Vanaprastham
Directed by	Shaji N. Karun
Produced by	Mohanlal Pierre Assouline Suresh Balaji Guy Marignane
Written by	Shaji N. Karun Reghunath Paleri Pierre Assouline (story)
Starring	Mohanlal Suhasini Mani Ratnam Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar Kukku Parameswaran Venmani Haridas Kalamandalam Gopi Venmani Vishnu
Music by	Zakir Hussain
Cinematography	Santosh Sivan Renato Berta
Editing by	A. Sreekar Prasad Joseph Guinvarch
Release date(s)	1999
Running time	119 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Vanaprastham (The Last Dance) (Malayalam: വാനപ്രസ്ഥം) (1999) is an Indian-French-German produced feature film^[1] directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Mohanlal, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi and Venmani Haridas. The film's music is composed by Zakir Hussain^[2]. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999.^[3] It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Cast

• Mohanlal - Kunhikuttan
• Suhasini - Subhadra
• Mattanoor Shankara Marar - Raman
• Kalamandalam Gopi - Kunju Nair
• Venmani Haridas - Namboodiri
• Kukku Parameshwaram - Savithri
• Venmani Vishnu - Pisharadi
• Kalamandalam Kesavan - Thirumeni
• Bindu Panikkar - Bhageerathi

[edit] 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 - Mohanlal
• Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Actor - Mohanlal
• Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Editing - A. Sreekar Prasad, Joseph Guinvarch

2000 Kerala State Film Awards

• Won - Best Actor - Mohanlal
• Won - Best Director - Shaji N. Karun
• Won - Best Editor - A. Sreekar Prasad, Joseph Guinvarch
• Won - Best Sound Recordist - Lakshmy Narayana, Bruno Tareere
• Won - Best Processing Lab - Prasad Colour Lab
• Won - Best Make-up Artist - M.O. Devasya, Saleem

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Vaanaprastham at the Internet Movie Database