Punyam Aham

Punyam Aham is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Raj Nair. Prithviraj, Samvrutha Sunil, and Nedumudi Venu play the lead roles in this film.^[1]

Punyam Aham
Directed by	Raj Nair
Produced by	Raj Nair Janardhanan Menon Shyam Prasad Reddy
Starring	Prithviraj Sukumaran Samvrutha Sunil Nedumudi Venu
Cinematography	M. J. Radhakrishnan
Edited by	Beena Paul
Music by	Isaac Thomas Kottukapally
Release date	22 January 2010 (2010-01-22)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Plot

Punyam Aham is set in a small village in northern Kerala. The protagonist is Narayan Unni, a young man with a Brahmin father and a low-caste mother, who are separated, leaving the mother to raise him alone. The film tells the story of Unni leaving home and searching for his identity, and then repeating many of his father's mistakes in life. It is based on the story in traditional folklore about Naranath Bhranthan and his father Vararuchi.^[2]

Cast

Samvrutha with co-star Prithviraj and director during the shoot of the film

• Prithviraj Sukumaran as Naarayanan Unni
• Samvrutha Sunil as Jayasree
• Nedumudi Venu as Kaarackal Easwaran Namboodiri
• Nedumudi Harikumar as Shopkeeper
• Nishanth Sagar as Georgekutty
• Roslin as Antharjanam
• Sona Nair as Eldest Sister
• K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Jayasree's Amma
• M. R. Gopakumar as Pappanassar
• Sreejith Ravi as Pankan
• Sreekala VK as Narayanan's mother
• Binda as Younger sister

Production

Punyam Aham was the directorial debut of Raj Nair, the grandson of novelist Thakazhi Shivashankara Pillai.^[3] Filming began in January 2009 at Ottapalam, and then shifted to Kuttanad.^[4] It premiered at the Mumbai International Film Festival in October 2010.^[5]

Critical reception

Paresh C. Palicha writing for Rediff Movies criticised the plot as "too intellectual".^[6]