees it. The character is presented as neither plainly good nor plainly bad. Mohanlal plays Shivaprasad, Jayaram plays Vasu and Revathi plays Lakshmi. Srividya is in the cast. Priyadarshan directed. A strong example for anyone who likes Indian political drama and morally ambiguous characters. For a viewer who wants something light, the film is long and the violence is harsh.