Written by Siddhartha Krishnan | 5 Min Read

‘Bramayugam’ begins somewhere in 17th century Malabar, when a lower caste singer named Thevan (played by Arjun Ashokan) runs away from the King’s court in fear of slavery, only to lose his way in the forest and stumble upon a dilapidated mansion, that has only two residents. Its owner, Kodumon Potti (played by a menacing Mammootty), and his cook (played by Sidharth Bharathan). Potti has a towering presence and an ominous, booming voice. He is a deceptive fox who without hesitation accepts Thevan as a houseguest despite knowing that he comes from the Paanan community. It takes a while for Thevan to realize that the Lord of the Manor, is much more than what he thinks he is, and that the mansion is a labyrinth whose walls have been hiding a secret for many many years.

In a scene, Kodumon Potti explains Thevan’s predicament. He says that inside the Mana, Thevan is stuck in Bramayugam or the Age of Madness, the era within Kaliyugam where God does not exist. He is trapped in an endless loop where nights are longer than days. Where the rain will last days, sometimes months, and sometimes years. Once inside the hell, there is no escape.

In the words of John Carpenter, “It [horror genre] never dies. It just keeps getting re­invented and it always will. Horror is a universal language; we’re all afraid. We’re born afraid, we’re all afraid of things: death, disfigurement, loss of a loved one. Everything that I’m afraid of, you’re afraid of, and vice versa.” The legendary American filmmaker touches upon two key aspects of the genre here: the universality of it and the need to reinvent as filmmakers. Reinvention is important because, in terms of novelty, there is hardly anything left to do.

Quoting John Carpenter again, “There are just two basic stories in horror, two simple ones – evil is outside and evil is in here (pointing to his heart)”.

Director, Rahul Sadasivan’s previous film ‘Bhoothakaalam’ in my opinion was one of the finest Malayalam films of 2022. It was a horror/psychological thriller, wherein a mother and son find themselves trapped in a house that has a history of paranormal incidents. Nothing new? Well, the reinvention was that the demons were not just outside but also inside. The director crafts a horror film using mental health as a theme, backed by an excellent technical team and stellar performances.

From the first scene of ‘Bramayugam’, the director’s motive is amply clear; he wants the audience to immerse themselves in the world he has created. Once Thevan crosses the river and enters the manor, the place becomes a character, much like the Overlook Hotel in ‘The Shining’. Production designer, Jothish Shankar, converts the vision of the script to reality, creating a sprawling mansion that has been reduced to a decrepit and secretive structure. It felt like the overgrown bushes of the unkempt courtyard, the dust-laden floors of the forgotten rooms, and their crumbling walls and roofs, all had stories to tell.

Another key feature of the storytelling is the sound design. I was particularly thrilled by the use of the elements, especially rain. The music by Christo Xavier is mellow when it has to be and packs a punch when needed. Again, much like other aspects of the making, the music too, is minimalistic and effective.

It’s best to call ‘Bramayugam’ a horror/chamber drama that uses elements of fantasy and folklore. Notably, the three central characters take up over 90% of the screen time. Thus, a lot is unraveled through dialogue, but much of it is implied rather than told. Hence, as an audience, it is important to pay attention despite the often slow pace of the film. It takes a while to understand that the pace is deliberate. Therefore, the film demands a lot from its actors to make the scenes engaging.

Arjun Ashokan as Thevan is a man who wants to escape the hellish nightmare but is too scared to commit a wrong in an attempt to do so. He wants to speak truth to power but the adversary is much bigger than he had imagined to be. Sidharth Bharathan as the nameless cook, who has been in the manor since time immemorial, is a man aware of the game. He is party to it, surrendered to his fate in many ways, yet harbors hope somewhere within.

It’s a delicate balance that both actors had to strike to make it look convincing. If either had faltered, this would have been a different film altogether. They were both superlative in their performances.

Mammootty as ‘Kodumon Potti’ is the stuff of legends. Every time he appears on screen, he sets it ablaze. Yes, the dialogues help. They are well-written, but they aren’t the massy whistle-worthy type. This was a nuanced performance from an actor who is at the top of his game. He is the evil Potti from start to finish. Despite, the actor’s filmography, I am going to garner the courage to say that this is one of his finest performances.

It’s not that Bramayugam is a flawless film. It falters where most films do: in its writing. In some scenes, the pace was too slow for my liking. But at each such moment, there was also the promise of something unexpected. The scariest horror films are those where the anticipation of evil is kept alive throughout. The screenplay written by the director and TD Ramakrishnan, excels in playing with the audience’s mind. Also, where the writing faltered the technical team made up.

This brings us to the cinematography by Shehnad Jalal. By now, a thousand theories of why the film was shot in black and white are afloat. What can we attribute it to? A quest to travel back in time, a need to tone down on colors to allow for fewer distractions, an ambition to make the frames more timeless: maybe? But, for me, the story felt like a journey back in time to when we were cuddled up in warm blankets, as toddlers or as teenagers, listening to dark fairytales told by our grandmothers. The color choice seemed to be a tribute to that era.

Apart from color the use of unusual camera angles to evoke tension and claustrophobia was noteworthy. It is interesting to note that some of the locations in the film have been seen in many other Malayalam films. However, production design and DOP teams have ensured they are unrecognizable.

To conclude:

‘Bramayugam’ is an inventive chamber drama that uses elements of fantasy and folklore to tell an allegorical, scary story about greed, discrimination and the lust for absolute power. The technical team has done a stellar job in realizing the vision of the script backed by excellent performances by the actors.

Go watch ‘Bramayugam’ in a theatre near you. This is a film made for the theatre experience.

IMDb rating – 8.6/10

My rating – 4/5

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About the author:

Siddhartha Krishnan is the author of ‘Two and a Half Rainbows – A Collection of Short Stories’. He is also an enthusiastic blogger, and on his blog (www.whatsonsidsmind.com), he publishes his travelogues, food stories, book recommendations, and film reviews.