Kondura
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''Kondura'' / ''Anugraham'' is a 1978
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
bilingual film directed by
Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...
simultaneously in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marathi writer, Chintamani T. Khanolkar, the screen adaptation was made by Shyam Benegal and
Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...
. The majority of the cast was common to both films and included
Ananth Nag Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...
,
Vanisri Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Awards and the Tamil Nadu St ...
,
Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
,
Shekhar Chatterjee Shekhar Chatterjee (1924–1990) was an Indian actor and film director. Career Chatterjee was born in Kolkata in 1924. He began his career in the Bengali theatre in the 1950s. He was associated with a number of leftist theatre groups, including ...
(Hindi version only),
Rao Gopal Rao Rao Gopal Rao (14 January 1937 – 13 August 1994) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. In a film career spanning more than 25 years, Rao starred in over 400 feature films in a variety of c ...
(Telugu version only) and
Satyadev Dubey Satyadev Dubey (13 July 1936 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971. He won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Scre ...
. The film was one of the Indian entries at the 4th
Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia's oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies and filmmakers from different countries, and takes place in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens ...
.


Overview

The film involves the life of a young man who comes to believe that he has been bestowed supernatural powers. As the story unfolds, this boon eventually leads to a tragedy. ''Kondura'' is a story whose protagonist is a young Brahmin named Parshuram. He is married to Ansooya, but is dependent partially on his brother for a living. This makes the elder brother chide him often and that drives him away from home. However, as he is leaving "Kondura", the mythical sage from the sea appears and anoints him the guardian of village, to cure it of all sins. The sage also grants him a physical boon, which is a dried herb. The boon works if he remains celibate. Parshuram returns home to celibacy. Often, the goddess of the village, grants him appearance in person, speaking to him through his wife (a phenomenon still seen in Indian villages, where a person is believed to have sudden visitation by God or Goddess, who speaks to people through the person). The goddess instructs him to get the village rid of evils, which he interprets as rebuilding the parts of the temple. For this, he enlists financial support from the village landlord who is otherwise a tyrant and womaniser. It is known that Bhairavmoorthy takes in any woman in the village who catches his eye, including his younger brother's wife, both of whom die leaving behind a physically challenged son Venu to an otherwise heirless fiefdom. It is rumoured that Vasu is his son, but Bhairavmoorthy mistreats him all the time. He marries him off to young and beautiful Parvati, who comes from a very poor family. Bhairavmoorthy is said to be eyeing Parvati too, but Parvati is stronger than rest of the women in the family and challenges his might at occasions. Meanwhile, as the news of Kondura's boon and visitations by the Goddess coupled with constructions at the temple spreads, Parshuram becomes a revered Guru with a decent following of his own in the village. Followers see him as a counselor and a person with charisma. There are celebrations at the landlord's house. Parvati is expecting a child. The Landlord's wife Kanthama is busy doing all the ceremonies. The gossip in the village is that the baby belongs to Bhairavmoorthy. The Goddess makes a visitation to Parshuram through Ansooya, and speaks of the "root" or "seed" of evil, mentioning Bhairavamoorthy's name. In this context, it is relevant to mention a short interlude that abruptly appears repeatedly through the narrative: The short dream-like sequence features Parvati lying in bed and beckoning the camera to come to her - Conceivably this is the director's hint at a troubling thread in Parshuram's mind, that even "chosen" ones have weaknesses to overcome. It is perhaps due to such a bias, Parshuram interprets the words of the Goddess as concerning the baby, the "root" of Bhairavamoorthy's evil. To make things worse, the landlord makes Parshuram believe that the baby is his, and Parshuram makes Parvati drink Kondura's herb that aborts the baby. Once the sin is committed, the landlord makes the revelation that how he conned Parshuram into believing that the baby was his, which in reality was his nephew's, and that he could not bear the thought that his crippled nephew sires one and not him. Gripped with immense guilt, Parshuram takes a radical path of atonement. He tries to invoke the Goddess by praying to his wife, Ansooya; but, when that effort fails, he decides to repent for his sin by forsaking his celibacy. While Ansooya resists the temptation, Parshurama forces her to succumb to it. Shocked by the action and her loss of purity, Ansooya commits suicide by jumping in a dry well. Parshooram wakes up searching for Ansooya and upon finding her dead body, he runs widely screaming her name. Through the story, there is one character, Ramanayye Master, the village teacher, who does not blindly accept Parshuram's actions as Divinely sanctioned. He is seen questioning Parshuram, once even scolding him. The last shot of the film shows the teacher nodding helplessly. While intellectuals may interpret the movie as a statement against faith itself, the story actually does not deny Divinity or its manifestations; for instance, at no point are Anasooya's visitations hinted at being fake; indeed, much good did come out of the Goddess's instructions to Parshuram, as long as his self-interest did not cloud his interpretation of those instructions. More than likely, the story's ending is a nuanced take on sincere seekers, that even those with Divine experiences are not exempt from vigilance.


Cast

*
Ananth Nag Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...
as Parashuram *
Vanisri Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Awards and the Tamil Nadu St ...
as Ansooya, Parashuram's Wife *
Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...
as Parvati * Venu as Vasu *
Satyadev Dubey Satyadev Dubey (13 July 1936 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971. He won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Scre ...
as Ramanayye Master *
Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
as Kondura /AppikondaSwami *
Shekhar Chatterjee Shekhar Chatterjee (1924–1990) was an Indian actor and film director. Career Chatterjee was born in Kolkata in 1924. He began his career in the Bengali theatre in the 1950s. He was associated with a number of leftist theatre groups, including ...
as Bhairavamoorthy (Hindi version) *
Rao Gopal Rao Rao Gopal Rao (14 January 1937 – 13 August 1994) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. In a film career spanning more than 25 years, Rao starred in over 400 feature films in a variety of c ...
as Bhairavamoorthy (Telugu version) *
Sulabha Deshpande Sulabha Deshpande (; 1937 – 4 June 2016) was an Indian actress and theatre director. Apart from Marathi theatre and Hindi theatre in Mumbai, she acted in over 73 mainstream Bollywood films. She also performed in art house cinema such as '' Bh ...
as Kanthamma


References


External links

* * {{Shyam Benegal 1978 films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films 1970s Telugu-language films Films directed by Shyam Benegal Films based on Indian novels Indian multilingual films 1978 multilingual films