Bhargavi Nilayam , the 1964 horror-romance film, ends with the ghost of Bhargavi, the tragic heroine, laughing out loud at the demise of her killer, Nanukkuttan.
Even as the novelist who set upon writing her story prays for her soul to rest in peace, the viewer is left with the question of whether she actually does. Fifty-two years after the movie was released, Navajeevan Kalavedi, a city-based amateur theatre group, has set out to explore the question. In their new play Bhargavi Nilayam: Aranoottandinippuram , another novelist, upon a request from the movie’s protagonist, visits the eponymous mansion in a quest to find out whether Bhargavi’s ghost still haunts it. While the mansion has been turned into a hotel, the novelist finds that Bhargavi’s spirit lives on, through other women who met with unfortunate fates similar to hers. “Back then, there was one Nanukkuttan,” said V. Ajay Sivaram, director of the play. “Today we appear to have many more of them, seeing the number of atrocities committed towards women everywhere. Hence, Bhargavi lives among us, in women whose stories we may not know.”
The play is also an exploration of supernatural elements and superstitions, according to him. “We often have experiences that seem uncanny, but are real, nonetheless. While superstitions are not to be encouraged, how do we explain such extraordinary occurences?”
Actor Madhu, who essayed the role of the novelist in the 1964 movie, recollected how it had been such an experience in his life that had led renowned writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer to write the short story Neelavelicham , on which the movie is based. Mr. Madhu was attending a rehearsal of the play on Saturday. When asked about his own belief in the supernatural, the actor shrugged. “If Bhargavi were to appear here now, I would ask her to sit down and have some tea.”
The play, written by Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, features Premachandra Bhas, G. Gopalakrishnan, Sajanachandran, and Sonia Malhar. It will be enacted at the Tagore Theatre on Monday. A ceremony will be organised to honour Mr. Madhu. Actor-director Balachandra Menon will inaugurate the ceremony at 5.30 p.m.
Before the play begins, Mr. Madhu will share his experience of shooting the movie.
