makaramanju

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This is a film about a moment of mythical tragedy depicted by a painting and the dramatic aevents that occur in the life of the painter during its creation.

"Pururavas and Urvashi" is one of the most celebrated paintings of Raja Ravivarma. It captures a tragic moment in the tumultuous love between the two epic characters. Running parallel to this mythological love between Urvashi and Pururavas is the story of tragic alove between Raja Ravivarma the painter and his model Sugandha Bai.

The narrative unfolds as the painter narrates the myth to the model.

Pururavas, a king of men, lives in the bosom of nature and was extrememly fond of birds and animals. The gods grew envious of his powers and sought ways to break his charm. They conspire to send Urvasi, the enchanting apsaras to lure him and destroy him.

Urvasi approaches him in the form of a village belle. But Urvasi, too loses herself and and falls in love with him. But she has a mission to fulfill. She is torn between her divine mission and her profound love for the man. Eventually, the Divine Order puts forth a condition: the moment she sees Pururavas nude, she will be called back.

One night, a streak of lightning sent by the gods reveal his nakedness to her. She has to follow the divine command and has to tear herself away from him. It is this heartbreaking moment of parting that Ravivarma captured in his immortal painting.

Meanwhile, the painter and his model too were going through a similar turmoil, though in this world, the hurdles are of a different kind. The mundane social mores could never tolerate their divine love or fathom its tumultuous depths.

Makaramanju, (The Mist of Capricorn) captures this all-too-human conflict where the borders between the creator and the creation, the painter and the model, are dissolved in the pangs and bliss of love. It is a narrative that moves at different levels traversing that enigmatic world between myth and reality, creation and creator, two dimensional canvas of the painting and the painter's multidimensional life.