Ulladakkam 1991

Dr Sunny, [Mohanlal], is a kind-hearted and compassionate psychiatrist who is engaged to his girlfriend Annie, [Shobana]. One day a young woman named Reshma, [Amala Akkineni], is admitted to Sunny’s hospital by her brother Roy, [Murali], a close friend of Sunny. Sunny is led to Reshma’s room, where he encounters a chaotic, trashed space and finds Reshma crouched in a corner, clearly in a highly agitated state. She is later brought to the hospital, where her outward agitation subsides but she remains with a vacant, distant expression that hints at a dissociation from her surroundings. While she is treated with tranquilizers, Sunny begins to probe into her background, discovering clues in her diary that reveal a pattern of heightened emotionality—letters to her mother, who died when Reshma was ten, and a note from her brother suggesting she had a transient psychotic episode when their mother passed away.

Sunny strives to uncover the trigger for Reshma’s current crisis. From the Rorschach tests, he notices a strong connection to the sea, since Reshma becomes intensely agitated when confronted with imagery of the ocean. With additional clues, he links the distress to the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend, Arun. He subjects Reshma to hypnosis and she recounts the entire episode: a mafia squad closes in on the duo at the beach, Arun is killed, his body is swept out to sea, and Reshma watches helplessly. The process of hypnotic exposure to the sea gradually helps her move past the dissociation, and she begins to regain her sense of surroundings. As she improves, she forms a meaningful bond with one of the other inmates, a woman she comes to view as a mother figure, portrayed by Sukumari.

Reshma’s recovery, however, is tempered by deep-seated emotional insecurity and a tendency toward dependency. When the inmate is discharged, Reshma’s unconscious mind seeks a strong replacement for Arun and starts to cling to Sunny. Through the psychology of transference—a phenomenon first described by Freud—Reshma redirects her unresolved feelings for Arun onto Sunny, creating a powerful, complicated attachment. This shift makes it easier for her to invest in Sunny on an emotional level, even as she struggles to accept the permanent loss that began her turmoil.

The story pivots at Sunny’s wedding party, where the ritual sounds of drums and the sight of a drummer revive memories of Arun. In a moment of psychosis, Reshma kills Annie, threatening to derail Sunny’s new life. Much of the film unfolds as a flashback to seven years earlier, revealing the circumstances that led to this fracture and the intense emotional spirals that followed.

Roy returns with Reshma seven years later, claiming she has found a form of peace and will serve others through Mother Teresa for the rest of her life as penance. Sunny forgives her, telling her that the fault lay not with her but with the illness, and they share a quiet, forgiving embrace that acknowledges the fragility of memory, love, and healing.