Kondura

Kondura (Hindi)
Anugraham (Telugu)
Directed by Shyam Benegal
Produced by K. Venkat Rama Reddy
Written by Arudra (dialogues)
Screenplay by Shyam Benegal
Girish Karnad
Story by Chintamani T. Khanolkar [चिं. त्र्यं. खानोलकर]
Based on Marathi novel Kondura 
by Chintamani T. Khanolkar
Starring Smita Patil
Vanisri
Anant Nag
Amrish Puri
Satyadev Dubey
Music by Vanraj Bhatia
Cinematography Govind Nihalani
Release dates
 1978
Running time
 137 min
Country India
Language Hindi
Telugu

Kondura / Anugraham is a 1978 Indian bilingual film simultaneously directed by Shyam Benegal in Hindi and Telugu. The film is based on the novel by Marathi writer, Chintamani T. Khanolkar [चिं. त्र्यं. खानोलकर] by the same name, the screen adaptation was made by Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad.[1] The cast in both the films was similar and included Smita Patil, Anant Nag, Amrish Puri, and Satyadev Dubey. The film was one of the Indian entries at the 4th Hong Kong International Film Festival.[2]

Overview

The films the life of a young man who comes to believe that he has been bestowed supernatural powers. As the story unfolds, this boon eventually leads to a tragedy.

Kondura is a story whose protagonist is a young Brahmin named Parshuram. He is married to Ansooya but is dependent partly on his brother for living. This makes the elder brother chide him often and that drives him away from home. However, as he is leaving "Kondura", the mythical sage from the sea appears and anoints him the guardian of village, to cure it of all sins. The sage also grants him a physical-boon, which is a dried herb. The boon works if he remains celibate. Prashuram returns home to celibacy. Often, the goddess of the village, grants him appearance in person, speaking to him through his wife (a phenomenon still seen in Indian villages, where a person is believed to have sudden visitation by God or Goddess, who speaks to people through the person).

The goddess instructs him to get the village rid of evils, which he interprets as rebuilding the parts of the temple. For this, he enlists financial support from the village landlord who is otherwise a tyrant and womaniser. It is known that Bhairavmoorthy takes in any woman in the village who catches his eye, including his younger brother's wife, both of whom die leaving behind a physically challenged son Venu to an otherwise hierless fiefdom. It is rumored that Venu is his son but Bhairavmoorthy maltreats him all the time. He marries him off to young and beautiful Parvati, who comes from a very poor family. Bhairavmoorthy is said to be eyeing Parvati too, but Parvati is stronger than rest of the women in the family and challenges his might at occasions.

Meanwhile, as the news of Kondura's boon and visitations by the Goddess coupled with constructions at the temple spreads, Parshuram becomes a revered Guru with a decent following of his own in the village. Followers see him as a counselor and a person with charisma.

There are celebrations at the landlord's house. Parvati is expecting a child. Landlord's wife Kanthama is busy doing all ceremonies. The gossip in the village is that the baby belongs to Bhairavmoorthy. The Goddess makes a visitation to Pashuram through Ansooya. This time he interprets that the Goddess is telling him to abort the baby, as it is at the root of propagation of evil. Totally possessed and egged by the landlord, who also makes him believe that the baby is his, Parshuram makes Parvati drink Kondura's herb that aborts the baby.

Once the sin is committed, the landlord makes the revelation that how he conned Parshuram into believing that the baby was his, which in reality was his nephew’s, and that he could not bear the thought that his crippled nephew sires one and not him.

Gripped with immense guilt, Parshuram takes a radical path of atonement. He tries to invoke the Goddess by praying to his wife, Ansooya; but, when that effort fails, he decides to repent for his sin by forsaking his celibacy. While Ansooya resists the temptation, Parshurama forces her to succumb to it. Shocked by the action and her loss of purity, Ansooya commits suicide by jumping in a dry well. Parshooram wakes up searching for Ansooya and upon finding her dead body, he runs widely screaming her name.

All through, the narrative there is one character in the village, Ramanayye Master, the village teacher, who does not believe in Parshuram's divinity. In fact, he is often seen scolding the Guru. The last shot of the film shows him nodding helplessly. It is perhaps, the scriptwriter’s attempt at making a statement on the rot of superstition and blind faith.

Cast

Crew

References

  1. ↑ The Boon filmreference
  2. ↑ http://dff.nic.in/2011/IP1981.pdf

External links