Sandhya Raagam (1989 film)

Plot

Chokkalingam, an octagenarian, leaves his village upon the death of his wife. He migrates to Madras, where his nephew Vasu, a lower middle-class man lives along with his family. Chokkalingam becomes an additional burden for Vasu, who is not able to meet the demands of his own family.

Cast

Themes

The film's central theme revolves around old age.

Production

The film was made on a shoestring budget. Like his previous films, Mahendra wrote the screenplay, edited and photographed the film apart from handling the direction. Ramasamy was hired as the art director while V. S. Murthy and A. S. Laxmi Narayanan looked after the audiography. The film did not have any songs; L. Vaidyanathan composed the background score.

Reception

Sandhya Raagam is yet to have a theatrical release, but was regularly aired on Doordarshan. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare in 1990. A year later, it was screened at the International Film Festival of India. In a 2007 interview to The Hindu, Mahendra said that Sandhya Raagam and Veedu were his two films "with the fewest compromises and mistakes."

In 2011, Mahendra said that there was no existing negative of the film.