Film / Bramayugam

Bramayugam: The Age of Madness (Malayalam: ഭ്രമയുഗം) is a Malayalam Dark Fantasy horror movie directed by Rahul Sadasivan and written by T. D. Ramakrishnan. It was released on 15th February 2024.

It follows Thevan (played by Arjun Ashokan), a folk singer in 17th century Kerala who is stranded and rendered too tired to cross a river to get back home. In his search for food, he stumbles onto a crumbling Mana whose only residents are the extremely unnerving Kodumon Potti, (played by Mammootty) and his cook (played by Siddarth Bharathan).

Kodumon Potti offers him a place to stay and food to eat courtesy of the cook if Thevan will sing for him, but Thevan soon realises that he is dealing with someone far more sinister than he seems...

This film stars Mammootty, Arjun Ashokan and Siddarth Bharatan, along with Amalda Liz starring as the Yakshi. The film opened to positive reviews and has grossed to around 85 Crore ₹ (or 850 million ₹, around $ 10.2 million USD), thus to the surprise of many, becoming one of the highest grossing films of the Mollywood industry in 2024 and Indian cinema in 2024 as a whole.

Bramayugam contains examples of:

• And I Must Scream: It is later revealed that the Kodumon Potti we see throughout the film is actually the Chaathan while the real one is left chained in the attic, squirming and screaming helplessly until he finally dies.
• Bastard Bastard: The cook is revealed to be bastard in both ways in quick succession to each other. Firstly he reveals himself as an illegitimate son of the real Kodumon Potti, while a few minutes later, he is revealed to be a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
• Central Theme: Slavery. Thevan and his friend Koran start of the story escaping slavery. The cook is revealed to be basically a slave for Kodumon Potti and Slavery functions as a Freudian Excuse for the Chaathan.
• Chekhov's Gun: Thevan's earring. It is an sentimental item to him since it connects him to his mother and it gives away that the man we see emerging along with the cook at the end of the film is actually the Chaathan impersonating him.
• Crapsack World: The film is set in 17th century Kerala, back when society was still highly patriarchal and the caste system was extremely influential and severely enforced (For example, an upper caste Nair can kill a lower caste Pulayan just for looking at him). This setting intentionally contrasts that of Kerala today, where society has improved siginificantly since then and the caste system is nearly irrelevant.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The entire movie was intended to be in Black and White as a form of Environmental Symbolism to accentuate the horror setting of the film. The director Rahul Sadasivan has said "I could never conceive Bramayugam in colour" with regards to this choice.
• Dark Fantasy: The setting involves Hindu mythology and local folk tales infused into a horror setting.
• Don't Go in the Woods: The film begins with Thevan and Koran camping in a jungle at night with plans to cross the river. But this immediately goes awry as the Yakshi shows up and then seduces and kills Koran, leaving Thevan alone, tired, hungry and terrified.
• Eldritch Location: The Mana functions like one due to Kodumon Potti's control over it and its surroundings. Time and Weather are manipulated to his whims and desires at the expense of the guests' sanity.
• Hell Is That Noise: While Thevan prepares to sleep, he becomes intensely disturbed by the noises of heavy chains moving from above. To make matters worse, he is explicitly forbidden by the cook from exploring the attic from where the noises originate. The noises were from the real Kodumon Potti, who was chained up while the Chaathan impersonated him and took over the Mana.
• Kill the Lights: Subverted, since the movie is set before the light bulb was even invented. The key to subduing the demon lies in putting out the Magic Flame in the Creepy Basement. Once achieved, it causes every other flame in the house to go out, plunging everyone into darkness and doubly subverting this trope for the Chaathan.
• Man Bites Man: The Yakshi kills Koran this way while he is too distracted due to his lust.
• Nice Guy: Thevan is one to the point of being an Extreme Doormat. He is overly polite to Kodumon Potti throughout the film and is without a doubt the most morally scrupulous character in it.
• No Name Given: The cook never gets named in the film.
• Old, Dark House: Theven comes across a ruined and (seemingly) abandoned Mana (a type of mansion) and immediately salvages some coconuts to satisfy his hunger, only to be caught by the Cook.
• Out with a Bang: After Koran gets baited by the Yakshi, she kills him by biting him and bleeding him out while they start to engage in sexual intercourse.
• Period Piece: The movie is set in 17th century South Malabar.
• Reclaimed by Nature: The Mana is in a pitiful state by the time Thevan stumbles upon it. In particular, the gate has been overshadowed by tall grass while the courtyard has been flooded to the point it now functions as a pool for its occupants and guests to swim in.
• Rule of Scary: There are several plot threads that are left unresolved at the end of the movie, such as how the yakshi ties into everything, Kodumon's amnesia, but it's scary, so it's okay.
• Scenery Porn: After Thevan wakes up the day after the Yakshi attacked and killed Kora, he walks to the river which soon stops to a dead end with a waterfalls, which immediately get presented in beautiful angled wide shots.
• Show Stopper: Enforced Trope, The film introduces Kodumon Potti (played by Mammootty) to the camera in this manner, accompanied by the Potti Theme reaching its crescendo.
• Sudden Downer Ending: Right as it seems like Thevan and the Cook gains the upper hand against the Chaathan, a series of events leads to the Chaathan gaining control of the ring and both of the previously mentioned characters dying.
• Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality: Level 2 with a small element of Level 3. There are only two female characters within the film (The Yakshi and Thevan's Mother) and neither of them have a single spoken line. The Yakshi is a sexually promiscuous character while Thevan's mother is a housewife who has no role in the story other than being his motivation to go home.
• Spotting the Thread: In the climax, this is how the cook learns that the man he was fighting with wasn't Thevan, but actually the Chaathan who has now impersonated him. He finds this out when his earring which he would usually wear on his right ear is now placed on the fake Thevan's left ear.
• Type Caste: Thevan and Koran are members of the Panan caste (a lower caste, consisting of court singers) who made an attempt to escape their slave-like conditions while Kodumon Potti is a Nambudiri (the apex caste in ancient Malayali society) with the cook's caste being unknown until he is revealed to be the bastard son of the real Kodumon Potti.