Thalappavu

Thalappavu literal meaning turban or headgear, which is a symbol of power, status and protection is a 2008 Malayalam film based on the events related to Naxal Varghese and Police Constable P. Ramachandran Nair, directed by Madhupal and written by Babu Janardhanan. The film sympathetically portrays the social and political issues of the Naxalite era of the 1970s in Kerala. The films cast includes Prithviraj, Lal, Atul Kulkarni, Rohini, and Dhanya Mary Varghese. Produced by actor Mohan Rao under the Civic Cinema banner and distributed by Lals Lal Release, Thalappavu marks actorcumwriter Madhupals directorial debut.

How betraying a friend or an acquaintance can ruin ones life is poignantly depicted in the Malayalam film Thalappavu made by actorturneddirector Madhupal. The movie is based on a reallife confession of a police constable P. Ramachandran Nair about gunning down a Naxalite Arikkad Varghese in a fake encounter as per the order of his superiors in 1970. The screenplay by Babu Janardhanan uses the stream of consciousness flow to show the mental state of the constable who feels deranged after the incident. Lal plays constable Raveendran Pillai whose family life is ruined after the killing of Joseph Prithviraj Sukumaran, a revolutionary leader fighting for the rights of the hapless farmers of Wayanad. Raveendran Pillai is a misfit in the police force as he is not courageous or cruel as the others of his ilk. He is a family man to the hilt and dotes on his children. He befriends Joseph on the way while on duty. Joseph introduces him to the revolutionary ideas. Raveendran Pillai takes instant liking for Joseph and roams in the forests with Joseph during his free time.His dream project Thalappavu was always there at the back of his mind, says Madhupal. I was moved by the story of Varghese, a man who lived for others. More than his politics or his background, what attracted me was his willingness to help the most oppressed sections in society. Babu Janardhanan who wrote the script said he had carried out extensive research on the life of Naxal Arikkad Varghese before capturing it on paper. The spark for the script came from the revelation made by Ramachandran Nair the police constable through television channels that he was forced to kill Varghese, said Janardhanan. The revelation struck me and I started to think about the mental agony he had to endure by suppressing the fact for nearlyyears, he said. Janardhanan, the script writer, and Madhupal sketched the whole film, shot by shot. Madhupal says his stint with Rajiv Anchal in Hollywood, Los Angeles helped him poli

Source: Wikipedia