Vellam: The Essential Drink

Vellam: The Essential Drink

Murali Nambiar is an alcoholic who becomes a burden for his family and the society around him. His family life comes under strain and his wife Sunitha and parents watch his decline helplessly. He even takes money and valuables from his home and his friends to buy alcohol, upsetting those close to him. He is even shown selling the furniture from his home once. After getting drunk, he often ends up sleeping on sidewalks and shop fronts. Once he is accused of stealing a gold ring at an engagement but turns out to be incorrect. He makes a scene at his friend's funeral because of some misunderstanding. Although he is often seen as a drunkard by his family and neighbours, a few people still talk about his cool demeanour and hardworking nature. One day he talks about his addiction with one of his friends who takes him to a de-addiction centre where Dr. Subramaniam is the chief doctor. Dr. Subramaniam takes Murali under his wing, offering to treat his addiction. But Murali slacks off and continues to drink. The doctor contacts Sunitha who has left him earlier because of his excessive drinking and tells her that Murali needs love and care as part of the treatment. After the treatment he returns to his homeplace where his friends continue to treat him as before, a drunkard. Murali gets back to his home and finds that his parents have sold their house and moved on. Seeing that no one is concerned about him, he attempts suicide by jumping into a well.

Director

Prajesh Sen

Release

22 Jan 2021

Run time

154 min

Language

Malayalam