:: FILM DETAIL ::

Description:
Chakyar´s long-wished-for son Raghu was born quite late in Chakyar´s life and became his greatest joy. Raghu, a technical student, was supposed to return home to celebrate the engagement of his sister, but he didn´t. His father awaits his return daily. He later realises that his son is in custody and he sets out to visit him. Yet he never finds his son. Although Raghu never appears in the story, he is always present - through the medium of his father, sisters and mother; the author illustrates Raghu´s death without any actual death scene or use of any traditional symbols for death. The main role in the film belongs to the rain, or rather water, its depiction and its crucial function in the very fabric of the film. Piravi had exceptional world-wide success, gaining 12 international awards. Thanks to this film, international critics and the public learnt more about a whole wave of Malayalam filmmakers.
Film awards:

Directed by: Shaji N. Karun, (1952)
Director´s annotation: Shaji N.Karun entered film production as a cameraman in Govindan Aravindan´s film, Kanchana Seetha, for which he won the national award for best cameraman. Karan worked with Aravindan from then on. His own debut, Piravi, reflects the political tension in Kerala in the 70s and gained him many honours, including the Camera d´Or in Cannes. Another film of Karun´s, Swahan (My Own), which has a very different theme to the abovementioned debut, was selected for competition in Cannes. In 1999 he made the Franco-Indian film Vaanaprastham (The Last Dance), which gained awards at home and in Cannes.

Starring: Premji, Archana, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Sriraman, Mullenezhi Gopalakrishnan

Script: Shaji N. Karun, S. Jaychandran Nair
Camera: Sunny Josef
Cut: Venugopal
Music: Govindan Aravindan

• Country: India
• Year of production: 1988
• Original language: Malayalam, English subtitles
• Film length: 110 minutes