Kalyanaraman 2002

Ramankutty, Dileep, a lively event organizer, is introduced against the backdrop of a temple that is a favorite hangout for young couples. The scene shifts as a group of friends notices an elderly man visiting the temple and curiously asks him why he keeps returning. The man, named Ramankutty, begins to tell his own story, drawing us into a tale that blends romance, superstition, and family fate. As he narrates, we learn that his path to love intersects with Gouri, a woman he meets while helping prepare for the wedding of her sister Radhika, who is the daughter of Ambattu Madhavan Thampi, a family friend. Radhika’s life is marked by a harsh twist—her fiancé does not show up on the wedding day, and she faints upon learning the grim news. In a practical and almost comic turn of events, Ramankutty proposes that his own brother, Dr. Sivadas, marry Radhika, and the arrangement goes through with grace and warmth. This initial setup seeds a budding romance between Ramankutty and Gouri, a bond that both families begin to cheer, even as the wedding plans unfold in the midst of social circles and expectations.

As Ramankutty and Gouri grow closer, their engagement becomes a cause for celebration until tragedy strikes. On the day of their engagement, Radhika dies in a kitchen fire, a calamity that leaves the Thampi family reeling. The loss casts a long shadow over the house and becomes a potent reminder of the fragile line between joy and sorrow within their and Ramankutty’s circle. Time passes, and finally, the family resolves to fix Ramankutty’s and Gouri’s wedding once again. Yet fate seems poised to test them all. On the eve of the wedding, Gouri receives an electric shock, a shocking turn that unsettles everyone and precipitates a consultation with an astrologer, Meppattu Thirumeni, a figure who carries the weight of old beliefs. Meppattu Thirumeni, Thilakan lays out a chilling horoscope: women married into the Thekkedathu family are fated to die young. He catalogs a troubling family history—Ramankutty’s grandmother died in pregnancy, his mother died shortly after his birth, Ramankutty’s eldest brother Achuthankutty’s wife died a month after their wedding from a snake bite, and now Radhika has fallen victim as well. The staircase of misfortune rattles the Thampi clan, and the astrologer’s verdict sends ripples of fear through Ramankutty and his prospective in-laws. Thampi, who fears for his daughter’s life, pleads with Ramankutty to back out of the marriage without letting Gouri know the truth.

Moved by a sense of duty and the moral gravity of the situation, Ramankutty makes a painful choice. He calls off the wedding, explaining that he is not comfortable with Gouri’s close ties to her cousin Unni, a suggestion that stings Gouri and sours the mood. Unni, a character connected to the family, brings Kunchacko Boban into the narrative, and the accusation strains the couple’s bond. Gouri, devastated by the withdrawal and the insinuations, initially withdraws, only to uncover the truth behind the family’s fears. In a desperate bid to salvage their love, she searches for Ramankutty and, in a moment of crisis, suffers a road accident on the way. She is rushed to the hospital and, in the face of gravity, expresses a dying wish: Ramankutty should marry her before she undergoes surgery. With the fear of losing her looming, Ramankutty agrees to tie the knot before the operation, a decision that tests his faith and resolve. He has been praying at the temple since the film’s opening to protect their love, and this wedding, staged under the shadow of danger, becomes a testament to his devotion.

The sequences that follow reveal that their bond survives the crisis. Ramankutty and Gouri marry, and, against the odds, Gouri survives the surgery. The newlyweds continue to participate in temple rituals, now as a united pair who will share life’s rituals and responsibilities. What begins as a story of fear and superstition gradually morphs into a surprising truth: Gouri and Ramankutty do indeed create a life together, and Gouri remains by his side as they resume their roles in the temple community. The tale concludes with the unsettling yet hopeful revelation that the couple, once thought doomed by a cursed fate, lives on as a living testament to love, faith, and the endurance of a family’s bond. As the temple bells toll and the crowd looks on, the audience is left to process the shock that a love story grounded in superstition and tradition can, with courage and resilience, defy the grim prognoses that once threatened to end it all.