Trikal (Past, Present and Future) is a 1985

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n movie written and 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 ...

, set in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

during the twilight of Portuguese rule, It marked the return of

Leela Naidu Leela Naidu (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an Indian actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including '' Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke'' (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and ''The Householder'', Merchant Ivory Pr ...

in her first film appearance since 1969. The film was selected for the Indian Panorama at Filmotsav 1986, and for the Indian Film Retrospective, Lisbon 1986. It was later invited to the London Film Festival 1986.Shyam Benegal Awards
/ref>

Plot summary

Set in the Portuguese

in 1961 shortly before the colony's liberation by the Indian army and shown in the form of flashbacks, Anna Souza-Suarez is unwillingly engaged to a young man named Erasmo when her grandfather Ernesto suddenly dies. The engagement is put on hold indefinitely as Anna's grief-stricken grandmother, Dona Maria, the matriarch of the family attempts to hold seances to contact Ernesto with the help of her maid Milagrinia, acting as a medium. However, the seances bring forth the apparitions of various people the family has wronged in the past. Shortly after a visitation by a spirit of an Indian rebel beheaded by Dona Maria's grandfather in a case of mistaken identity. Leon, Anna's lover, a fugitive is hidden in the cellar of the family home. Anna soon discovers the fact she is pregnant by Leon and unsuccessfully tries to hide the fact she had an affair from Erasmo. Ruiz, who had attempted to pursue Anna in the past, begins a secret relationship with Milagrinia who becomes pregnant as well. Anna elopes with Leon to Europe leaving only a letter behind. Milagrinia also marries an older man in an attempt to make sure the child isn't born out of wedlock. After twenty-four years, Ruiz returns to his ancestral home which is now in ruins from years of neglect and ponders his reasons for returning. The movie ends with Naseeruddin Shah's monologue which actually questions the action of characters within the movie including his. He wonders what brought him back after so many years. Everything fades under layers of time and all that remains is sweet memory.

Cast

as Dona Maria Souza-Soares *

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

as Ruiz Pereira **Nikhil Bhagat as Young Ruiz Pereira *

Anita Kanwar Anita Kanwar is an Indian film and television actor who is best known for her role as ''Lajjo ji'' in the 1980s Doordarshan mega soap opera '' Buniyaad''. An alumnus of the National School of Drama (1978 batch), Kanwar has also worked in film ...

as Sylvia *

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television along with few Malayalam films. She has received several awards including three National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and two ...

as Milagrenia *

Soni Razdan Soni Mahesh Bhatt, born and known professionally as Soni Razdan, is a British actress and film director who works in Indian Hindi-language films. She had established herself as a leading actress of the 1980s and early 1990s and is part of the ...

as Aurora: Sylvia's elder daughter *

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his work in ''Baazigar'' (1993), ''Raja (1995 film), Raja'' (1995), ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke'' (1993) and ' ...

as Leon Gonsalves *

K. K. Raina K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as ''Juror #8'' in the 1986 film '' Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', a remake of 12 Angry Men, and Byomkesh Bakshi's ...

as Senor Lucio * Kunal Kapoor as Kapitan Ribeiro/ Governor * Keith Stevenson as Dr. Simon Pereira *

Lucky Ali Maqsood Mahmood Ali (born 19 September 1958), better known as Lucky Ali, is an Indian singer, songwriter, and actor. He is considered an important artist to popularize pop culture and albums in Indian music and is considered one of the finest a ...

as Erasmo *

Salim Ghouse Salim Ghouse (10 January 1952 – 28 April 2022) was an Indian film, television and theatre actor, theatre director, and martial artist. He has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English films. Early life Salim Ghouse was born in Ch ...

as main priest at Church *

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...

as Cook *

Jayant Kripalani Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor, director and trainer. He is most known for his role in the TV series, like '' Khandaan'', ''Mr. Mrs'' and '' Ji Mantriji'' (2003). He also wrote the screenplay for Shyam Benegal's f ...

as Francis *

Akash Khurana Akash Khurana is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, author, theatre artist and entrepreneur. His first screen appearance was in Shyam Benegal's '' Kalyug''. He has appeared in nearly 60 films, including ''Ardh Satya'', ''Saaransh'', ''N ...

as Renato * Sabira Merchant as Dona Amelia * Sushma Prakash as Anna: younger daughter of Sylvia *

Remo Fernandes Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes (born 8 May 1953) is a Portuguese singer and musician. Known as a pioneer of Indian pop music, he performs Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, Fusion music, Indian fusion, and is also a film playback singer. ...

as Singer *

Alisha Chinai Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the ' ...

as Singer *

Kulbhushan Kharbanda Kulbhushan Kharbanda (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in '' Shaan'' (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group ' Yatrik' in the ...

as Vijay Singh Rane/Khushtoba Rane * Dhruv Ghanekar as young son of Sylvia * Joy Ghanekar as youngest son of Sylvia

Awards

* 1986:

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Bro ...

* 1986:

National Film Award for Best Costume Design The National Film Award for Best Costume Design is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Si ...

: Saba Zaidi

References

External links

* {{Shyam Benegal 1985 films 1980s Hindi-language films Films directed by Shyam Benegal Films set in Goa Films whose director won the Best Director National Film Award Films set in 1961 Films shot in Goa Films scored by Vanraj Bhatia Films that won the Best Costume Design National Film Award