 Sandesam is a 1991 Indian Malayalam language political

satire black comedy film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and

written by Sreenivasan.
 The film deals with political activism existing in Kerala and
takes major digs on the political parties in the state.
 Sandhesam set itself apart by sensitively handling several
socio-political issues without compromising the story-telling
aspect of the film.
 The nuanced screenplay and the carefully executed
performances of the stellar cast, under the guidance of
director Sathyan Anthikad, raised the bar to a much higher
standard.
 Srinivasan as Prabhakaran
 Jayaram as Prakashan
 Thilakan as Raghavan Nair
 Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Bhanumathi
 Innocent as Yaswanth Singh
 Mathu as Lathika
 Siddhique as Udhayabhanu
 Mamukkoya as K.G. Pothuval
 The film launches a scathing onslaught on the
Machiavellianism of all political ideologies that are smartly
camouflaged in theories of socialism, equality, liberty, class
struggle and intellectualism.
 The two warring siblings in this film, represent two
predominant ideologies of Indian politics identifiable with
global politics. One sibling is a diehard Marxist and the
other a diehard centrist. It is important to place here on
record how the Marxist and the Centrist parties evolved in
India and especially in the state of Kerala.
MARXISM THE CENTRIST PARTY

 Indian National
 Marxism certainly Congress (referred to as
remains one of the Congress) is India’s
biggest political oldest national party.
paradigms, the country Historians widely
has ever seen. It created
acknowledge its
a political upheaval,
contribution to India’s
and it sensitized the
masses to the need to national freedom
fight for social justice. struggle.
 The Marxists/communists made their presence felt in
Kerala at a point in time in history that had feudalism
deeply entrenched in the society. The feudalism had been
approved by the monarchies of the land and, the lower caste
men and women working under the feudal lords were
treated with utmost disdain.
 Literature on communist manifesto and slogans like ‘’we
will own the lands that we plough’’ became regular odes in
their campaign. Needless to say, Kerala overthrew
feudalism and moved into a political system where the
communists have remained a force to reckon with.
 In Kerala it has been the biggest ideological opponent of the
leftist or Marxist party. The party’s contribution to Kerala’s
development is well-acknowledged by historians and
experts in political science. The ideology of the party
comprises theories of big tent, social liberalism, secularism
and civic nationalism.
 The party has a mass following in the state of Kerala
despite the communist or Marxist party being a force
to reckon with there. The party has so far received a
huge support from the electorate and it remains the
only strong contender against the Marxist party.
 The loyalties of the youth are divided between these two
parties and their ideologies.
 The communist or Marxist party has often accused congress
party of corruption, ineptitude, nepotism, populist agenda
and economic irregularities.
 The congress has levelled counter accusations of the
communists stalling the development of the state by being
anti-industry and pro-trade union.
 The children at school, in their impressionable years grow
up learning, understanding, appreciating and promoting the
ideologies of these political parties.
 An understanding of politics in India is highly
recommended to understand this film.
 The film begins with Raghavan Nair retiring as a station
master in Tamil Nadu and looking forward to leading a
peaceful life in his home state. At first, he is mighty
impressed with Prabhakaran and Prakashan, his eldest sons
believing their tall tales about the stature they enjoy in their
respective political parties.
 Prabhakaran belongs to the RDP, and Prakashan's affiliation
is to the INSP. The parties are clearly modelled on the Left
(LDF) and the Congress (UDF), the two major rivals in the
state, respectively. Both brothers were actively engaged in
student politics and are now graduates but have not sought
employment.
 Raghavan himself is fond of exaggerating stories where he
comes out looking the hero and his sons are no different. But
it takes him a while to figure this out.
 When he arrives at the railway station from Tamil Nadu,
nobody from the family is there to receive him. The two
older sons are nowhere in the picture, busy as they are with
their political games. The scenario repeats all through the
film, with the brothers being absent whenever the family is
in need of them. The fundamental question that Anthikad
raises is - can a man who cannot take care of his own family
be trusted to take care of the country?
 While the three women, the mother and two sisters, have
relatively smaller roles to play, they're quicker to see
through the hypocrisy of the young men.
 Raghavan Nair had been away for the most part of the
children's upbringing and it was Bhanu who took care of
them. She frequently tells her husband that their sons are
out of line but he, like a typical patriarch, is dismissive of
her observations and says it's because she's not an
"intellectual" like them.
 Latha, the older sister, is only interested in the brothers'
political affairs as far as it will benefit her marital home. She
