Arquivo

A Theeyatt artist caught between tradition and modernity. The film is built around the ritualistic art form Theeyatt, performed by right by the minuscule Unni community, exclusively in the Kali temples of south Kerala. It is also a solo performance in which Kali, the Goddess of Retribution, relates to Lord Siva, her creator, the slaying of Darika, the demon. It narrows how the idealized world of Theeyatt artist Vasunni and his family is shattered by the impact of change and the gross demands of a market-driven world. His health deteriorates, his family plunges into poverty and his children find themselves rudderless. Even as his idealized world crumbles, the outside world intervenes, changing his perceptions about the art, that has also been his faith, and weakening his grip on tradition.