Bramayugam

Story:

Rahul Sadasivan wrote and directed the 2024 Indian Malayalam-language period folk horror and thriller Bramayugam, which was co-produced by YNOT Studios and Night Shift Studios. Sidharth Bharathan, Mammootty, and Arjun Ashokan are the film’s main actors. It incorporates aspects of Keralan mythology, spiritual mystery, and folklore.

On February 15, 2024, Bramayugam was made available in black and white. Critics gave it favorable reviews, praising the production design, sound design, background score, cast performances, and cinematography. The movie made over ₹85 crore at the box office, making it one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of 2024.

Plot

Thevan and Koran reach a new, wooded spot in 17th-century Malabar and spend the night there. A yakshi seduces and kills Koran during the night. In the morning, Thevan finds a dilapidated mana after fleeing. The house cook discovers him when he is attempting to open a coconut to prevent starvation. He is taken to Kodumon Potti, the lord of the mana, who inquires about his whereabouts and, upon discovering that he is a paanan (folk singer), asks him to perform for him.

Despite Thevan’s wish to go, Potti praises the song and demands that he remain the mana for the rest of his life. As Thevan is shown his room, the cook forbids him from inquiring about the home or exploring any forbidden areas. Over the next few days, he discovers from the cook that the Potti is a descendant of Chudalan Potti, who was gifted a mystical goblin helper, a chathan, by the goddess Varahi. Chudalan Potti and his family were killed as a result of his retaliatory torture of the chathan. Kodumon Potti eventually defeated the Chathan and chained him in the mansion’s attic.

The chef is seen by Thevan one day excavating a cemetery in the backyard, most likely for himself. He tries to flee, terrified, but fails. Then he discovers that he has lost his memory and can’t remember when he got to the estate or even his own identity. The cook informs Thevan that the grave is intended for the real Potti and not for him. The chathan, who imprisoned the real Potti in the attic and drove him insane till his death, is actually the Potti downstairs. The cook and Thevan could only get out of the manor by defeating the chathan by putting out an ever lit candle in a hidden room of the granary and then catching it.

The cook takes the chamber’s key from imposter Potti’s waist as they are arguing. He weakens the chathan by opening the chamber and extinguishing the lamp. After that, Thevan and the cook battle the chathan. The thing inside emerges when the cook, who is now identified as Potti’s illegal offspring, seizes the ring and burns the chathan. As the rightful heir to the ring, the cook attempts to put it on, which would legitimize his ownership over the chathan, but is stopped by Thevan, who believes that the ring’s power will corrupt him. The two start fighting while the fire destroys the mana, causing it to collapse over them.

Although Thevan is seen leaving the mana’s ruins, the cook attacks him. The cook discovers during the scuffle that he is actually the chathan disguised as Thevan. The breakdown of the mana is subsequently shown to have likely killed the real Thevan. The chef, terrified, flees into the jungle and, while crossing the river, encounters an imperial Portuguese soldier. He tries to attack the soldier but gets gunned down. A platoon of Portuguese soldiers emerge from the forest, cross the river, and march towards the mana’s direction, while the chathan in Thevan’s body is seen leaving the area, wearing the ring.