Ruthubhedam (1987)

Echoing aspects of Gopalakrishnan’s Elippathayam (1981), Vasudevan Nair’s script tells of the decline of a family of former Nair rent collectors as various members give way to greed and other weaknesses. The dramatic trigger is provided by a government compensation payment for confiscated forest lands, and the rapacious members of the family go to extraordinary lengths to appropriate as much compensation money as they can get by means both fair and foul. The story is told mainly through the eyes of a poor village lad, Keshu, returning from the city. The wellknown director, B. Menon, can here be seen as an actor.