Mukhamukham (1984)

It is a time of unrest in Kerala politics; a period when the Communist party splits down the middle into two similar yet squabbling halves. Against this backdrop, a village struggles to survive -- leaderless, rudderless, directionless, it seeks a messiah.

It has, collectively, just one straw to clutch at -- a revolutionary who, in his youth, had bound the labourers together; who had taken a landlord's daughter as mistress; who had -- or so the police said -- killed the factory owner when he became too rapacious.

If only he were here, the villagers tell each other; if only he could return to give us direction, to show us the way… And lo, out of the blue, the revolutionary returns.

The locals throng his home, eagerly awaiting their first glimpse of the fiery leader who, in absentia, held their hopes and aspirations in thrall; but in real life, there are no heroes, not any more. At least, no one is a hero when he is alive -- it is only death that absolves, elevates.

Starring: Ganga, Balan K Nair, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Karamana Janardhan Nair, Thilakan, Ashokan and others

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