KangarooProducer: Sisily Buiju Kaiparoden
Director: RajBabu
Cast: Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Jayasurya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Harishree Ashokan, Bindu Panikkar, K P A C Lalitha, Lalu Alex, Salimkumar
Music: Saji Ram, Alex Paul
It is not easy being an emerging star in Malayalam cinema because most characters you play has a benchmark set by a veteran actor. So when Prithviraj plays an autorickshaw driver in Raj Babu's Kangaroo, we are immediately reminded of Mohanlal's character in Aye Auto. And the story develops in the same fashion.
This does not mean that Kangaroo is similar to Aye Auto; they as different as chalk and cheese. But Kangaroo goes the telly soap way, about misunderstandings and bickering within a joint family. The story only unfolds after the film is halfway through.
The protagonist here drives an auto even after taking a Masters degree in Commerce, as he has to look after a family that consists of an aging mother, a mentally unstable elder brother and two sisters, one of whom is married, but, is staying with him because of financial problems. As a solution to all his financial problems, he is offered a handsome dowry to marry an unwed mother from a rich family. But he has to claim parenthood of that child before his engagement. Adding a twist to the story, the girl commits suicide on their engagement day.
But Prithviraj is given the child, as he has already claimed parenthood.
Prithviraj does a good job. There is a kind of casualness in his approach, which was missing previously. Kavya Madhavan looks stunning. Kavery, who has made a comeback with this film, gets noticed as the unwed elder sister. Jayasurya seems to be establishing himself as the villain in Malayalam films.
On the whole, Kangaroo could have worked out as a family entertainer if it had been well-edited. Now, it simply tests the viewers' patience.
Naadiya Kollappetta Rathri
Kavya Madhavan is back with some interesting and challenging roles. One of them will certainly be the film with K Madhu. This suspense thriller is named Nadia Kollappetta Rathri. This whodunit story features Kavya in the eponymous role of Nadia. Suresh Gopi plays the hero. He is the encounter specialist Sharafudeen Tharamasi. So there will be plenty of action and high-octane dialogues.
The film produced under the Krishnakripa banner has in the cast Rajan P. Dev, Subair, Siddique, Suresh Krishna and Vijay Menon.
The film tells the story of Nadiya, famous international shooter. She was murdered on a train which was on its inaugural run between Chennai and Mangalore Souparnika Express flagged off by the union minister.
Dancer Thulasi Mani and ND T.V reporter Shreya Mariya and some other VIPs too were on the same train.
Srinivasan was shock waved when he saw three bodies--that of Nadiya, Thulasi Mani and Shreya Mariya on the train.
Sub inspector Mayilvahanam of Coimbatore Railway was given the charge of the probe. But in between he was shifted due to some reasons.
Investigative railway protection force officer Sharafuddin was in charge of the case from then on. Other casts include Siddique, Vijaya Kumar, Suresh Krishna, Suja Karthika, Urmila Unni, Poornima and many others.
The film has script of A K Sajan. Anandakuttam wields camera for the film.
Stills from Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri
Photo Gallery of Naadiya Kollappetta Rathri
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Naalu Pennungal
Director : Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Cast : Kavya Madhavan, Nandita Das, Padmapriya, Jagadheesh, Jagathy, Manoj K Jayan, Mukesh and Vijayaragahvan, Asokan
Stills from Naalu Pennungal
Photo Gallery of Naalu Pennungal
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KILUKKAM KILUKILUKKAM
Cast: Mohanlal, Kunchacko Boban, Jayasurya, Kavya Madhavan, Jagathy, Innocent, Salim Kumar, Harisree Ashokan, Cochin Haneefa, Captain Raju, Anil Adithyan, Babu Raj, Sarath Saxsena, Vijayaraghavan
Language: Malayalam
Banner: Backwaters Entertainments
Director: Sandhya Mohan
Producer: Murali Robinson
Story: Udaya Krishna, Sibi K Thomas
Screenplay: Udaya Krishna, Sibi K Thomas
Dialogue: Udaya Krishna, Sibi K Thomas
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Music: Deepak Dev
Distribution: Varnachithra Release
Year: 2006
It is an old saying that when history repeats itself it is usually as a farce.
