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There is an oddly unnerving feeling one gets out reading ‘Aithihyamala’ – a Malayalam short story collection by Kottarathil Sankunni. Several of its stories contained references to mythical beings that interacted freely with human beings. Filmmaker Rahul Sadasivan, in his black-and-white period horror drama Bramayugam, tries to hypnotize you with a similar energy. The result is an astutely written film that is as much a technical marvel as it is a display of phenomenal acting.
Bramayugam is set in the 17th century. We watch the story from the eyes of Thevan (Arjun Ashokan) who, upon escaping the attack of a yakshi, lands at a secluded mansion. Starved for food, the man meets a nameless cook (Siddharth Bharathan) and later the householder, Kodumon Potti (Mammootty). Initially enamored by the hospitality, Thevan soon realizes he is entrapped in the large house that fills itself with strange inactivity in the day and eerie noises as the night falls. It’s a terrifying setup where three men of different temperaments thrive. The master of the house is nerve-wracking despite a fascination for Thevan’s singing prowess. The more Thevan tries to befriend the cook, the less we learn about him. Why would the former escape the mansion and return to his mother? Does the cook have a plan? What power engulfs the man of the house?
Staged around the period when the Portuguese landed in Kerala, Bramayugam is lensed entirely through Thevan’s ordinary eyes. The man is naïve enough to accept the warm welcome to the mansion. Upon tasting a slice of truth, he is hopeful to get away from the trap. If only his escape route wasn’t paved with torrential rain, the tricky game of pakida, and a secret key that Kodumon Potti carries. The inevitability of circumstances leads to a thunderous interval point where Potti rejects Thevan’s plea with an uproarious laugh.
Rahul Sadasivan’s screenplay is cleverly orchestrated with information about the mystical house and its inhabitants unfolding in a slow, suspenseful fashion. The writing throws light on the caste system in a manner that reflects its influence in present-day society. The flashback sequence chronicled in animation further elevates the film’s folktale fervor. Among the less focused angles, the eerie appearance of a yakshi (Amalda Liz) establishes Bramayugam as a solid genre piece. That said, the screenplay also exhibits signs of lethargy towards the final reels as it tiptoes into familiar territories leading to a predictable ending. The final squabble is indeed enthralling yet conspicuously devoid of surprises.
Technically profound, Bramayugam depends a lot on the interplay between sound and unnerving imagery. If the production design delivers a masterpiece in the form of the interiors of the mansion, the VFX, although minimal, is seamless. In a film that depends less on jump scares, the sound design is world-class. The songs (all composed and sung by Christo Xavier) come sans background score and are instrumental in establishing the leading man and also provide relief in a claustrophobia-inducing setup.
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Bramayugam has a principal cast of three all of whom deliver full-bodied performances. Mammootty, who is arguably in the best phase of his career, is astounding in the tricky part he gets to portray. If the film doesn’t land him yet another National Award, then we ought to question its authenticity. Arjun Ashokan stuns as a striking performer with a physically and emotionally strenuous turn as Thevan. He is present in almost every frame and the actor makes the most out of the opportunity. Siddharth Bharathan showcases a brand-new facet of himself as the eccentric cook with a secret. The character is also metaphorical in the way it underscores the wildest of human traits that are pertinent in all eras and to all civilizations.
In his third directorial, Rahul Sadasivan weaves a story that contains the calculated terror of a grandmother’s bedtime tale. Bramayugam might be unconventional as a superstar vehicle but is not characteristically slow or arthouse in a classic sense. The horror fantasy is gripping, well-acted, and resplendent in its black-and-white glory. For more reasons than one, the film would prove to be brave and clutter-breaking for Malayalam cinema and Indian cinema as a whole on how to design a high-quality superstar vehicle on a controlled budget and with maximum creativity.
Rating: ★★★★
