Aparna (1981)

The tale of a young woman, Aparna (Sudeshna), who invests all her hopes and dreams in the illusion of loving Ramesh (Pothan) while her real life becomes progressively more unbearable. She clings to memories and attaches herself to a little boy, Ramu (Tony), who bears the nickname she gave to her lost love. When she sets out to find Ramesh again, she reaches a banyan tree where Ramesh was said to have taken refuge one day and she realises that everything, happiness and misery, even death itself, have been manifestations of ‘maya’, illusion. The ambiguous ending suggests that Aparna too may have disintegrated into an illusion. The film evokes the myth of Aparna’s love for Shiva, which was transformed into an intense and concentrated tapasya (a form of ritual penance).