This fits Kilukkam Kilukilukkam just about perfectly. Kilukkam, the film’s parent of sorts, was a milestone in Malayalam cinema. But Kilukkam Kilukilukkam is almost a farce with mindless burlesque and silly caricaturing.
To be sure, the attempt at comedy is well-intentioned. But the effect is not palatable. For, the film does not take off from Kilukkam but remains stagnated on it.
In the event, the abiding feeling that you come out with is one of disappointment and also disgrace. The gaggle of comedians ---- Jagathy, Innocent, Cochin Haneefa, Harisree Ashokan, Salim Kumar and the frontline actors --- try their best. But the script doesn’t allow them to rise above the entrenched mediocrity. The script is to blame for that. And to see Mohanlal reduced to a caricature of himself is sad.
The story is simple. Chandini (Kavya Madhavan) is the daughter of a slain Mayor (Vijayaraghavan). She is on the run and ends in a home in Ooty. Roy and Balu (Kunchacko Boban and Jayasurya) fall for her charms. But there is an entire of team of characters (Jagathy, Innocent, Haneefa, Harisree Ashokan) are also after her because of the money on offer for identifying her.
It is a mad caper with everyone angling for her. Enter Mohanlal in the last segment and he settles the entire confusing medley in one fell swoop.
It could have been fun all the way had the scriptwriters been more attentive and enterprising. So in their hands, the film never rises above the predictable terrain of slapstick comedy.
The actors are all energetic. More is the pity.
Director Sandhya Mohan has lost a golden opportunity to make history. As we said, he has made a farce.
Kilukkam Kilukilukkam Photo Gallery
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VADAKKUMNATHAN
Cast: Mohanlal, Padmapriya, Biju Menon, Kavya Madhavan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Murali, Shammi Thilakan, Madambu Kunjikuttan, Saddique, Babu Naboothiri, Riza Bava, Vineeth, Sreeraman, Sreeja Chandran
Language: Malayalam
Banner: Baba Creations
Director: Shajoon Karial
Producer: A.V.Govindankutty
Camera: S.Kumar
Story: Gireesh Puthenchery
Screenplay: Gireesh Puthenchery
Dialogue: Gireesh Puthenchery
Lyrics: Gireesh Puthenchery
Music: Raveendran
Distribution: Sagariga Release
Year: 2006
Vadakkumnathan is a gutsy and gritty endeavour from debutant scriptwriter and lyrist Gireesh Puthenchery and director Shajoon Karial. It is Mohanlal’s third film this year where he tries to cater to the taste of the family audience by making a sensible film.
In the age of shallow and fraudulent mass masala and larger-than-life heroes, Mohanlal had the guts to be a part of an aesthetically well-made film, with outstanding music that haunts you even after you leave the hall. Hats off to late Raveendran who has given some great songs plus the lead actors who have given life-like performances.
The film opens with a mother and son (Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Biju Menon) coming to Hardwar to perform last rites of her elder son who had run away from home and is believed to have died. But the mother sees her long lost son on the banks of River Ganga and takes him back to the family. He is Bharath Pisharody (Mohanlal) a brilliant Sanskrit professor who is respected and loved by everyone including his cousin and lover Meera (Padmapriya). But on his day of marriage he runs away leaving behind a heart-broken Meera and her father (Murali).
Now Pisharody is different man and his family and friends believes that he is on drugs. But actually, the man is mentally disturbed as he suffers from deep depression. Soon his brother discover papers relating to his treatment for mental illness from his locked suitcase. Now everyone starts seeing him in a different way, which leads to the final twist. How Meera helps him come out of this difficult situation in life forms the rest of the gripping tale.
A thoroughly life-like performance from Mohanlal lifts the film to great heights. As the brilliant professor Bharatha Pisharody, his body language, mannerisms, innocent and shy smile during the romantic interludes and his blank look at times of mental imbalance are a delight to watch. Padmapriya as his devoted lover has an author-backed role and she comes up with an insightful performance that captures the nuances of the character and proves that she is an actress of substance.
