Nagamandala




Nagamandala is a Kannada language film, directed by T. S. Nagabharana. Written by Girish Karnad and released in 1997, the film is named after a Dakshina Kannada's ritual called Nagamandala. It stars Prakash Raj and Vijayalakshmi in the lead roles. The film, upon release, went on to win many prestigious awards for its content and screen adaptation. The soundtrack, consisting of 15 tracks, tuned by C. Ashwath became very popular for the folksy touch. Vijayalakshmi won Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada for her performance in this film. The 2005 Hindi movie Paheli was partially inspired by this movie.

Introduction

The story of the film was adapted from a play of the same name written by well-known writer Girish Karnad. The movie was directed by award-winning director T. S. Nagabharana, who is deemed to be one of the ace directors in Kannada film industry. Music was scored by C. Aswath and Srihari L. Khoday produced the movie.
The film touches one of the most sensitive issues of marital life. In folk style and form, the film throws open a question as to who is the husband – the person who marries an innocent girl and indulges in self pleasures or the person who gives the real and complete experience of life.

Cast

The film stars Prakash Raj, Vijayalakshmi, Mandya Ramesh, and B. Jayashri in prominent roles. The film is centered on three people, Appanna, his wife Rani and Naga, a Cobra, who can assume the form of a human being.
The strong points of the movie remain the acting by the leading cast and an authentic portrayal and command on story by the director. The director has made some change to the original play.

Plot summary

The movie begins with Kurudamma and her son Kappanna visiting her nephew for a devi festival. There she sees his beautiful daughter Rani. She returns after the festivities, not before her nephew asks her to find a suitable match for Rani. Kurudamma feels Appanna is a right match but Kappanna disapproves saying that Appanna spends most night at the house of the prostitute Cheluvi. Kurudamma however pesters Appanna regularly for consenting to marry Rani. Finally Appanna gives in and marries Rani.
On their first night at Rani's maternal home, a timid Rani is taken aback by lusty & overbearing husband, she sleeps in a corner of the room. They return to Appanna's village where Rani confides her fear to Kurudamma who convinces Rani to win him over by teasing & playfulness. However that night she is again overcome by fear and locks herself in the pooja room. Appanna scolds her and leaves the house, locking the door from outside. He heads to Cheluvi's house.
Next day, Kurudamma comes there and is taken aback to see the door locked. She finally realizes that Rani is locked and with Kappanna's help talks to her over the window in one of the room. She gives Rani a small root & asks her to mix it with milk and give it to Appanna. Next day she does so & Appanna falls unconscious only to regain consciousness after a minute and leaves the house as usual. Again Kurudamma comes there and learns of Rani's failure and gives her a bigger root, saying that a sage gave it to her in return for her service. Kurudamma had tried it on her relative and Kappanna was thus born.
Rani tries to drug the milk, but it catches fire and Appanna arrives home at the same time and goes to bathe as usual. A terrified Rani pours it under a tree. The milk drains into an anthill under the tree. On seeing this Rani is further scared and returns home. Apparently the snake would have consumed the milk and it comes to her bed that night. a scared Rani locks herself up in the pooja room. The snake then assumes the form of Appanna and talks her out and consoles her and sleeps her on his lap and wins over her affection.
The next morning the snake is gone & the real Appanna comes in and is surprised to see a cheerful Rani and scolds her. A perplexed Rani prepares food and Appanna leaves as usual. At night, a melancholic Rani is waiting near the door for Appanna and the snake arrives in Appanna's form behind her and startles her. She runs in fer to her room, but Appanna pacifies her and wins her over with smooth talk. They consummate their union that night.
Next morning, the snake is gone as usual & Appanna arrives only to see a half naked Rani lying in bed with all the clothes & flowers lying around, as if after the marriage night. A suspicious Appanna bathes and goes away and talks about it in his gym. His teacher volunteers to keep a watch at Appanna's house that night. Meanwhile Rani tells Kurudamma about her success in consummating her marriage. However, Kurudamma is surprised when Kappanna says that the front door is locked from outside. This continues for a while.
The next night, Appanna's teacher is watching his door from outside. The snake appears as usual and is playing dice with Rani, when their voice is heard. The teacher bangs the door and shouts calling the man inside to come out. Appanna sends a scared Rani into the bedroom, while he slips out of the window and bites the teacher. He comes back to Rani and tells her not to ask questions.
The next day Appanna and his friends are shocked to see their teacher dead. That night they come to the anthill with sticks and chases the snake. Rani sees a tired Appanna in her bed and nurses him. Meanwhile real Appanna is with Cheluvi, but his mind his puzzled with the happenings in his home. Next morning after the gym session Appanna arrives home and sees Rani lying half naked in bed. This continues for a few days. One night he decides to keep the door himself. That night the snake waits for him to leave. A frustrated Appanna unable to see anyone leaves to Cheluvi's house. Meanwhile, Rani realizes that she is pregnant. The snake comes back to Rani in Appanna's form and learns of her pregnancy and asks her to keep it a secret and not talk about it in the morning.
After a couple of days, Kurudamma and Kappanna learns of the pregnancy and rush to the gym to congratulate Appanna. A furious Appanna beats Kappanna and runs home. He beats Rani asking her who the father is. He pushes her out of the house creating a havoc, denying having slept with Rani. The elders pacify him and decide to call for a panchayat session that evening to investigate. A puzzled Rani locks herself inside the house to escape Appanna's beatings. That evening, the village gathers for the panchayat, when she is about to hold her hands in fire for a test. Some people in the crowd demand a more severe test - 'Naga divya' - holding a snake in the hand and swearing by the truth. Rani agrees to it. They all go to the anthill where Rani bows down and picks up a snake and declares that if she is pure, the snake would not harm her. This snake happens to be the very snake which would come to Rani. Thus Rani escapes unhurt and the village adores her.
Meanwhile Appanna is frustrated and goes away to Cheluvi. Even she tries to convince him of his wife's innocence but is stopped short. That night the snake appears as Appanna and is confronted by Rani in her house. Meanwhile the real Appanna arrives there unseen by Rani. But the snake realizes that and sends Rani to fetch milk. The snake takes its form and slithers away through the window. Appanna sees this and realizes that the snake had taken his form and was sleeping with Rani all these days. He goes to the anthill where the snake appears in Appanna's form and a fight ensures. When the snake is about to kill Appanna, he realizes that Rani's love has eliminated all the poison in him and spares Appanna. Appanna however beats the snake and throws him into the fire. The snake assumes his real form and dies.
After a few months, Appanna is a changed man who loves his wife. He is shown taking his heavily pregnant wife to a festival.

