Devaasuram

When Neelakantan insulted the young dancer Bhanu, he had no idea about the curse he incurred. As she flung her anklets before him, he felt a twinge of remorse, no more. Her vow to never dance again was fierce but he was hardly touched by it. One after the other, the cards collapsed around him… and his world changed forever. His identity as the sole heir of the Maadampalli legacy was taken away from him as he realized that he was merely an illegitimate child raised by his illustrious father. He had to bear the shame of selling his land to a servant’s son who paid a pittance for it. He felt the helplessness of succumbing to the demands of a mere henchman. The final blow came literally after he met with Bhanu and pleaded with her to dance again… Her declaration that she would don her anklets only after his death came true, well almost. His life was almost taken away from him and he wrenched it back by his sheer will only to lose power over his own limbs. As his self-image came crumbling down with his loss of power and control, he could only wish for death to come take him away. Then Bhanu came forth. Stricken with guilt and remorse, she timidly approached him. Saw a man broken in body and spirit… none of the former fire remained. She tended to him, supported him, nurtured his mind. He could not help but succumb to the power of her love. Finally, he said, “You are pure, pure gold and I will never surrender you… not even to Death.”

Loss of limbs, memories of a golden age never to return, an intellect that had to finally bow down and a smashed ego… and the real Neelakantan showed up.

[A short synopsis of Devaasuram, an excellent Malayalam film starring Mohanlal and Revathi…]