Kavya Madhavan as Pisharody’s sister is good while everyone in supporting cast like Murali, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Babu Namboothiri and others gives their best. The camera of S.Kumar and song picturisation is eye catching. Malayalam cinema will definitely miss late music director Raveendran whose melodies like “ Oru Kili Pattu Moolave…”, “Kalabham…” and “Gange…” makes the film a musical odyssey.
On the down side, the film is a bit too long and editor Hariharaputran could have made it a bit more crisp. Though the basic theme seems to be inspired from Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, Gireesh Puthenchery who has written the story, screenplay and lyrics need to be congratulated along with director Shajoon Karial for Indianising it and coming out with a clean family film.
Vadakkumnathan is superior cinema that deserves to be encouraged.
Vadakkumnathan Photo Gallery
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CLASSMATES
Cast: Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Naren, Indrajith, Kavya Madhavan, Radhika, Jagathy, Vijeesh, Balachandra Menon, Anoop
Language: Malayalam
Director: Lal Jose
Producer: P.K.Muraleedharan,Prakash Harikrishnan
Camera: Rajeev Ravi
Story: James Albert
Screenplay: James Albert
Dialogue: James Albert
Lyrics: Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma
Music: Alex Paul
Distribution: Lal Release
Year: 2006
Lal Jose is a gutsy and daringly different director. He has proved once again with Classmates, after that brilliantly crafted Achanurangatha Veedu, that he loves to take the road less traveled. Straight off the bat, Classmates is a smartly packaged film that shows the importance of a good script.
Your college days are supposed to be the best time in your life. There have been many films set in campus with all its fun and sorrow. Who can forget the Padmarajan-Bharathan classic Chamaram, K.G.George’s Ulkadal, Venu Nagavally’s Sukhamo Devi and Sarvakalasala or Mohan’s Shalini Ente Kootukari?
Well, Classmates can be included along with the batch of our all-time great campus stories in Malayalam. In the era of the all powerful superstars, Lal Jose has made a great entertainer which tugs your heart strings and features lesser mortals. The B-team of actors Pritviraj, Indrajeet, Jayasurya, Narain, Kavya and a new girl Radhika come out with flying colours. No two ways about it, that they are the future of Malayalam cinema.
The film opens with a retired college professor Iyer (Balachandra Menon) and his wife retired Chemistry professor Lakshmi (Shoba Mohan) trying to organize a get-together of the 1991 batch of CMS college, Kottayam. This meeting is also in memory of Murali (Narein) the college singer and their only son who died under mysterious circumstances during his final year.
The 1991 batch agrees to meet as each of them has their own personal agendas to be fulfilled. Murali’s parents want to keep his promise that the batch will meet after 10 years of graduation. The group leader is Sukumaran (Pritviraj), a fiery leader of left student party SFK, now a diamond merchant in Mumbai, Satheesan Kanjikuzhi (Jayasurya) led the rival student party DSU and is now an MLA, his right-hand man ‘Vaalu’ Vasu (Vijeesh) is his PA.
Then there is a rich planter’s son Pious George (Indrajeet) who was the college Romeo and a close friend of Sukumaran, now settled in Gulf. There is Thara Kurup (Kavya Madhavan) a well-known classical dancer whose father was a politician and a minister. Thara now runs a dance school and is a spinster still madly in love with Sukumaran. Razia (Radhika) the ‘Penquin’ as she is called for wearing a peculiar kind of burkha is also a part of the gang.
The reunion proves to be fatal as Sukumaran is almost strangled to death with a guitar string tied around his neck. Was it a suicide or a cold blooded murder attempt? To find the answer, one has to see Classmates which unfolds as a flashback. Pious goes down the memory lane and narrates their life and times during their college days to Prof Iyer leading to a gripping and unpredictable twist in the climax.
The college scenes are brilliantly executed. The slow romantic build up to the Sukumaran-Thara Kurup love story culminating in being trapped in the Chemistry lab is well-picturised. Loads of campus fun brings back memories of college days- the canteen, the hostel warden, father Esthappan (Jagathy), the library, violent student politics, romances, elections, all brings back a smile on your face.
