Vanaprastham

Vanaprastham The Last Dance English title Pilgrimage, Malayalam is a 1999 IndianFrenchGerman coproduction drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Mohanlal in lead with Suhasini, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi and Venmani Haridas. The films music is composed by Zakir Hussain. The film follows the tale of a lowercaste Kathakali artist Kunhikuttan Mohanlal during the 1940s era in Travancore. Subhadra Suhasini, a member of an aristocratic family, falls in love with the character Arjuna played by Kunikuttan. She views Kunikuttan and the character he plays as separate individuals. Their affair eventually leads to the birth of a son, who is hidden away by Subhadra from Kunijuttan for almost a lifetime.

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 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 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 Indias 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.

Source: Wikipedia