Awards

Karnataka State Awards
Second Best Film State Award

Best Supporting Actor and Actress Awards

Best Art Direction Award

Best Photography Award
Udaya Cine Awards
Best Film Award

Best Direction Award

Best Supporting Actor and Actress Awards

Best Female Singer Awards
Other Awards & Recognitions
Selected for Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival 1997

Filmfare Best Direction Award

Cine Express Best Director Award

Film Fans Association award

Exhibited in nineteen important centers in USA

Cultural Influence

Nagamandala is a movie based on folk tales spread in North Karnataka, India. The movie portrays lifestyle, food habits, and routine habits of medieval period in Karnataka. Snakes are considered sacred and are feared and worshipped. North Karnataka dialect is used for conversation. Supernatural elements play a central part in the film.

Human Complexities / Social Issues

The film uses a magical folktale to reveal the complexity of human life. In particular, the film focuses on the folktale in the Indian context to reveal the social and individual relations. Some of the most complex issues dealt in the movie reflect the prevailing social stigmas of those times.
The film deals with intimate relationships between a man and a woman, and an Indian woman's desperation to win the affections of her husband in spite of the husband’s open infidelity. It also touches on the imposition to prove fidelity on married women while their husbands are not questioned about their extramarital affairs, and the village judicial system.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by C. Ashwath. All the 16 songs composed for this film have been written by Gopal Yagnik. The songs are rendered by popular Sugama Sangeetha singers.

Trivia

The Shah Rukh Khan-Rani Mukherjee starrer Bollywood film Paheli has resemblances to the screenplay of Nagamandala. Paheli’s director, Amol Palekar, was accused of plagiarizing the screenplay and story line from Nagamandala. However, Amol dismissed the accusation saying that Paheli was adapted from a short story Duvidha, written by Vijayadan Detha in Rajasthani language, which had earlier been adapted into the 1973 movie Duvidha.

External sources