The actors look and act real. Pritviraj as Sukumaran is an absolute delight to watch. Clearly, he is in his elements, playing a college student and watch out for his romance with Kavya. Jayasurya is simply great in comedy and he walks away with some of the best one-liners in the film. Indrajeet as Pious is a revelation and Kavya sums up a fine portrayal as Thara. But it is the new girl Radhika who steals the show in the suspense laden climax. The supporting cast of veterans like Balachandra Menon and Jagathy are all brilliant even though in small roles.
Another highlight is Alex Paul’s melodious songs which gives a campus flavour of the 80’s and 90’s. Plus Rajiv Ravi’s camera expertly navigates through the campus. Above all, Lal Jose and his scriptwriter James Albert deserve to be congratulated for their keen sense of detailing in terms of costumes, mannerisms and body languages of the lead artists. Lal is also able to extract spellbinding performances from his actors however small their roles are.
On the whole, Classmates is a breezy entertainer. So go ahead and watch the 91 batch of good fellows.
Classmates Photo Gallery
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ATHISAYAN
Director: Vinayan
Producer: Gokulam Gopalan
Cast: Jakie Sheroff, Harisree Ashokan, Kavya Madhavan, Mukesh, Jagdish, Thilakan, Ramu, Rajan P. Dev, Bheeman Raghu, Saddique, TP Madhavan, Baburaj, Indrans, Karthika, Merin Amritheswaram, Ambili, Shalini
Music: Alphonse
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Cinematography: Rajaratnam
Story/Writer: Vinayan
SynopsisMaya (Kavya Madhavan) is an investigative reporter attached to New Bharath Television. Born and brought up in an orphanage, she knows what it is to be an orphan. Knowing she has a responsibility towards other unfortunate children who are similarly placed, she runs a small orphanage in a rented house, giving shelter to ten children picked from the streets. Father Kuthiravattom (Thilakan) supports her efforts. The children are enrolled in a prestigious school, where they make history by getting top scores in academic and extra-curricular activities. One of them, Devadas, is a mathematics wizard whose brain works faster than calculators.
Maya's colleague Roy is framed in a murder case and put in prison. All her efforts to get him released have been in vain. In the meantime, in the course of her work she uncovers certain truths that embarrass the government and the powers that be. She is kidnapped. To find her whereabouts and bring the culprits to book, the children who now have no one to look after them adopt ingenious ways. This is the gist of Adisayan's story.
Kaavya Madhavan has a lot of scope to display her histrionic skills in this film. Hindi actor Jackie Shroff plays a major role as Prof. RK Shekhar, who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize. Vinayan, who always adopts innovative narrative styles, continues the trend in this film. The film has a considerable amount of graphics work, which is being done in Hong Kong.
Athisayan Photo Gallery 
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INSPECTOR GARUDBanner : Galaxy films
Director : Johny Antony
Producer : Milan Jaleel
Camera: P.Skumuar
Editor: Ranjan Abraham
Story/screenplay/dialogue : Sibi.K.Thomas and Udaya Krishna
Lyrics : Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma.
Music : Alex Paul
Art: Salu.K.George
Inspector Garud’ is the Inspector Madhavan Kutty is very corrupted officer who would do any dirty work for acquiring money. He became inspector not through the right channel but by paying 15 lakhs as bribe. So he is now bent upon getting his money back through bribes. He is nicknamed Inspector Garud, for getting his job done fast like a hawk.
Director Johnny Antony says, like his other movies, this film will also have more importance for comedy and action, but he has also tried to integrate some family values in it so that it will appeal to a larger audience. Out of four, this is his third film with Dileep. Udayakrishna- Sibi k Thomas team did the story and screenplay of all his films. Almost all the cast in CID Moosa is repeated in this film.
Dileep sports a walrus moustache in the film. It will also be a film in which he will be shown in
bad light, atleast for some part of the film. He badly needs a hit, with most of his recent films failing to hit bull’s eye.
