Murali Nair

20 short films about human rights.

In this unique tale, director Murali Nair portrays life in rural India with ribald wit and sharp social satire.

Murali Nair directs this political satire about a man arrested for stealing who becomes charged with a number of murders he didn’t commit.

Krishnanunni is the descendant of a wealthy orthodox Nair family, whose fortune has now dwindled. But there is still enough to ensure a leisurely life. Everything is going fine until one morning, while shaving, his wife discovers a black mole under his lower lip…

A local ruler bows down to the pressure from democratic forces and is forced to hand over a part of his province to a democratically elected leader. He also presents his pet dog to a poor peasant and his wife. For the poor peasant and his wife, the dog is not a mere dog, but a symbol of the royalty which had always inspired in them feelings of respect, admiration and blind worship. They bathe the dog in a very ceremonious manner and take much care of it. They even desist from tying it up. But when the dog bites and kills a duck and then a boy, it leads to problems. The democratic leader orders the arrest of the dog, followed by the arrest of the poor peasant. Then follow protests, talks, negotiations leading to more interesting developments.

Through the eyes of a child named Unni, the film captures the reality of a village in Kerala, India in the 1970s. He belongs to the superior caste of Nairs. His friends Raju, Ramu and Gopi, who go to school with him, belong to the lowest caste of all. His friend Gopi in particular has already had a life full of hardship and tragedy.

Having lived away from her family in England for fourteen years, the film maker returns to India for her younger brother's arranged marriage. As the wedding preparations proceed, she discovers her parents' plans and expectations for her future and comes face to face with her own inability to fulfil them. This is a personal story about a family coming to terms with separation, but a universal story about the effects of migration and change.