Apeetha

In the shadow of Karadimalai and its presiding deity, La.Sa. Ramamirtham weaves a world in which dream and reality share the same lyrical quality. Middle-class Brahmin values and norms set the context for this tale of estrangement, nostalgia, and desire. An impoverished Ambi flees his drab village abandoning Sakunthala, whom he loved dearly. Middle-aged, rich, and married to his employer’s only daughter, Ambi returns for a short visit and comes face to face with his past-Apeetha, Sakunthala’s daughter and her living image. Powerful sensations nearly destroy Ambi’s balance as he encounters, again and again, the life he cannot reclaim. At the centre of this outstanding work is love, the lack of it and the difference its presence makes.