A dense and dark halo of secret surrounds Manavatoor Kovilakam, the home to many eccentric minds. But, the arrival of Rudra Simhan, a yogi, threatens to disturb the somber cover that envelopes it. And, what ensues is a bitter battle of minds and caught in the fight is Haimavathy, a woman with a tragic fate.
Rudra Simhasanam, directed by Shibu Gangadharan, is essentially a family drama but with smatterings of black magic and mind games.
Scripted by Sunil Narayanan, whose earlier work was Ananthabadhram, Rudra Simhasanam brings to fore the eternal truth that man’s material conquest is meaningless.
“My movie is essentially a reminder of the fact that whatever man acquires through his insatiable greed is meaningless. This is told through the telling tale of the life in Manavatoor Kovilakam,” says the director.
Suresh Gopi will play Rudra Simhan, a yogi who arrives at the Kovilakam to treat an elephant that goes on a mad fury killing its master. But, his arrival and subsequent incidents create a sort of discomfort on the minds of many. “The only person who is left without answers in the melee is Haimavathy, played by Nikki Galrani. Recently orphaned, Haimavathy suddenly finds herself on the war front with her relatives and the story is about how she tackles it,” says the director, whose debut work was Mammootty-starrer Praise the Lord.
Rudra Simhasanam may be about Rudra Simhan but the director says it is not a Suresh Gopi movie. “Yes, Suresh Gopi plays a titular character. But, every single character in the movie is important. Nedumudi Venu plays a very prominent character and so does Sudhir Karamana, who comes as a black magician. Every character you see here is a reflection of the many faces in our society,” says the director.
He adds that there is a very strong feminist perspective in Rudra Simhasanam. The three female characters - Haimavathy by Nikki Galrani, Swetha Menon’s Umayamma and Kaniha’s Mohini Chitta - are epitomes of womanhood.
“There is a woman who is loved, a woman who has been cheated in love and another who has sacrificed her love. They are all bold women,” says Shibu. The movie will hit theatres this Friday.
On the Making
After Praise the Lord, Shibu Gangadharan was on a quest for a different subject when he stumbled upon the story by Sunil Parameswaran. His search for the writer of Anantabhadram ended on Kanthaloor at Idukki where the writer was leading a ascetic life.
“Sunil asked me to read the novel first. I got hold of the work and thought it was a deep and great subject. That’s how I began work on the movie. Though he leads a secluded life, he still writes and he has been very cooperative for the movie,” says Shibu Gangadharan.
The director, however, clarifies that the movie is not in anyway connected to Anandabhadram. “This is not a second part of Anandabhadram nor is it in anyway connected to it. This has no elements of horror to it. The similarity begins and ends with Sunil Parameswaran,” says Shibu Gangadharan.