Pavithram is dated at this point but quite well made for its time. The movie begins with an older man's dream. In this dream, Unni (played by Mohanlal) is roused from his house in haste and told to come along to see his father (someone Unni has longed believed to be dead) and upon reaching the destination, he is greeted by a crowd of people who begin to make fun of him. When Unni wakes up in the morning he consults a shaman who informs him that the fact that Unni had this dream for the first time in the 15 years since his father's disappearance, marks the death of his father and that he (Unni) should begin to do death rituals in honour of his dead father. During the rituals, Unni walks away and declares that he doesn't believe his father is dead.
After that, we begin to see what led up to that very point in Unni's life as he begins to flashback to various events. In these flashbacks we learn that Unni has a brother who is more well to do that he is. We also meet Unni's mother, and older lady who suddenly becomes pregnant. The birth of this child would mark a very poignant part of Unni's life, as at that point he was an unwed man, who still lived with and was very fond of his mother.
Engaged to marry a beautiful country vixen named Meera (played by Shobhana) Unni is forced to choose between his lover and his newborn sister when his mother passes away during childbirth. To add insult upon injury an argument with his father causes the latter to leave the house one day and never return. With all these burdens cast upon Unni, it is no wonder that he becomes very attached to his little sister, a girl whom they name Meenakshi (played by Vinduja Menon). But as the child grows into a beautiful young woman, so does Unni slowly go insane while trying to keep up with her rebellious teenage ways. For instance, when she goes away to boarding school, she begins to hang out with rebellious teens, enter beauty contests etc. etc.
Excellent performances by Mohahlal (even though he could have done without the overly-babyish mannerisms due to the fact that he looked ridiculous acting like a kid with a moustache), and Vinduja Menon who is an excellent dancer but looked a little undermined by her catastrophic beauty. The film is well-rounded but is not only dated, it has its here and there's and then some.
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