Inspector Garud Photo Gallery
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CHAKKARAMUTHULanguage : Malayalam
Banner : Seven Arts International
Director : Lohithadas
Producer : Vijayakumar
Camera : Rajaratnam
Story : Lohithadas
Screenplay : Lohithadas
Dialogue : Lohithadas
Lyrics : Gireesh Puthenchery
Music : M.Jayachandran
Distribution : Seven Arts Release
Release : 2006 November 08
Cast : Dileep, Kavya Madhavan, Cochin Haneefa, Sai Kumar, Harisree Ashokan, Bindu Panicker.
Lohithadas seems to have run out of steam as his latest film Chakkaramuthu, is nothing but a rehash of various old films and none of the characters are well-etched out nor do we become a part of their anguish or worry.
The trouble is too many characters with too many motives are haphazardly tied up resulting in an embarrassingly bad film. There is not even one single scene which is new or brings a smile on your face and the climax is a big letdown. Looks like, the writer-director had lost interest and wanted to some how end the film!
Aravindakshan (Dileep)is a ladies tailor in a village and he is a dimwit. People call him 'Pottan' and his world revolves around Anitha (Kavya Madhavan) who is his childhood sweetheart. He hangs around her house and does all sorts of domestic help to Anita and her mom, a teacher as they are alone.
Dileep
Aravindakshan keeps his deep love for Anita in his mind though her feeling for him is just sympathy. One day when his friend Santosh (Kalabhavan Nawas) instigates him, Aravindan tries to kiss her which comes as a rude shock to Anita. Later, she uses this as a way to blackmail him to cover up her love for Jeevan (Jishnu) in front of her mother who is very strict and wants her to marry a doctor Rajiv (Sarath).
But soon Anita's uncle (Sai Kumar) a police officer and mom comes to know about her affair and fixes her marriage. But Anita elopes with Jeevan, as Aravindan helps them to go to Bangalore. However Anita realize that Jeevan was a cheat, who was taking her for a ride. What happens then? Will she reciprocate Aravindan's deep love? All this is told in a clichéd climax, which is neither believable nor gripping.
After seeing the film, we wonder how Dileep, an actor who is said to have a terrific sense for good scripts ended up repeating what he had done in the past? Every scene is so predictable and the characters like a tailor shop owner, a saloon owner, a lottery agent, a family of- mother, sister and an irresponsible elder brother-all reminds you of so many films like Dileep's own Kunjikoonan, Meesa Madhavan and others.
Dileep as a dimwit Aravindan has worked hard on his body language and gait but his character has no life or soul and neither do our sympathies go to him. The script has let him down badly and he over acts at times. Kavya Madhavan does her role with ease while others are just ok. Jishnu has proved that he is a wooden actor while Sarath shines in a small role. Sai Kumar has given an excellent performance and the newcomer as Anita's mom is very impressive. Songs tuned by M.Jayachandran are just ok though none of them are hummable!.
On the whole, Lohithadas has to be blamed for making this film which will neither make you laugh or cry. The movie like Aravindakshan, tends to wander aimlessly while wallowing in misery. Lohi has not been able to flesh out the protagonist’s background or adequately explain the motivations behind his choices. The films fatal flaw is its crippling pace. Post- interval, the story telling becomes doleful, mushy and melodramatic, especially the long drawn out tragic climax. Chakkaramuth, is not sweet, but a bitter pill to swallow.
Chakkaramuth Photo Gallery
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VAASTHAVAMLanguge : Malayalam
Cast : Prithviraj, Jagathy Sreekumar, Murali, Jagdhish, Salim Kumar, T G Ravi, Kvya Madhavan, Samvritha Sunil, Sindhu Menon
Director : Padma Kumar
Production : Sreechakra Films Pvt Ltd
Screenplay : Babu Janardhanan
Hats off to director M. Padmakumar, who has come out with a very bold and different film in Vaasthavam. Padmakumar made his directorial debut with Ammakilikoodu and then gave us a very well-made Vargam, which however was not well accepted at the box office. And now with Vaasthavam, he proves that there still are directors who can tread fresh and unbeaten tracks and give us something new, something gutsy.
Vaasthavam takes us into the life of young Balachandran Adigal, the son of the idealistic Ramachandran Namboothiri. Balachandran is in love with young Sumithra, with whom he had grown up and who is also acceptable to Balachandran's parents and all their relatives.
