Why 'Bramayugam' is Brilliant

Rahul Sadasivan's Bramayugam is one of the most  cynical-popular Indian movies in years. It is a wickedly deceptive movie that tries to subvert  every theme it deals with, including gender, caste, and horror movie conventions. Even  Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who is always trying to be the edgiest person in the room, would shudder  at the thought of showing such a bleak world. If A24 could get their hands on this movie, they  would sell it to the moon and back. Malayalam movie star Mammootty plays a m

an who seems to be  dying in real life in Brayamayugam. This man is Kodumon Potti. He was first shown to us as an  upper-caste landlord in 17th-century Kerala, but it turned out that he was actually a  shape-shifting "goblin" who looked like a person. Kodumon lives alone in a crumbling old mansion  in the middle of a forest. He has a servant who looks a lot like Igor who does his tasks. There is  equal amounts of spittle and snark coming out of this man, whose job it is to cook for his "master" 

and get rid of dead bodies for him. One day, an unknown man named Thevan shows up at their door.  He is hungry and needs to get away from the slave dealers he just escaped from as soon as possible.  Thevan is surprised by Kodumon's kindness, which he thinks is real but which we, the watchers, see  right away as fake. He is given food and a place to stay, even though he tells Kodumon that he is  from a lower caste and the sense of dread grows. People's place in society isn't always  determined b

y where they were born, says Kodumon with a sick smile and a creepy laugh.  Their "karma" can change that. He says that all he wants in return for his kindness is for Thevan  to be the singer at the old mansion. He thinks it's a good deal. But almost right away, he finds  out that the house is hiding a lot of secrets, and the scariest one might have something  to do with the noises coming from the attic. Bramayugam is shot in hypnotic black and  white which brings to mind the glory days of Nosfe

ratu and Frankenstein. It pays homage to  the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, Christopher Nolan, Robert Eggers, and most importantly, Gothic  horrors from the 1940s. Even though Sadasivan's ideas may seem old-fashioned, his worries  seem very real and important. Right away, it's clear that the main theme of the movie  is the struggle between castes. At first, Thevan is obedient. He even scolds Kodumon's  cook for talking badly about their "master" behind his back. The movie says that this  is how the

abused are programmed to work. That people like Thevan don't really have  a choice is shown in the movie through a game of dice that he clearly loses  because it's been rigged against him. He quickly realizes that he will  not be able to leave the house because of his accursed fate. The movie  Bramayugam isn't just about injustice; it's also about fighting among those who are  oppressed. In one scene, the cook tells Thevan, "You've been living off scraps all your life."  This sets the stage for

the battle that he, as the son of a "housemaid," will start in the  end. The director - Sadasivan emphasizes his big point when the cook is killed by Portuguese  invaders at the end of the movie, suggesting that India's main weakness was its own  unrest, which led to its defeat by the Europeans. There's this scene in the movie that signifies  Goblin's immortality. It can be a master or a slave But there is no death, no way out  of the trap. That's also one reason he gets so upset when Thevan (T

he Singer) talks  about Moksham. There is no Moksham for him, and just the thought of someone thinking  on those lines deeply unsettles him. Also, the last shot of the cook, where his  disfigured corpse flows through the river, kind of reiterates his own philosophy in  the first part of the movie. Like many others before him, he got carried away  and became one with the flow of time. This is the "Bramayugam", which means the age of  madness. The movie says that these differences were made by peo

ple, not God. And Bramayugam  shows how powerful men are by leaving women out of the equation. There is only room for  one female character, a succubus who lives in the bush, in this film. She may only exist as  an Easter egg that people who know about the mythology would enjoy. She shows up in the movie's  opening scene, before the spectacular title card, and then again a long time later, when  Thevan sees her talking to Kodumon. Bramayugam is a worthy follow-up to Sadasivan's  Bhoothakaalam. I

t is also the best Indian horror movie in years. More than anything else, the  movie's powerful writing and admirable lack of cheap scares make Sadasivan the  best horror director in the country; he's like Mike Flanagan for India. The only  thing that will happen is that men will keep fighting endless wars, while women are  literally erased from existence. Evil, greed, and toxicity will always be  around. This is the gloomy and desolate note that Bramayugam ends on. Madness is  only an excuse, t

he real rot lies within. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you  enjoyed this video. A special thank you to everyone who is subscribed, and make  sure to join the Discord server.