Bhayanakam
Jayaraj
India.  125 min.  2018

As the Second World War begins, a new postman takes charge in Kuttanad. The war intensifies and the postman whom the people had considered as a harbinger of good news turns out to be a messenger of death.

Bringing to mind Winston Churchil’s famous quip during the Second World war, ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat’, the postman in Jayaraj’s Bhayanakam, who is a former soldier, is a relic of war with nothing else to offer but tearful memories of it. For the people of Kuttanad too, he has nothing to offer other than news of death. For them, the postman who was once the symbol of positivity and a good omen becomes a messenger of death and his bag carries the burden of war in the form of telegrams that breaks umpteen hearts and homes.

JAYARAJ

Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. He is the founder of the Birds Club International and is actively involved in philanthropic work. Jayaraj is a recipient of the Crystal Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Peacock award at the IFFI , the Golden Crow Pheasant award at the IFFK , the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics, the Don Quijote Award from the International Federation of Film Societies, The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award and a special mention award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. He is also a 7 time recipient of the National Film Award and several Kerala State Film Awards. His notable films include, Desadanam (1996), Kaliyattam (1997), Karunam (2000), Shantham (2001), Daivanamathil (2005), Vellapokkathil (2007), Ottaal (2015), Veeram (2017) and Bhayanakam (2018).

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