Movies - Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala

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	Movies - Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala

Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala is a 1998 Malayalam movie directed by Sreenivasan in which he stars with Tamil actress Sangeetha, along with supporting actors Thilakan and Innocent. The movie is a humorous portrayal of a rather grim tale of an irresponsible husband and his neglected family. A typical Sreenivasan satire, the movie was well received in Kerala.

Characters

Vijayan - Sreenivasan
Shyamala - Sangeetha
Karunan - Thilakan
Achuthan Nair - Innocent
"The Headmaster" - Nedumudi Venu
Usman - Mammukoya
Johnnykutty - Siddique

Title

The title and plot of the movie are inspired by Chinthavishtayaaya Sita, a celebrated work by malayalam poet and social reformer, Kumaran Asan. The poem describes the philosophic musings of Sita and her confrontation with her husband, Rama, towards the end of the Ramayana epic, and has been acclaimed as a bold re-interpretation of Sita's character. As in the poem, the movie portrays the silent struggle, sacrifice and finally the emancipation of the female lead, though in a comedic way.

The Film

Vijayan, the village school master, believes that his degree in economics is sufficient for him to succeed in the various business ventures he undertakes. Taking long leaves of absence from work, he roams around with his various schemes, all of which turn out to be downright failures.

The movie opens with a light portrayal of the misery of his wife Shyamala, and their two daughters, with Vijayan away on his latest venture - an attempt to shoot a short ad film. It ends, predictably, with Vijayan taking to his heels, when it is apparent that he has never seen a film being shot in his life before. Karunan Mash, Vijayan's father, as a last resort to reform his son, suggests that Vijayan make the annual pilgrimage to the Hindu hilltop temple Sabarimala. Despite his initial protests, Vijayan makes his pilgrimage, undertaking the customary forty-day fasting and abstinence.

Sabarimala changes him, and upon his return from his pilgrimage, his family discovers to their dismay that matters have swung to the other extreme. Vijayan takes faith to his heart, embraces vegetarianism and adopts a life of prayer, frugality and abstinence, eventually forsaking his debt-ridden family for a life at an ashram. His version of ashram life is one of round-the-clock prayer and an escape from daily responsibilities and work - which doesn't go well the other inmates. He soon finds himself unwelcome there, and returns to his home, to discover his family now reasonably well-off from a small business his wife started soon after he left.

This was Sreenivasan's second directorial effort and won critical and commercial success and further established his position in Malayalam Cinema as a gifted comedian and screenwriter.

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