| Bramayugam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rahul Sadasivan |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Rahul Sadasivan |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Shehnad Jalal |
| Edited by | Shafique Mohammed Ali |
| Music by | Christo Xavier |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹27.73 crore[1] |
| Box office | ₹50 crore[2] |
Bramayugam (transl. The Age of Madness) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language dark fantasy horror thriller film written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan and jointly produced by Night Shift Studios and YNOT Studios. The film stars Mammootty, Arjun Ashokan and Sidharth Bharathan.
Principal photography began on 17 August 2023 and was shot across locations such as Ottapalam, Athirapally and Kochi. The filming wrapped on 18 October 2023.
The film released on 15 February 2024 in Black-and-white format. The film received positive reviews from critics praising the cast performances (especially Mammootty), cinematography, sound design, background score, and production design.
Plot
In 17th century Malabar, Thevan and Koran escape the clutches of the Portuguese slave trade in Ponnani and flee to the east. At night, they camp at the banks of the Bharatappuzha River, but Koran is killed by a yakshi. Thevan runs away, discovering an abandoned mansion or mana in the morning.
While stealing a coconut, he is apprehended by the house's cook. He is brought before the lord of the manor, Kodumon Potti, who requests him to sing a song. The potti compliments Thevan on the song and insists that he stay the night there, in spite of his desire to leave. The cook, while showing Thevan his room, discourages him from asking questions about the house or the lord's background.
Over the next few days, he discovers from the cook that the potti is a descendant of Chudalan Potti, who was gifted a demon helper, a chaathan, by the deity Varahi. His constant torture of the demon turned it mad, and it went on to kill Chudalan Potti and his family. Kodumon Potti eventually defeated the chaathan and chained him to the mansion's attic.
One day, Thevan sees the cook digging a grave in the backyard, presumably for himself. Terrified, he tries to leave, but cannot. He then realizes that he has lost his memory and that he has been trapped in the manor for months. The cook tells Thevan that the grave is not for him, but for Kodumon: the man who has been running the mana is the chaathan in disguise, and he imprisoned the real Kodumon in the attic and drove him insane. The only way that the cook and Thevan can escape the mana is by defeating the chaathan by dousing an ever-burning lamp located in a secret chamber under the mansion and then trapping the creature in a special chest.
During an argument, the cook steals the key to the chamber from the chaathan's waist. He opens the lair and blows out the lamp, rendering the chaathan powerless. Thevan and the cook set fire to the chaathan's disguised form, and the creature inside emerges. The cook, now revealed to be Kodumon's illicit son, attempts to put on the ring that will give him mastery over the chaathan, but is stopped by Thevan, who sees that it can reanimate the chaathan like it did with Kodumon. The two fight, but eventually Thevan secures the ring and puts it on himself. A big fire destroys the mana and collapses on them.
The cook escapes alive and meets Thevan outside the compound. He realises that it is not the real Thevan, but the chaathan who has been reanimated by the ring. Terrified, he runs away into a river. A Portuguese soldier guns him down, taking him for a lunatic. A battalion of Portuguese soldiers cross the river and moves in the direction of the mana, while the chathaan is seen walking away into a forest as the mana is now completely destroyed.