All of a sudden an aged contractor Thrippan Namboothiri makes his entry with a marriage proposal for Balachandran. He wants Balachandran to marry his niece Surabhi and in exchange he proposes to secure him a job in the Government Secretariat, and because the family is in dire straits financially, he also promises to render financial help towards marrying off Balachandran's sisters.
Though Balachandran is dead against this, his family and even Sumithra convince him that it is the best option and he willy-nilly agrees to it. On his marriage night itself, his sister elopes with her lover, who is from another caste.
Balachandran reaches the capital city and meets Unnithan, who wields considerable influence over the bureaucracy. Unnithan gets Balachandran into government service in the secretariat. Though aged, Unnithan is a veteran of sorts and has his own ways and principles, which are practical though not very idealistic. He becomes a sort of a godfather for Balachandran and trains him in the art of receiving bribes and even tells him how to manage things in today's world.
After he sheds his ideals and principles, Balachandran takes all kinds of shortcuts, uses everyone for achieving his purposes and starts climbing the ladder of success. He very soon becomes the private secretary of Revenue Minister Pattom Raveendran, by his very clever machinations and manipulations. He becomes influential and rich, at a very young age. He uses Vimala Thankachi, the Minister's niece to take his first step towards success, and then uses the Minister's wife Radhamani, a goonda named Vasu and others to continue to prosper. But things are not so good in his personal life...
Director M. Padmakumar and writer Babu Janardhanan have done a really good job. The subject is well-chosen and the treatment is up to the mark.
Performance by Prithviraj as Balachandran is excellent. Kavya Madhavan as Sumithra, Samvritha as Surabhi and Sindhu Menon as Vimala Thankachi do their respective roles well. However, it's Jagathy Sreekumar who scores best as Unnithan. Murali as the minister Pattom Raveendran and Salim Kumar as Thrippan Namboothiri have also done justice to their roles.
The others in the cast are also OK, except perhaps Rajmohan Unnithan, who has to learn that acting is a lot different from delivering political speeches. Cinematography by Manoj Pillai, Art Direction by Saloo K. George and Editing by L. Bhoominathan are in sync with the theme.
Songs penned by Gireesh Puthencherry and set to tune by Alex Paul have also come off very well and merge with the film and the storyline.
In total Vaasthavam is a well-made film which has a very well worked out climax.
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APARICHITHAN
Cast: Mammootty, Kavya Madhavan, Manya, Karthika, Vineeth Kumar
Language: Malayalam
Banner: Valiyaveetil Movie International
Director: Sanjeev Sivan
Producer: Siraj Valiyaveettil
Camera: Santhosh Sivan
Story: Sanjeev Sivan
Screenplay: Siraj
Dialogues: Nidhin and A K Sajan
Lyrics: Girish Puthenchery
Music: Suresh Peters
Distribution: Valiyaveettil Films Release
Year of Film Relesed : 2004
Mammootty's film
Aparichithan (The Stranger) has been completed in the picturesque location of Nelliampathy. Mammootty is on a comeback as most of his recent releases were hits.
In this film, Mammootty enacts the role of Reghuram, a wild life photographer for the National Geographic Channel. During his adventurous journey, he meets five students--Meenakshi, Simi Samuel, Asha Shanker, Thomas Chacko and Siraj of the Law College.
Three students--Meenakshi, Simi Samuel and Asha Shanker were under suspension as they tried to leak the question papers on the previous day of the exam. They had to leave the place as they had no other way. Simi's lover Thomas Chacko helps them and they reach Nelliampathy.
Meantime, these students meet a wild life photographer who intrudes into their privacy and was a disturbance for the group initially. But later when they come to know his good nature, he disappears. The rest of the film is about their quest for Reghuram and his past will be revealed as the story develops.
Kavya, the conservative and straight forward Meenakshi in the film, Karthika who is Simi Samuel in the story applause Devi played by Manya who is almost tomboyish in nature.
Reghuram from the US reaches this hill station in search of a rare bird. He meets Kalyani, an adivasi girl, daughter of the village headman. A model from Delhi, Mahi Vijay enacts the role of Kalyani.