doesn't take either of the brothers seriously otherwise.
Lathika, the younger one, has failed her Pre Degree
examination and is at home helping her mother. However,
despite her lack of "intellect", she's able to puncture her
brothers' egoes effortlessly.
 We also see the two brothers dumping their chores on the
women of the house constantly, from expecting them to
cook for their partymen to ironing their shirts. This, even as
they indulge in high-minded debates about equality,
progress and international politics.
 In April 1991, the LDF lost power to the UDF in
Kerala. Sandesham, which came later that year, is set in the
same political scenario. Prakashan cannot stop rubbing it in
and Prabhakaran keeps flying off the handle every time his
younger brother brings up the RDP's defeat.
 Both their leaders are no better, indulging in petty squabbles
and protecting their own interests even as they keep talking
about lofty ideals. There are many hilarious satirical
situations that Anthikad showcases to highlight the
hollowness of the two brothers, including a fight over a
dead body.
 Their sloganeering and public posturing become more and
more absurd, resulting in bigger and worse consequences
for the family, including Raghavan's arrest at one point.
 As a counterfoil to the two brothers, Anthikad also gives us
another young man — Udhayabanu (Siddique), an honest
officer in the Agricultural Department. He's an orphan who
worked his way up, and while the brothers are absent, he
steps in whenever the family is in crisis. He marries the
younger sister, Lathika, despite Prakashan's best efforts to
stop it (since he'd refused to donate money to the INSP).
He's also a believer in astrology and has some knowledge of
the field that impresses Raghavan.
 Udhayabanu is 'apolitical' and is positioned as a better
person than either Prabhakaran or Prakashan.
 The ending of the film, too, suggests that while good people
should be in politics, student activism isn't desirable and it's
better to have a job than get involved in political affairs.
 The youngest brother, Prashantan, who is always
pretending to study, is projected as a budding version of his
two older brothers; deceitful, unwilling to work hard and
quick to raise a flag over nothing. But his 'reformed' older
brothers break the flag and 'correct' him before he goes
'astray'.
 Considering student politics is one of the ways in which
young people without a political background can enter the
field, Anthikad and writer Sreenivasan's messaging, in
retrospect, is puzzling.
 The film also paints all political parties with the same brush,
making a mockery of ideologies.
 While it's certainly true that there might be party workers in
real life who spout ideology without understanding it, there
is no political figure at all in the script who stands up to
scrutiny. It is necessary for a political party to have an
ideological mooring, and noble intentions alone are not
enough to float an organisation that can impact legislation.
 If anything, recent history has shown us that being
'apolitical' is not an option. Beyond deciding who will
govern us, it also decides what our future will be like and
where we're headed as a nation; something that will affect
us all.
 While the ending may not be ideal - it was not 30 years ago
and even less so now - Sandesham is still a classic that has
aged well, serving as a textbook for political aspirants on
what not to do, and as a mirror for those who already are in
the field.
 Sandesham was made in the backdrop of the Congress-led
United Democratic Front (UDF) winning a shock mandate in
the 1991 Kerala assembly election following Rajiv Gandhi’s
assassination, on the back of the EK Nayanar-led Left
Democratic Front (LDF) government advancing elections by
a year after sweeping the elections to the district councils
and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) nearly
walking out of the UDF.
 As a consequence, there are many references to the political
issues of the day, from global to local, including India’s
Balance of Payment crisis, the end of Cold War and the
imminent collapse of the Soviet Union.
 For obvious reasons, neither political party was explicitly
mentioned in the film. Instead, fictionalised depictions of
these opposing ideologies were incorporated into the
narrative.
 In fact, the narrative opens balanced debates from both sides
of the political spectrum whilst being critical of the pitfalls
of blindly following the whims of a populist leader.
 While political satires were not uncommon in Malayalam
films, none of them was able to captivate the audience with
grounded realism and witty humour
that Sandhesam embodied.
 Even after 30 years, the message Sandhesam conveys
continues to be relevant, if not more, in today’s social
landscape.
 Further, the film exposes society’s inadequacies in
understanding civic responsibilities.
 While the political landscape may have slightly altered in
Kerala, it still remains polarised when it comes to voting
patterns.
 There can be no argument that Sandhesam was far ahead of
its time and will continue to stay relevant for years to come.
 It is neither the movie nor the characters that are being
reviewed here. It is about politics, the ubiquitous
phenomenon and how it beguiles masses across the world.
Devika T S & Manjima P