First Sanskrit social movie flays Namboothiri practices

So far, Sanskrit films have dealt with religious themes. In a break with that tradition, G Prabha, who recently retired as professor of oriental languages at Loyola College, has made `Ishti', a Sanskrit feature film dealing with a social issue. "The four Sanskrit films released so far had religious and mythological themes. I wanted to make a movie in Sanskrit, a language used and suppressed by the elite class, which would expose the plight of Namboothiri women," said Prabha.
The movie is set in mid-20th century Kerala when young Namboothiri brahmins challenged the orthodox, patriarchal traditions of their community which allowed the eldest male member of the family sole control over property. "`Ishti' intends to recreate a social situation that existed some decades ago when a patriarchal system oppressed women," said Prabha, who not only directed `Ishti' but also wrote the story and the script.
The 108-minute-long movie has sub-titles in English. The story spins around the central character, Ramavikraman Namboothiri, and exposes the evil practices that existed in the community for a certain period as well as the sufferings those practices wrought on Namboothiri women and `apfan' men (those who are not the eldest in the family). The film also depicts Namboothiri rituals and religious practices.
Ramavikraman Namboothri is a Somayaji (one who performed Soma yaga). His ambition is to perform an Athirathram' (the oldest Vedic ritual) and become an `Akkithiri' for whom the fire from the yaga has to be preserved until his death to light the funeral pyre. He is willing to sell his family jewels to achieve his ambition but at the same time not willing to part with money for the treatment of his brother's son who is ill. The boy was born to a woman from a lower caste and the brahmin community allowed only the eldest brother to marry from the community. Ramavikraman's third wife, 17-year old Sridevi, is literate. She inspires the younger ones in the household and asserts their right to know, in the face of stiff opposition from the orthodoxy.
"The eldest son was the head and custodian of all the properties. Since he could marry only a Namboothiri lady, the number of unmarried Namboothiri ladies increased, leading to chaos," said Prabha, whose " Agneye", a documentary on Athirathram yagna, was widely screened in India and abroad when it was released in 2013. The brothers younger to him, according to Prabha, called Apfan Namboothiris, were his sole dependents and they were freely allowed to have alliances with other low-caste ladies without marrying them. "I am planning to screen the movie across India, mostly in film festivals. The movie will be released in Delhi in February," he said.