''Vaasthavam'' () is a 2006 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language romantic political crime drama film written by

Babu Janardhanan Babu Janardhanan is an Indian screenwriter and director, known for Malayalam films. Biography Personal life He was born at Changanassery, Kerala, as the son of Mr. Janardanan and Mrs. Pankajakshi. Babu Janardhanan did his schooling at Madapp ...

and directed by

M. Padmakumar M. Padmakumar is an Indian film director working in Malayalam cinema. He began his career working as an assistant director to a number of leading directors and later became an independent director through ''Ammakilikkoodu'' in 2003. His best kn ...

. The film revolves around a youth Balachandran Adiga (

Prithviraj Sukumaran Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of ...

) and follows his rise and fall in politics. The story is loosely based on

Thakazhi Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 7 shor ...

's novel ''Enippadikal''. Prithviraj won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Depart ...

for his performance, making him the youngest recipient of the award at age 24.

Plot

Raghavan Master, a scion of a high Adiga

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

family and an ardent communist, is now in crisis as his Tharavadu is devoid of the fame and fortune it once had. Balachandran, is his only son, who has the burden of looking after the family and his four sisters. He is aware of the difficulties involved in bringing the family back from the brink of nothingness and in marrying off his sisters. Balachandran's eldest sister Shobha does some tailoring and manages a low earning with which the family is kept out of hunger. Balachandran is engaged to Sumithra his cousin. But in the turn of events Thripran Namboodhiri comes with an offer to marry his niece to Balachandran, agreeing to ensure that he secures a job in the secretariat as his name is in the rank list which would expire soon and thereby save his family from dire straits. Sumithra forces Balachandran to give up their dreams for the sake of his family. He marries Surabhi, a girl from a rich family, to tackle the serious economic adversities that his family faces. Notwithstanding the family chaos, Balachandran's younger sister Shubha walks out with Adivasi leader Sreedharan on the day of Balachandran’s marriage, causing irreparable damage to the family reputation, following which his mother dies. Sumithra marries a cruel and corrupt police officer who constantly doubts the character of his wife. At this juncture, Balachandran joins the job at the Secretariat. He lives with seventy-year-old Unnithan Asan who acts as his guide all through the corruption-filled secretariat. His financial needs force him to become a corrupt officer who is always in the lookout for money and power. He deliberately pretends to be a bachelor, to encourage the affections of Vimala, a divorcee and his colleague. With the help of Vimala, the niece of the new revenue minister Pattam Raveendran, Balachandran is posted in the minister's personal staff and quickly climbs the ladder of bureaucracy. What follows next is a series of events that turns Balachandran's mind so as to tear off his new life and go back to his native to lead a simple, peaceful life with Surabhi and his family.

Cast

* Prithviraj as Balachandran Adiga *

Kavya Madhavan Kavya Madhavan (born 19 September 1984) is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 1991 as a child artist in '' Pookkalam Varavayi''. Her debut role as a lead actress was in Lal Jose's '' ...

as Sumithra *

Samvrutha Sunil Samvritha Sunil (born 31 October 1986) is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 2004 through the film ''Rasikan'' directed by Lal Jose before which she had also appeared as a junior artist in the film '' Ayal ...

as Surabhi * Murali as Pattam Raveendran *

Jagathi Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

as Unnithan Aashan * Sindhu Menon as Vimala * Usha as Shuba *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as C.K. Nair *

Sudheer Karamana Sudheer Karamana (born 24 May 1971) is an Indian actor who appears mainly in Malayalam cinema. He is the son of veteran actor Karamana Janardanan Nair. Personal life He is the eldest son to actor Karamana Janardanan Nair and Jaya, at Karamana ...

as Paambu Vasu *

Madhupal Madhupal Kannambathu is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with '' Kashmeeram'' in 1994 and his directorial debut with ''Thalappavu'' (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese a ...

as Varghese *

Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his com ...

as Shibhu Vattappara *

Rajmohan Unnithan Kuttan Pillai Rajmohan Unnithan is an Indian film actor turned politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Kasaragod (Lok Sabha constituency) and member of Indian National Congress (INC) in the state of Kerala, India ...

as Chief Minister * KPAC Saji * V. K. Sreeraman as Raghavan Master *

Dinesh Prabhakar Dinesh Prabhakar, also known by his birth name Dinesh Nair, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films. Early life Dinesh was born as the second child of Prabhakaran Nair and Sarojini Amma at Pulluvazhi, Perumbavoor, Ern ...

as Uthaman *

Joju George Joseph George, better known as Joju George (born 22 October 1977) is an Indian actor, playback singer and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in Malayalam films and worked on Tamil projects as well. In 2015, he won the ...

as Basheer *

Meghanathan Meghanathan is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. The son of actor Balan K. Nair, he debuted in 1983 in the Malayalam film '' Asthram''. He has acted in more than 50 Malayalam films. Background Meghanathan was born as th ...

as Sasidharan Pillai * T.G. Ravi as Gopinathan Unnithan * Vijayan Karanthoor as Thomas *

Sreejith Ravi Sreejith Ravi (born 19 May 1976) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Malayalam films and also in Tamil films. He is the son of actor T. G. Ravi. Early life Sreejith is the son of actor and industrialist T. G. Ravi and V. K. Subh ...

Balachandran Chullikkad Balachandran Chullikkad (born 30 July 1957) is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language. Early life Balachandran was born in Paravur, Ernakulam, Kerala, India. He completed his graduation in English literature from the ...

* T. P. Madhavan as Govindan Nampoothiri * Manka Mahesh as Balachandran's mother * Seema G Nair as Shobha *

Shaalin Zoya Shaalin Zoya also known as Shalu is an Indian actress, dancer and anchor. She is best known for playing the negative role of ''Deepa Rani'' in Asianet TV's soap opera Autograph and a supporting role of Jessy in ''Elsamma Enna Aankutty''. Ear ...

as Jr. Sumithra * Varada as Balachandran's sister *

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mal ...

as Thrippan Namboodiri * Gayathri

Soundtrack

The movie features and acclaimed soundtrack composed by

Alex Paul Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema. Personal life Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...

and lyrics penned by Gireesh Puthanchery.

Reception

The movie received positive reviews from critics.

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards *

–

Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor The Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have be ...

– L. Bhoominathan

References

External links

* {{M. Padmakumar 2006 films 2000s crime films 2000s Malayalam-language films Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Films directed by M. Padmakumar